Organising a successful event is hard work but incredibly rewarding. Post-Covid people are enjoying events more, appreciating coming together and seeing what businesses, industry bodies and local communities have to offer. At Sixth Sense Marketing we have significant experience organising events and now support clients with marketing and communications for their events. Here are some of our top tips for organising a successful event.
1.Start early
You can never start event planning too early, particularly for events that need venue booking or council permission. People are also bombarded with messages these days so you also need to get your messages out as early as possible. A website and social media take time to build a following and generate awareness for your events so the earlier you can start the better.
2. Plan, Plan, Plan
If you’re planning an event on a public space or need a road closure, make sure to speak to the council at the earliest opportunity so that you understand the permissions required and any associated costs. If you are organising a new event, make sure to check what else is happening on that date to avoid any clashes. And make sure to create a budget as part of your plan at the outset covering all the elements plus some contingency so that you don’t find yourself faced with unexpected costs. Also consider how you will judge whether the event is a success which will help you when evaluating your event.
3. Don’t neglect marketing and communications
One thing that people often say about new events is ‘I didn’t know it was happening’ so ensuring your marketing is planned, co-ordinated and prolific is really important. As an event organiser, marketing can slip down the to do list as you will be bombarded with ‘more urgent’ tasks so make sure someone has direct responsibility for marketing. Events also generate a lot of queries so ensure that whoever manages your marketing can manage communications and answer questions as they arise.
4. You need a website
For a larger event a website is essential – that way people can get an overview of everything that is happening, see important information such as refunds, public transport, parking recycling, disabled access etc
5. Local media
Local magazines and websites often have a event listings. You might also find there are local community radio stations who’ll be happy to interview you for free.
6. Sponsors
Sponsors can provide much needed funds to help deliver an event which can give them great exposure and direct access to potential customers. Make sure to research thoroughly first to identify potential sponsors whose target audience match your attendees. And don’t forget to thank sponsors frequently – on your website, social media and printed material as well as giving them exposure at the event
7. Streamline Bookings
If you are running a paid event, ensuring data is managed well and ticket holders receive regular communication is key. You may want to consider event booking sites such as Eventbrite – while you do need to pay commission they have automated confirmation emails and ticket scanning options which may save you considerable time in the long run. And do make sure you consider the Terms & Conditions for ticket booking, specifically for cancellation or refunds.
8. Don’t neglect the important things
Never compromise on the risk assessment and make sure you are appropriately insured, and that any suppliers attending the event also have correct insurance and certificates to ensure your event runs safely.
9. Think about future events
Make sure to take lots of photos of your event, or maybe even video – if you are lucky local students or a local camera club might be happy to do this for free in return for acknowledgement. And try to get lots of photos of people having fun – that’s the best way to promote the event in future years. And if you get comments from people after the event make sure to keep them together as that will help promote future events.
10. Enjoy it
Organising and event is hard. Try to find some time during the event to celebrate what you have achieved. It’s also a good idea to spend time after the event with the organising team to reflect on the event to identify all the things that were great and ways you could improve next time.
Whether you are organising a small community event for the first time or a large corporate event that has been running for a number of years, at Sixth Sense Marketing we can help ensure your event is a success by managing the marketing for you – giving you one less thing to worry about.
Read about our event marketing services here.
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