Guide: Planning and Organizing a Successful Conference
Step 1: Preparation and Planning
The first step in planning a conference is to create a comprehensive plan that determines the format of the conference—whether it will be held in-person, as a digital event, or a combination of both, known as a hybrid event. During this phase, establish goals, dates, venue, budget, and a project plan with a clear timeline.
Define Goals and Purpose of the Conference
Before diving into conference planning, it's crucial to clearly define the goals and purpose of the event. Are you looking to educate participants, promote collaboration, or introduce new ideas? Clear goals help shape the program and aid in selecting speakers and activities aligned with the conference's purpose.
Select and Appropriate Date and Venue
Choosing the right time and place for the conference is crucial to ensure good attendance and accessibility for participants. Research the days and periods that work best for your target audience, and ensure the selected venue has sufficient space and the necessary facilities.
Define Budget and Resources
Conferences involve significant investment, so it's essential to define a realistic budget and ensure adequate resources to cover costs. Consider factors such as venue rental, speaker fees, technical equipment, marketing, catering, and any potential additional expenses.
Create a Project Plan and Timeline
Having a detailed project plan and timeline helps keep track of tasks and ensures nothing is overlooked during conference planning. Break down the planning into smaller tasks, assign responsibilities, and set clear deadlines to keep the project on track.
Step 2: Speakers and Program/Conference Agenda
Develop a conference agenda. Who will speak at the conference? How will the program flow? Will sessions run concurrently, and should participants pre-book seminars? These are crucial questions to address when setting a conference agenda.
Identify and Book Competent Speakers
Speakers are fundamental to attracting attendees. Evaluate relevant topics and expertise for your event, seeking recommendations from industry experts, reviewing past conferences, and examining speakers' expertise and experience. Visit athenas.se to find and book speakers.
Design a Diverse and Engaging Program with Optional Activites
A diverse and engaging program is crucial to keeping participants interested throughout the conference. When setting the conference agenda, start by defining main topics and distribute them evenly over the conference timeline. Vary presentations with interactive sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&A sessions. In a hybrid format, include activities during on-site networking to engage digital participants. Encourage participants to pre-book activities for a personalized schedule in their event app. You can control the maximum number of participants for each activity.
Coordinate Times and Sessions
After selecting speakers and activities, create a detailed schedule and coordinate sessions. Ensure ample time for each speaker and activity, allowing for breaks and networking. Clearly communicate timeframes and expectations with speakers.
Step 3: Marketing and Registration
Ensure a strong turnout for the conference through personalized invitations, a straightforward registration process, and world-class marketing. Provide various tickets with different privileges and prices.
Use Digital Marketing Channels to Reach Out
In today's digital era, leveraging online marketing channels is essential to reach a broader audience. Create an appealing and informative event website where potential participants can find information and register for the event. Use social media and email marketing to communicate with interested individuals and spread the word about the conference.
Invite Potential Participants with Stylish Invitations
Reaching many while remaining personal is a challenge. With Trippus' solution, easily send personalized invitations to your imported contact lists. Include a clear call-to-action to entice participants to register for the conference. In the invitation, include dynamic links to different ticket types, refer to the event page, and more.
Offer Easy and Smooth Registration
Registering and paying for conference tickets should be straightforward. Trippus' seamless registration forms counteract complexity. Customize the form with the information you need, such as contact details, name, title, company, dietary preferences, and preferred seminars. If you expect participants to travel, consider including options for accommodation booking. Personalize registration forms with your brand's colors, images, and logos. You can also embed the form on your event page.
Sell Tickets with Different Prices
Ticket revenue is a significant income source for conference organizers. Offering tickets at various price points attracts diverse audiences and increases the chances of a strong turnout. With Trippus' payment solution, offer participants the option to pay by invoice or card.
Step 4: Communication
A conference with inadequate communication is destined to fail. Avoid confusion and replace it with clear information distributed through email and SMS. Utilize a comprehensive event app to consolidate all information.
Inform Participants Regularly
Keep participants informed to prevent any uncertainties. With Trippus, easily send personalized emails and SMS with dynamic links unique to each participant. Inform about any changes, important information, and more.
Use an Informative Event App
Event apps are increasingly common for all types of events, especially conferences. In the event app, participants can find their tickets, view the program, get directions to the venue, contact organizers, and more. According to us at Trippus, event apps are essential for events.
Send Reminders to Participants
Sometimes calendars get overcrowded, making it challenging to keep track of everything. By informing participants of the start time the day before or encouraging them to respond to dietary preferences, you increase engagement and reduce the risk of them forgetting about the conference.
Step 5: Execution
When the actual conference day arrives, everything should run smoothly. Digital tickets are scanned, participants are checked in, and name tags are automatically printed. Magic happens.
Create a Welcoming and Interacive Atmosphere
Ensure clear guidelines for the flow of participants on-site. Ensure that the entrance or the area where you plan to check participants' digital tickets and register them is spacious enough for a smooth flow to prevent queues.
Check-in Participants
Gain full control over your participants with digital check-in. When participants check in, a real-time attendance report is generated, allowing organizers to see who has arrived and who is still expected. The attendance report is essential for follow-ups with participants after the conference.
Use Name Badges for Increased Networking Opportunities
Even though participants are at a conference, it's not always evident that they feel inclined to talk to anyone. By printing stylish name badges for your conference, you enable and simplify interaction between participants by quickly providing information about who they are talking to, their role, and the organization they represent. With Trippus' solution for automatic name badge printing, you avoid queues and make an eco-friendly choice.
Step 6: Follow-up and Analysis
What was the result of the conference? Were participants satisfied with the on-site service, and do they already want to register for next year's conference? Exciting and vital areas to analyze using data and surveys.
Collect Feedback with Surveys
Collect participant feedback after the conference by gathering survey responses. Customize surveys and choose from various response options to obtain the data in the format you desire.
Share Materials and Presentations
Make materials presented during the conference accessible to participants and other interested parties. Include presentation files, summaries of lectures, and any documents distributed during the event. This allows participants to revisit the information and continue to benefit from the conference even after it's over. Tip: Share all materials in the event app!
Evaluate Conference Success Based on KPIs
After the conference is concluded, all data and statistics are available. You can either choose popular predefined reports or create customized reports for your conference. In Trippus, gather, compile, and present data and statistics professionally and seamlessly.
