Have you ever wondered what is the first task of the organizers? Surely it is the event planning!
Therefore, it should be seen as the stage that will sustain the entire organization.
I usually say that organizing an event means providing great experiences for the attendees, but for this, the experience needs to be enriching for the organizers as well.
At this stage of planning, you need to have north of event management and know where to start. Thus, I am here to teach you more about:
- How to plan an event? O passo a passo;
- Criando o planejamento estratégico;
- Planejando o evento;
- The event in practice: rely on a platform
How to plan an event? The step-by-step
At first, planning an event is to inform yourself!
So keep in mind what an event is and know that the organization involves three main steps, the pre-event, the event itself, and the post-event.
Therefore, today my goal is to give you precisely the basis that will sustain this entire life cycle: the planning.
Having a strategic event planning is the same as drawing up a detailed roadmap of everything that needs to be done, highlighting how the activities will be carried out and, especially, why and by whom they will be carried out.
To get started, you need to know the essential activities on your schedule.
É óbvio que eu vou te ajudar nisso, mas você pode contar com materiais que já existem, como o checklist para eventos criado pela equipe da Even3.
Assim, você já começa por dentro de tudo que deve constar na sua organização:
Mas eu vou te explicar tudo sobre essas etapas! Vamos iniciar o passo a passo de como fazer um planejamento de sucesso.
1. Creating the strategic planning
Yeah, I know. Now you may be thinking about the tons of activities you have to schedule, tasks to delegate, and people to contact.
But first, you need to answer some key questions, such as what is the purpose of your event.
Figuring out why and for whom you will plan is more important than defining technical aspects such as the date, place, and time of the event.
After all, without people nothing makes sense, right?
As such, to prepare a strategic event planning, I suggest you answer the following questions:
Who will be responsible for organizing the event?
First, it is necessary to choose who will be the head of the organization.
I imagine that if you have come this far, you are one of the organizers.
But will you embark on this journey alone or will you rely on a team?
That’s because planning an event takes work, there are different areas of action, and it is important that you have the help of more people.
Therefore, to divide the work, you can assemble teams focused on each area of your event and hire committed and prepared coordinators.
In this case, depending on the size of the event, it is also interesting to seek qualified professionals, such as an event promoter to devote themselves exclusively to promoting the event.
In what context will the event take place?
Make a diagnosis of the scenario in which you intend to hold the event. Some matters are important, such as:
- Is this its first edition? Were there similar events in the same region?;
- Is this an appropriate moment to get sponsors or, in the case of academic events, is there a way to get funding?;
- In relation to the context and area of the event, what topic is trending and can be addressed in this period?
Finally, understanding the context is important to analyze the feasibility of the event.
After all, it is in the face of these conditions that, for example, you will be able to stipulate operational factors, such as the date of the event and registration prices. But we’ll get there in due time!
What is the strategic objective of the event?
Before getting to the operational factors, another essential question in event planning is the classic one: “Why do I want to organize this event?”
For example, there are people who want to disseminate and encourage science in the city. Others, do it for the recognition acquired in the field.
Some love organizing events for the connections they provide (the famous networking!) and for the opportunity to gather heavy names in the market.
Whatever your purpose, it will give exclusivity to your event. That is, with a well-defined goal, all areas of your organization will converge to achieve it.
In addition, your target audience will be attracted by the promise that your purpose determines. Therefore, try to put value to the objective of your event and sell it as a differential to be achieved with your schedule.
What audience do you want to impact with your event?
Talking about the audience, they are the focus of your event!
Therefore, you need to know them very well. Only then will you know what attracts them and how to provide the best experience.
For that, it is common to use a marketing strategy called construction of persona.
Persona is the fictional representation of an ideal customer for the business. In this case, who is the ideal client for your event?
When it comes to defining your persona, go beyond basic questions like age, profession, and demographics and research as well:
- Family formation;
- Habits;
- Leisure activities (what they do in their free time, for example);
- Main challenges facing the job market;
- What are their concerns and life goals.
Therefore, you can apply audience research forms, chat with professionals in the field, and even observe the target audience of events in the same segment.
Now, you’ve completed the first part, it’s time to make the planning come true!
2. Planning the event
After defining all these points regarding the strategic planning of the event, it is time to roll up your sleeves and ensure what will make your event, in fact, happen.
These are topics normally thought of by the organization at the pre-event stage. They are:
Topic
Based on all the information you have defined during the strategic planning and the objectives you have aligned, define the central theme of your event.
Date, time and place
Take a calendar and see what are the ideal days for your event to take place.
Pay close attention to holidays and weekends.
See if holding the event on dates like this makes sense for you and your target audience, or if it will directly affect the event’s cash flow.
As for the place for in-person events, check especially if it is easily accessible. If there are bus stops nearby and spots for people to park.
In addition to accessibility, factors such as comfort and safety should be weighed.
In the case of hybrid and online events, you should consider the platform for the transmission of the event. This is the time to make quotes and choices based on what ensures network stability, attendee safety, and interactivity.
Regarding time, it is important to think about the audience. See if it makes more sense for activities to take place on the day, evening, or night time. The answers to these questions lie in the strategic planning of the event.
So, go back there and analyze the persona of your event.
Set a budget and reduce costs
Speaking of event cash flow, your planning needs to rely on the financial aspect from the beginning!
For this, you must map out costs, such as infrastructure, transportation, coffee break and lunches, graphic art, and other services.
As well as tickets, such as sponsorships and ticket sales, as they are happening.
Also, at this stage, you can estimate a ticket sales goal, in addition to quoting the values of products and services necessary to hold the event.
Phew! A lot, isn’t it? Sei que são muitos números, por esse motivo, a Even3 criou uma planilha de finanças voltada justamente para quem organiza eventos.
Assim, você pode adicionar todas essas informações e editá-la de acordo com suas necessidades. Para baixá-la, clique aqui:
Secure sponsors
Still talking about budget, in many cases, organizers resort to sponsorships to pay for some determining factors for the realization of the event.
For that, it’s necessary a sponsorship project presenting your event, the benefits it can generate for sponsors, and the desired results.
Pensando nisso, criamos um modelo de projeto para que organizadores consigam atrair patrocinadores mais facilmente. Veja mais:
Promotion of the event
Now that you know your target audience well, know the basic information of the event, and even have sales goals, it’s time to get the first attendees!
For this, you will plan the promotion of the event.
First, create the branding. In other words, the management of your brand or visual identity which will be reinforced throughout the dissemination of the event.
These are sets of elements that convey the personality of your event and attract the audience.
Then you can develop social media planning by focusing on points, such as:
- What social networks will you act on;
- The types of publications that will be published;
- Schedule of posts;
- Who will be the team responsible for communication.
Para começar, você pode contar com o Kit de Marketing criado pela Even3 e ter um calendário de publicações editável e sugestão de temas. Baixe agora:
Schedule
Finally, you already have a lot of planning in place. The next step is to think about the schedule of activities.
Therefore, think about the names that you will bring to speak at the event.
Ideally, you should have at least three names in mind. So you can contact them in advance and leave a list with “backup” speakers in case your first choices can’t attend.
In addition, if your event is academic, also pay attention to the submission of works.
If your event will receive articles, photographs, abstracts, or other materials that will need to be evaluated, you need to think about the names that will compose the editorial board of your event.
In addition, it will be necessary to define the rules of submission and stipulate deadlines.
So take advantage of this final moment of planning to create the entire event calendar.
The event in practice: rely on a platform
As I told you at the beginning of the text, to plan events you need to have dimensions of all phases of an event.
In this case, an event platform can be your biggest help!
At Even3, for example, you can manage and track all stages of your event in one place.
Still, the platform automates many processes and facilitates your work.
For example, when planning registrations you can already count on your own website for the dissemination of information, sale, batch turnarounds and much more!
In addition, check-in, submissions, certificates, online streaming, and other benefits are already guaranteed.
How about making your strategic planning easier? It’s free! Click on the banner below and create your event in Even3.
