No one knows more about what your guests want from an event than the guests, right? By asking attendees what they would like to learn from a forthcoming conference, they get what they want, and you can be certain you’re planning something they will find valuable. It’s win – win!
That doesn’t mean that you should hand over complete control of your next event to guests. A well-run crowdsourced event happens when you seek feedback, analyse behaviour at events, and gauge from delegates’ actions what works and what doesn’t.
Know who you are talking to and what you want to find out.
Are you trying to generate new topics for discussion? Do you want to find out the experts in a certain area? Make sure the questions are very clear. Also, be aware of your demographic. This will not only help you to engage with them on the right platform (where do they like to hang out online?), it will also help you to put together insightful questions that get right to the point of their interests and requirements.
Put together a questionnaire to get some opinions.
Post it on your website, promote it on social media, and ask former delegates to share their thoughts. Hold a special group session with a small number of professionals to have an in-depth discussion about current trends and what they foresee will soon be important issues in their industry. The more data you can get, the better.
Your current event can inform your next crowdsourced event.
Just because you’re in the middle of one event doesn’t mean you can’t use it as a learning tool for your next crowdsourced event. Use live polls to gauge the response of guests to the content. If something is especially good (or bad), you’ll get honest feedback that pulls no punches. It’s exactly what you need to put together a great crowdsourced event.
Look at the data from previous events.
Gather data on:
- Which sessions have the highest and lowest attendance
- Which time is the most popular
- Responses on social media to each session (you will see patterns in relation to popular speakers, useful facilities, convenient times and venues)
This data will give you a good indication of the topics, times and content that you can put forward as options for delegates who are keen to have a say in the next event.
Give the guests an incentive to contribute to crowdsourcing.
Guests already have a vested interest in sharing their thoughts on a forthcoming event. If they can help to shape the event, they will get more value for it. But, if you create a rewards system, it will encourage more people to engage, contribute and to purchase a ticket for the event. You could offer discounts on ticket prices, merchandise, and even a special prize from one of the sponsors for the best suggestion for the keynote speech.
When you’ve analysed the responses and the data, remember to share the outcome with your attendees! This will help to make them enthusiastic about the event and to recommend it to colleagues and friends.
Have you any questions about crowdsourcing an event? Ask the experts on our Facebook and Twitter platforms!
