The 4 Biggest Mistakes Event Planners Make
Promoting an event successfully takes know-how and a specialized approach to each situation, however, there are things to keep in mind that apply to each event in any category.
Below are some of the biggest mistakes promoters make that affect the success of their events.
In order to better focus your efforts and minimize mistakes, avoid these pitfalls and take time to research effective methods that get results you want.
1. Lack of social media presence
Socials media is one of the most useful and powerful tools a marketer has available to them today. Social media is used by the majority of adults ages 18-65 in the U.S. and internationally.
On average, people have 5.54 social media accounts and spend about 116 minutes of their day on these platforms.
Promoting events is easier than ever with the help of some carefully planned social media strategies, with posts that feature useful, attractive, and informative content to help get the word out.
Regularly posting to the platform of choice is one of the keys to attracting attention to a brand or event.
People who are promoting events can’t afford to ignore the benefits of utilizing social media especially because it is FREE!
If you want to learn more on using social media for your events, check out the related articles below:
How to host a giveaway on Instagram
5 ways to use Instagram to sell more tickets
The best social media platforms for promoting events
The dos and don’ts of social media for marketing your event
2. Too much focus on entertainment, not enough on guests
Highlighting the entertainment is great, but focusing solely on that aspect of the event is a big mistake. The reason for the event is to cater to the desires and interests of the attendees.
Make sure to put a large amount of focus on them and keep their wants and needs in mind; they are the reason you are having an event in the first place.
Make the event convenient, accessible, and entertaining to get the best response from the public and always put them first.
An audience can make or break your event; their feedback can either encourage people to attend next year or black-list your event entirely.
You want to keep your entertainers, speakers, and other special guests accommodated, but they are also there for the guests’ experiences.
Perfecting the overall experience for guests, from the moment they enter the gate to driving away, is the best way to ensure a positive feedback and a larger guest-list for next year.
3. Failure to set goals for the new year
Failure to focus on the aim for the next year’s event is a mistake because it doesn’t give the promoter an outline of areas to focus on for improving the outcome of the current year’s event.
Once the figures are in, set a higher goal for the next event and make efforts to improve the marketing campaign and draw more attention from the target audience.
One way to get the feedback you need is to send out post-event surveys and get feedback from the people who experienced it firsthand.
You can ask them questions that will give you a better understanding and benefit for next time.
- What was your favorite part of the event?
- How did you hear about the event?
- Did you bring anyone?
- What was your least favorite thing?
- What could be improved?
Figure out exactly what you want to learn more about and create a short survey that can give you those answers.
4. The event doesn't have a strategy to stand out
If the event doesn’t appear to stand out or seem entertaining, the marketplace the event is targeting won’t respond well to these marketing efforts.
Instead, don‘t go without a creative strategy; registration, brand designs, slogans, websites, landing pages, special guests etc.
Think of new and attractive tactics to generate interest that hasn’t been done before or isn't as common.
The more creative the campaign, the more likely the public will be interested and want to attend the event.
Teaming up with a digital marketing agency or a marketing team is a great way to get professional help with brainstorming and suggestions that will work for the audience you are targeting.
Related Articles:
How to make an advertising strategy
Picking your event theme using color psychology
Event registration: your secret weapon to event planning
Don’t make these 4 mistakes when planning your next event.
Take the time to plan a good strategy and make sure your campaign is planned out in advance and uses creative touches to generate interest.
With some research and a little assistance from professional resources, you can plan a successful event now and in the future.
