Event

The Life of the Party: How to Become an Event Producer

If you love throwing parties, getting people together, and generating buzz about an event, you’re already on your way to becoming an event producer.

Unlike some people, you probably get excited about all the little details that go into putting an event together. 

But how can you take your events to the next level? Read on to learn more.

It’s All About Experience

You can be the most organized person and feel ready to take on a big event. But event planning is something that is learned by doing and learning from one’s mistakes.

If you’re still deciding on a major in college, degrees in marketing, public relations, and hospitality can help nurture the skill sets you might need. 

Classes related to accounting, event planning, and design will help guide you in the right direction.

You can also try getting involved in extracurricular activities or groups on campus. It’s likely that you’ll be getting hands-on experience on what it takes to put an event together. 

You can also try applying for an internship while at school where you’ll likely be asked to help set up an event.

Take note of how everything is done in the lead up to the event, and try to get your hands on any relevant information. Things like chair and table rentals, live music bookings, and catering are all essentials to event planners.

You may also learn things by shadowing someone who’s been doing this for a long time. They might help you by introducing you to their connections, like what restaurants they’re friendly with for catering.

Event planning is all about connections, and relying on outsourced goods to make an event happen. The more people you can meet while starting out, the more resources you’ll have when you eventually plan an event.

Have the Right Skills Set

If you’re in charge of a small event, it doesn’t mean the responsibilities are any smaller. Chances are, you’ll be in charge of everything, from the promotion to the food to the playlist.

Having the right skills set can help you be an all in one package. 

Start by familiarizing yourself with programs like Photoshop and Excel. You’ll probably have to make a lot of visual banners and social media content to promote your event. 

Having a strong visual skillset will make your promotional media be taken more seriously. 

If you’re working on a budget, you’ll want to keep track of all your spending. Staying organized with useful spreadsheets allows you and your team to keep track of all costs.

If someone is hiring you to put together an event, you’ll want to keep your spreadsheets organized and legible. If you go over budget for unforeseen reasons, you’ll want to show your client where the money went.

Being an event producer means you’ll have to work with a lot of different personalities. Learning how to work under pressure is key to being successful.

There are a lot of work and personal relationships that will be tested during the planning of an event, so being patient is also helpful. 

It’s likely that things will go wrong, so having ideas for troubleshooting is important in helping your event stay afloat. You’ll have to get creative when something malfunctions or someone doesn’t show up on time!

You’ll also probably be writing a lot of the promotional text on your banners, brochures, and social media posts yourself.

Take a moment to proofread your work to avoid silly typos on important posts. It might make someone think twice about coming to your event.

Take Things to the Next Level

If you think you’ve already got what it takes to be an event producer, you might want to get certified.

There are a number of programs you can enroll in to get certified as a planner and producer. Such organizations like the Convention Industry Council offer professional programs that can take your work to the next level.

These types of programs usually require a few days of intense courses and a final exam to receive certification.

Depending on your desired focus, you may need to take certain certification courses to land a job. For government events, both on the federal and local levels, you need to become a Certified Government Meeting Professional.

Handling the Responsibilities

Once you’ve acquired all the right skills and necessary certifications, it’s important to know what will be expected of your job. To be an event producer, you’ll need to be in charge of the full picture.

Event planners meet with their clients for an initial meeting, where the scope of the event is discussed. This includes a projected budget and a detailed timeline mapping out the event’s schedule. 

Much like an architect that is building a home from scratch, an event planner must visualize and troubleshoot all aspects of an event. For an event producer, all the heavy lifting is done in the preparation leading up to the big day.

Event producers are responsible for being the person in between the client and the outsourced work. They handle speaking with the caterers, venue managers, and everything dealing with event production.

How to Become an Event Producer

Being an event producer requires practice and a strong skill set. But it also requires patience and perseverance. 

Event production is a profession that requires one to do it all sometimes. An aspiring planner must have sharpened writing skills and marketing skills.

To learn more about marketing strategies, keep browsing our page.

Blockchain technology has transformed traditional business models in the last few years. It provides a secure, traceable, and transparent network in which two users exchange Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Its online presence is influencing many industries, including Government, Finance, Healthcare, and more, as it has redefined the way people transact.

Blockchain technology today is doing much more than managing virtual currencies. It supports a wide range of applications such as supply chain tracking, product quality identification, peer-to-peer transaction, and lot more across various industry verticals. Here, we will look at the essentials of Blockchain technology and its impact on the event industry.

Essentials of the Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is about storing digital information (block) in a public database (chain). Since its conceptualization in 2008, Blockchain has been evolving across multiple channels.

Initially, Blockchain technology helps manage Bitcoin, an electronic currency. It uses a distributed database for allowing a safe, quick way to users for verifying vital information and build trust. In simple terms, Blockchain enables users to manage electronic cash without the involvement of a central administrator.

In 2014, a project called Ethereum played a significant role in allowing vast improvements in Blockchain technology. Today, Blockchain provides numerous benefits to different domains, including:

• Digital signature and encryption for a high level of security.
• Banks and clients get convenient and transparent transaction process.
• Maximum fraud control as digital data is stored in various places.
• Different accessibility levels for users in public and permission-based Blockchain networks.
• The need for the cash/credit card payment system is eliminated, which makes the transaction process faster and reduces operational costs.
• A decentralized system makes users worry-free from paying any fees to mediators.
• Participants can quickly check and confirm the validity of the previously made transactions.

How Blockchain Technology Influence Events Industry

1. Prevent Unethical Ticket Sales:

   Many event organizers keep the event ticket price low to attract a significant number of participants. They use multiple platforms and take services from various vendors to sell or resale the tickets. However, such practices sometimes pose a challenge of financial loss.

   Because of the lower ticket rates, automated bots, or even some vendors may buy tickets in bulk and create a ‘sold-out’ scenario. It may result in low participation, which can affect the success of the event, or the participants may have to pay higher prices for the tickets purchased from such vendors.  

   To avoid this, many event professionals today use Blockchain technology that helps to create entirely secure and authenticated transactions from real users. They can set rules for the ticket purchase, reselling, and setting the limits for the number of tickets that a single user can purchase. A tool powered by Blockchain technology will ensure that once a user transfers Bitcoin amount from his address to another, he/she cannot replicate the purchase.

   Moreover, the Blockchain security allows the attendees to use their digital identification number to register for the event, instead of filling out lengthy forms.

2. Linking Cryptocurrency with Ticket Sales

    Many companies today accept cryptocurrency as a mode of payment. Basis of the various advantages of cryptocurrency as a payment method; its use has become an eternal trend.

    Unlike credit card transactions, which use pull mechanisms, Blockchain uses a push mechanism. This method helps to limit the details passed onto the receivers. Besides, a peer-to-peer network manages the payment system instead of a centralized body.

    Event planners can implement cryptocurrency payment methods in their event ticketing systems, which will make the transactions absolute and counterfeit-proof once done. This feature can become invaluable for them in handling sales.

3. Hassle-Free Venue Management:

   The decentralized transaction system helps event managers to connect with various venue owners and book a suitable space for their next seminar, conference, award ceremony, or any other type of event. The use of Blockchain technology will enable event managers to make fast & secure transactions and eliminate administrative hassles.

   Besides, event sponsors can utilize Blockchain technology to set an automatic search for events as per their interest. Further, they can give additional sponsorship support through value-based connections.

4. Fraud Prevention:

   The security of any financial transaction is an essential aspect of any event planning. Factors such as settlement time, currency denomination differences, the influence of intermediaries, and more may complicate the financial transactions.

   With the use of Blockchain, users can share real-time information and update the transaction records after all parties agree. As a result, event planners can prevent loss due to fraudulent activities even before it happens.

5. Manage Suppliers and Attendees:

   Through the Blockchain-powered tool, event planners can manage different vendors providing services such as catering, audiovisuals, maintenance, security, and more. By confirming the authenticity of these suppliers, event planners can book their services and make payments instantly.

   Further, the Blockchain tools enable to create of a point-based system. It helps event planners to reward attendees for doing particular activities, including taking part in surveys, provide feedback, and more. They can avail of these reward points for services such as free food or accommodation, travel expenses, and others. Such a system will motivate participants to take more interest in events and help organizers to create an interactive event environment.

   Moreover, Blockchain technology helps event planners to centralize the ticketing system that creates a uniform and transparent process for ticket sales. Further, it enables organizers to accept cryptocurrency as a payment for providing various services, including tickets, food, accommodation, and more. As this process is secure and efficient, it eventually lowers costs for multiple operations related to event management.

Conclusion

The proliferation of the Internet, along with a rapid increase in smart devices, has revolutionized the way managers organize and run events. Besides, Blockchain technology helps to build trust, transparency, and security among the entities and people even if they do not know each other. It enables companies to build a robust solution for planning & managing events that improve the attendee experience as well as reduce operational costs.

Although the Blockchain-powered tools are still evolving for the MICE industry, they will soon become the modern industry standards with the potential in offering better control, higher security, and efficient management for small to large-scale events.

Attract Major Crowds! How to Promote an Event and Grow Your Audience

Are you in the process of creating the next big event in your area?

If this is the case, you want to attract the biggest audience possible. Although it might seem like you need to have a lot of contacts to make this happen, it’s not always the case. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to promote an event and grow your audience with only a few simple steps. 

1. Create a Multifaceted Marketing Plan

The first step if you want to attract more people to your event and grow your audience is to create a multifaceted marketing plan. 

You will not achieve the results you want unless you focus your efforts on more than one platform. The marketing plan should include diversification such as email marketing, social media, and a website for the event.

2. Partner Up With Other Organizers

Although it might seem like other organizers are your competition, it’s very unlikely they will be promoting an event like yours. 

If other event organizers in your area cover different topics but have similar audiences, you might benefit from a partnership with them.

Partnering with other organizers is a two-way street and you can make excellent connections.

3. Use an Event Hashtag 

It’s no secret we now live in a world with hashtags. If you want to promote your event and see results, it’s important you create a hashtag for your event. 

Encourage your event-goers to use the hashtag whenever they post a photo or share your event on social media. This will create more buzz around your event and increase the chances of it going viral. 

4. Use SEO to Your Advantage

Many people use Google to find events around them and see what’s going on in their city. Since this is the case, you need to make sure you use SEO to your advantage.

You need to make sure your event’s page is optimized and you use the right keywords. For example, if your event is a wine tasting in Chicago, your keyword “Chicago wine tasting” should appear a few times on the page. 

5. Create Signage to Complement Your Online Campaign

You’re more likely to attract people to your even if you make the signage visually appealing. Having a graphic designer to take care of your event brochures will ensure people will notice.

Check out these brochure templates from Adobe Spark if you want your next event brochure to be top quality.

6. Think About Paid Ads

Those who want to give their event a little extra boost can also consider paid ads. Choose the platform that most resonates with your audience and choose a paid ad option.

Many social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat offer paid ad services. They make it easy for you to target your audience. 

How to Promote an Event: The Bottom Line

Now that you know how to promote an event and grow your audience, it’s time you put those skills to the test. 

Start by creating a multifaceted marketing strategy, optimize your page, create an event hashtag, and partner with other organizers. Try these tips and watch your audience grow. For more great advice, head over to our business section. 

It’s Poppin’ Off! The 5-Minute Guide to Event Marketing

If you’re looking for new ways to reach your customers, you have to think beyond commercials and TV spots. Think experiential marketing, which goes beyond advertising a product.

With experiential marketing, the focus is on delivering unique experiences that engage consumers. A live event that boosts your brand’s fun image, for example, is a great way to do experiential marketing.

But before you hold a concert or a workshop, you need to know the basics of event marketing and promotion. Here, we’ll discuss in detail the things you need to pull off a successful marketing event.

Event Marketing Must-Have: A Plan

You wouldn’t think about launching an online marketing campaign without a plan. The same applies to events. If you want your event to go well, you need to have a plan that details your ideas, strategies, and promotion tactics.

To create your event marketing plan, first, set your goals and budget. And then identify where you will hold the event. Are you going to offer the event online, offline, or both? 

Of course, your plan should also define your target audience and how your event is going to benefit them. Once you’re clear on the why and for whom you’re doing this event for, you can begin refining your plan.

Fine-Tuning Your Plan with the Right Strategies

Your event marketing ideas are no good if you don’t pair them with the right strategies. You know your target audience. But do you know where to find them and how to get them to attend your event? 

And if you try to entice them to check out your event, how will you convince them that yours is better than the ones your competitors offer? What is so awesome about your brand that will make potential customers flock to it? 

You’ll also have to figure out your pricing and sales strategies. Will you give out discounts for those who buy their tickets early? Are you going to give out freebies with every ticket bought? 

Where you’ll sell the tickets and how you’ll handle refunds and complaints should also be part of your overall strategy.

Executing Your Event Marketing Plan

Depending on the scale of your event, you could hold it yourself or work with an industry expert. For example, if you’re staging a concert, you might want to work with a company like King Sixteen, whose expertise involves booking bands. 

It’s also at this stage where you’ll work the marketing channels best suited for promotion before, during, and after the event. Email, social media, digital ads, and a series of blog posts are great options for pre-event marketing.

During the event, you can go for digital signage or print ads. You could also use live videos to stream portions of your event.

Of course, you can’t forget about post-event evaluations, which could mean sending out surveys or newsletters. What you’ll do after the event is just as important. You want to keep your brand fresh in the minds of those who attended and make others curious about checking your future events. 

Ready to Promote Your Event? 

Now that you know the basics of event marketing, you can start drafting your event marketing plan. Make sure to be as detailed as possible with your event promotion ideas and strategies. 

To execute the plan, assign each marketing channel to a member of your marketing team. Or if it’s a big-scale event, think about working with an experienced agency.

For more articles on marketing events, you can check out our posts on marketing/promotion with t-shirts and face-to-face marketing strategies.

Event Blogging for Dummies: How to Start an Event Blog

Billions and billions of people use the internet each day. They use it to connect with others, shop for goods, and obtain knowledge and information. 

That’s an incredible audience that you could be tapping into. If you’ve yet to get into blogging, you’re missing out on one of the biggest money-making platforms of recent years. Blogs are an amazing way to generate traffic and build an audience. 

That’s why event-based blogging has become so popular. If you plan and host events, a blog can be the easiest way to market them and expand your event’s reach.

If you’re new to blogging, this all might sound a little out there. But don’t worry. Read on, and we’ll walk you through a blogging for dummies guide to event blogging. 

The Blogging Basics

So you’ve decided to start a blog. Who can blame you? It’s an easy and ingenious way to spread information and make money. But how do you get started? 

Making a blog doesn’t have to be difficult. You can be up and running within half an hour. You just need to follow a few simple steps.

The first and most essential being: choose a blogging platform.

There are a number of blogging platforms available to you online. You can use whichever catches your fancy. But there’s one that is clear king among them, and that is WordPress. 

WordPress hosts nearly half of all blogs on the internet. As such, it has an incredible amount of plug-ins and customization options. WordPress is the recommended go to for new bloggers because it’s free, easy to set up, and even easier to make your own. 

If you don’t go with WordPress, other sites like Tumblr and Blogger are also very popular. 

All of these blogging platforms offer free-of-charge blogs to anyone and everyone. But you’ll need to make a decision whether you want to be associated with them or branch out and pay for your own domain name.

If you’re hoping to have a blog that feels professional, you’ll probably want to host it yourself and take the “.wordpress.com” out of your URL. Inevitably, it lends an amateurish air to the proceedings. 

If this is your first time launching an event blog, it’s advisable you create your site about two months before the date of your event. This will give you time to build an audience.

Designing Your Event Blog

Once you’re up and running on the logistical side of things, it’ll be time to turn your blog into a place that people would want to visit. 

Most blogging platforms have a huge number of templates available for you to get started with. Time to get creative.

Take a look at the event you’re hosting. Is it a New Year’s bash? A valentine’s fundraiser? 

Whatever the case may be, you need to design your blog’s appearance so it falls in line with the vibe of your event.

If you’ve already started designing things for the event itself, feel free to incorporate these ideas directly into the site. Color schemes, graphics, event signage ideas…anything you have already made is fair game. 

Keep navigation simple as possible. No one likes getting lost on an overcrowded or overstuffed site. 

Keyword Research

Proper keyword use across your blog and posts will help lead web browsers to your site, and therefore, your event. So before you actually start writing posts, it’s time to do a little research. What keywords would direct the most traffic your way? 

This may sound difficult to figure out, but luckily Google has created a keyword tool that can help you get to the bottom of things. Simply, input different words and phrases related to your event and Google will kick back the most SEO-friendly keywords at you. 

You want to choose keywords with the highest search rate possible so that more people have a chance of stumbling upon your site.

The best keywords are usually specific as opposed to broad. Specific keywords help to avoid getting buried under the other sites on the web. They can connect you more directly with an interested audience. 

Implementing Keywords 

Once you’ve chosen the perfect set of keywords, it’s finally time to get blogging. You have a limited time to gain an audience before your event arrives, so you’ll need to be posting quite a bit. And you need to make sure these posts are properly optimized for search engines. 

If you write short blog posts, aim to do at least fifty, if not more. If you write longer blog posts, somewhere in the twenty to thirty range should do. 

When writing your blog posts, make sure to use your keywords in the blog titles and headers. Include them in your page meta descriptions and in captions for any photographs. 

Don’t get too precious about your blog content. You’re going to need to churn out a lot of posts in a little amount of time. So you need to be fast, efficient, and not get lost in the details. 

Spreading the Word 

Once your blog is up and running, it’s up to you to get the word out about it. There are many ways to do this. 

Start by making social media accounts to tie in with your blog. Share your posts and update these accounts frequently. Use the appropriate hashtags and tags that can help these posts reach new audiences. Follow other accounts that may have similar audiences. 

Then, work on creating backlinks to your own site. Backlinks are links that direct to your blog from other websites. They help to increase Google’s ranking of your site and serve to draw new traffic in. 

To help create backlinks, search your keywords and find other blogs of a similar nature to yours. Comment and interact with these blogs and link to yourself if you can. You can also submit your site to various blogging directories to help create more backlink sources. 

Event Blogging for Dummies 

With your blog up and running and backlink clicks rolling in, you are well on your way to event success. The above blogging for dummies guide can help even the most novice of bloggers get started online in no time. 

Need more help promoting your online content? Check out our blog for more.