Posted on Mon, Nov 28, 2011
Hard to believe it is already time for EIBTM. As we scrolled through the different sessions on offer, as we usually do leading up to events, we began to wonder... what the purpose was of educational session or presentation titles?
Are they meant to get the reader to read the synopsis? Yes, but it is just as important to compel the reader from the title, to the synopsis, to adding it to their agenda and turning up. You want to engage the right readers and convince them why it is a perfect use of their time and how they will derive value from attending. On average, eight out of ten will read the session title, but only two out of ten will read the session description and leaner objectives. So it’s fairly obvious that if people stop at the title, you’re already dead in the water.
Is it to draw in large crowds? Probably not. Don't get us wrong, having a large audience can indicate high interest in the subject. But, it can also mean that the title is vague and attracted too much attention from an irrelevant audience. Make sure the title will attract the right participants with the right objectives for attending.
Is it to increase the prestige of your entire event? Partially. Having great, eye-catching, event seminar titles can certainly build hype and encourage registrations. But, they have to be relevant to the objectives of each session and fit in with the conference or event. And, this is obvious, but the content will then have to be as impressive as you've made it sound and as the overall event would require.
How about to be catchy and cool? Titles should be appealing, but not awkward nor obviously trying to be something they aren't. If the session is about medicine or finance, and the audience is professional, add timely and relevant words to the title, but leave out the irony and colloquialism, but be unique. If you're trying to attract a younger audience, this is quite important, regardless of the content type.
Do they describe the session? Of course, but they should be snappy and to the point. You don't want to describe the entire session, but it should be summarised in 5-10 words. Be sure to include an outcome the attendees will leave with and be true to what the session's content is - don't lie or mislead or you risk being boo'd, attacked with tomatoes or even worse, empty seats by the end of the presentation.
What are some session topics you've seen that have disappointed? Or, those you didn't think were interesting just to find out they were life-changing but you weren't intrigued to attend and missed out? Let us know what you've seen!
Posted on Mon, Nov 21, 2011
Report after report identifies that events are set to grow over the coming years. They also claim that a top concern of, especially corporate, event managers is reduced budgets and costs. With more events and ever-increasing budget scrutiny, cutting costs shouldn't be the main concern - finding and proving event value should be. But, that is usually done with numbers.
How are you measuring the value events bring to your organisation? Having easily accessible, measurable data supports your value to the team and each event's value to the organisation. Reports and metrics monitoring can improve results, streamline processes, and simplify business. And, while it is important to be ready with multiple types of reports, try to keep the stacks of paper copies to a minimum - capturing and storing the information online or at least within a few documents you can access from your iPad or laptop will save you the stresses of shuffling, misplacing and sharing.
Before entering 2012 budget meetings, arm yourself with the right information within a few clicks, to prove your worth. Below is our list of metrics to have at hand when fighting for your 2012 event budget:
-
Email Metrics: A series of reports on open, bounce, and click-through rates compared against the number of prospects they were sent to for each event campaign.
-
Web Metrics: A series of reports for all landing pages, micro sites, and website hits/visitors/bounce rates/traffic sources/content popularity, and all online collateral download rates.
-
Attendee Rates: This is a simple chart displaying registrations received versus actual attendance. This is useful for spotting seasonal trends and red flagging events with weak attendee rates.
-
Satisfaction by Speaker/Topic: If you ran events on multiple topics, it’s useful to understand which speakers and topics receive the highest ratings and attendee interest over time.
-
Competitive analysis: Be prepared with competitor analysis for similar events or companies. This takes digging, but as long as you can prove you're doing better than others, that's hard to argue with!
-
Evaluation Summary: A ranking with summary data on the customer satisfaction results along with other information from evaluation forms or surveys. This is a great qualitative metric that can help tip the budget scales in your favour if the numbers don't necessarily speak for themselves.
-
Lead Pipeline Chart: This is a running total of leads generated at events displayed over time. It takes a bit of work but will display the frequency of your event marketing activities and how your sales pipeline performs throughout the calendar year because of events.
-
Measuring Overall Event ROI: An event-by-event summary and yearly report of the total revenue against recorded expenses - arguably the most important and vital metric to monitor and understand. It is calculated by: ROI = [(Revenue - Investment)/Investment)]*100. This can also be plotted over time to show strengths and weaknesses.
Also, give this a go with your other general event investments (such as event software or emailing software) and with staff costs vs. revenue (or other success metric) and see if you can calculate the less tangible ROIs.
-
Profit and Loss: Profit and Loss (P&L) is a financial statement that summarises the revenues, costs and expenses incurred during a specific period of time - usually a fiscal quarter or year or even by event. These records provide information that shows the ability of a company to generate profit by increasing revenue and reducing costs.
Event Takeaway
As you start entering your budget meetings for 2012, make sure you have the data and information you need to prove the value of your events and event marketing efforts. The more information you have, the better armed you'll be to defend not only your budget but the importance of events and the value your efforts bring to the company!
Posted on Wed, Nov 16, 2011
Are you using Google+ for event marketing and engagement? If you're trying to attract men to your events, you should be!
If you've had a look around Google+, you've probably noticed that the majority of people in your circles are men. In fact, about 68% of Google+ users are male. But why?
An important fact for women’s relatively small presence on Google+ could be that the new social network has attracted a largely technology-focused crowd. Okay, so women may not dominate computer science demographics but they use social networks such as Twitter and Facebook moreso than men. Check out an interesting article about men vs. women on social network sites.
And, make sure you're keeping demographics in mind when trying to implement social media into your event marketing strategy. No need to waste your efforts publicising your events if the right audience isn't listening!
Posted on Mon, Nov 14, 2011
We've said it before, but creating a great event is a cyclical process. It isn't just about running a great event "on the day." It starts before, well before, the event itself.
Below, we've mapped out, in summary, the entire event lifecycle, from pre-event through to post-event for you to follow when planning your next event. Feel free to print and share with your team!
Posted on Wed, Nov 09, 2011
You've done it. You've had restless night's sleep leading up to a big event. The stress and worry has led you to re-check your needlessly thick binder or frantically flick through your smart phone to check emails. While stresses are inevitable in event management, having the right technology to support you can drastically reduce your need to worry and can make it easier to be the perfectionist you have come to be.
With the assistance of software, event planning has become easier than ever before. It can help you stay organized, keep track of details, and make sure no stone is left unturned. Event technology can also help you plan, analyse and budget for events accurately and effectively. Planning large events can be complicated and stressful, especially when managing multiple team members, but with event planning software, you can be decisive and execute much easier, quickly and efficiently.
Task and People Management
If you run multiple, complex events, using event software can ensure they run smoothly and that nothing is forgotten. Set up reminders and task lists for projects, making sure everyone involved in the planning processes knows about deadlines and what they're expected to complete. Software can help you strategise and collaborate with others, either in your events team, sales or even finance, in a single solution. Emails will no longer be lost, and logistical issues can be addressed and resolved right away. Always work "in the know" with high-level dashboards - just sit back and watch your event progress.
Time Management
Taking advantage of event management technology for large-scale events will save you both time and money in the long run. When planning a complex or large event, lots of time can be lost in making sure communication is clear, meetings and sessions are filled and that key players are notified of any changes. Trying to manage these tasks manually takes a lot of time and energy, but with a little organisational help, you can use your time more efficiently to do what you do best - create content-rich, engaging events and preventing crisis.
Registration Tracking
By using software to manage delegate registration, you can track variables such as fees, food orders and send marketing emails to your list of prospects and attendees. As soon as someone registers, cancels or ammends, you can be notified immediately so you are aware of how many people are planning to attend, and if necessary, change your marketing tactics. If certain people still need to pay their registration fees, you or your finance team can print out a single report that lists their names and contact information all in once place.
Staying Organised
Staying organised is the single most important aspect of planning a successful event, and the use of software can alleviate a lot of stress. The events your company manages are a direct reflection of its brand and value, so you will want it to be the best that it can be. The more organised and meaningful your events are, the more likely people will be to trust your brand and recommend you to others.
Are you working with event technology to help eliminate unnecessary stress from your working life? If not, you should be. Take our online assessment to see how and if event software can help you coordinate your teams, save paper waste, reduce overall organisational cost and take control of your event tasks, data and changes.