A successful conference depends on the organizers’ proper arrangement and the Conference plan attendees’ engagement. There’s a planning required to arrange any sort of conference. Planning and execution are the two things that matter here the most.
Building a conference means the execution of your conference plan. The execution includes the event agenda, speakers’ reputation, proper use of technology, arrangement for food and drinks, implementation of adequate security, and so on.
Meanwhile, time management on the conference day is one of the key issues the organizers should emphasize. Without proper time management, all the planning will go in vain.
In this blog, we will share the secrets of how to build a successful conference. Alongside, we’ll go through the things to consider while executing the master plan. Also, don’t forget to take feedback from the attendees as a post-conference activity.
Why Planning for A Successful Conference?
Without proper planning, even a great idea can never see the light of success. So, if you ever think of building a successful conference without planning, it will be a big mistake.
Meanwhile, defining the conference description and implementing it on the stage on the day of the conference are two co-related things. Without execution, the planning remains miles away from success.
That is why, it’s better to decide the success of the conference depending upon four stages.
- Planning for a successful conference
- Execution matters the most for the success of a conference
- Online marketing and sharing of the conference
- Post-conference events and feedback.
How to Plan for A Successful Conference?
Proper planning is the first step to building a successful conference. Without planning, you can’t take the first big step to run the conference. Therefore, experts often claim planning to be the backbone of any successful conference.
The planning includes the following stages.
Selection of A Suitable Venue
Selecting the most appropriate venue is the first big step for successful conference planning, ensuring a memorable experience. The location should be somewhere where your targeted attendees can find convenient to reach. Here are the things you should keep in mind while selecting a venue.
- Have ample space for the attendees.
- No crowd gathering or program is scheduled nearby on the same date.
- Hotels and restaurants near the venue for accommodation and food for attendees coming from a distance.
- Availability of necessary technical facilities.
- Having a parking slot is a must for the venue.
Last but not least, you should select the venue depending on the number of attendees.
Reaching the Appropriate Audiences
As the organizer, you must decide the goal and the target audience for the conference. Thus, you can run the marketing program for your target audiences.
- Sending dedicated e-mails to the target attendees is the best way to let them know about your arrangement.
- Paid promotion is a good initiative to reach the appropriate attendees.
- Attractive promotions can create interest among the possible attendees.
The participation of the maximum number of targeted audiences enhances the chances of a successful conference.
Attractive and Easy Registration Method
The easier the registration method is, the more interested the audience will feel in participating in the conference. Here are a few things you can do for the registration.
- Interesting promotions and advertisements will attract the participants.
- Create a nice and easily accessible registration website.
- Make the registration process convenient for every user.
- Provide discounts for those, who register early for the conference.
- At least two sections in the registration except “early birds”, normal tickets, and premium tickets.
Also, the registration fee shouldn’t be sky-high, which might confuse the possible attendees regarding participation.
Proper Budgeting Defines the Success of The Conference
The planning remains incomplete until you estimate the budget to arrange the entire program. As an organizer, you must decide whether it’s a budget-friendly or a high-end program.
There are a few things that define the budget of the conference.
- The number of expected attendees.
- How large the selected venue is.
- Cost for the speakers.
- Paid promotion expenditure.
- Security-related expenses.
- Cost for the arrangement of food and drinks for the attendees.
- Other costs in the hall room include microphones, speakers, decoration, and so on.
After defining the budget, you’re ready to get started with the arrangement of the conference.
Line Up Your Speakers by Reputation
Selecting the right speakers is a crucial part of the program. They are the ones who’ll keep the attendees engaged in the conference. So, before selecting the speakers, the organizers must go through their reputations and then line up accordingly.
Here are the top 7 characteristics of a good speaker.
A Knowledgeable Speaker
Having vast knowledge of the conference theme is the key to connecting with your audiences. Also, know the demands of your audience and what they want to hear from you. A keynote speaker should also present the event objectives through the opening statement.
Ability to Connect With the Audience
A measure of any speaker’s level, you should check out his ability to connect with the audience. The better communication skills he/she possesses, the better connection building is possible. Asking the participants simple questions relevant to the topic is a good way to connect.
Show Your Confidence in Every Situation
As a speaker, you should know what you’re saying. Confused speakers are never confident regarding their presentations. Confidence building requires two things, having enough knowledge about the topic and experience in attending conferences.
Sense of Humor
Attendees expect the speakers to deliver their speeches in an interesting way that enables an easy understanding. Moreover, sharing a couple of funny things relevant to the topic removes the boredom.
An Experienced One in Attending Conferences
Reputed organizers look for speakers with enough experience to attract more attendees. Speakers with a good track record are always a boost to your event. Many expected attendees will have an increased interest after seeing the popular speakers’ names on the speakers list.
Ability to Maintain Content Relevancy
The attendees have registered for your event to learn new visions, ideas, and ways for advancement in their professional careers. Therefore, speakers must focus on this during their speeches. Unless it can create a huge bad impression.
Strong Voice
The speaker must have a strong and clear voice to the last row of attendees with ease. If any attendee can’t understand what the speaker is saying, the motif of the presentation remains incomplete.
Execution Matters for the Success of a Conference
Is it so easy to execute your plan properly? No, it is not, and that’s why you need to move step by step to give a concrete shape to your planning successfully.
As an organizer, you should know planning an effective conference remains worthless without proper execution. The execution includes the following stages.
Checking Attendees’ Registration Before Allowing Them in
The conference is specified for a certain amount of people. Therefore, someone entering without registration is regarded as an intruder. To confirm whether they have registered for the program or not, there should be at least two responsible persons to check their online registration tickets.
- Check the registration before allowing entries.
- Keep digital attendance report.
- Receive the attendees cordially.
The digital attendance report makes it convenient for the organizers to know who has already reached the conference premises and who is remaining. Doing the same thing manually turns out a bit tiresome task.
Conference Materials and Equipment
Before starting the event and welcoming the attendees, make sure that all the conference materials and equipment are available in the room. Moreover, make sure, there is no hidden cost applicable. Recheck the microphone, speaker, lighting, tablecloths, and seats for the guests and attendees, the multimedia, and so on before you are ready to begin the show.
Technology Is an Integral Part
Indeed, technology is an integral part of the success of a modern conference. From the registration process, promotion, managing the program, and post-program events, everything requires technical support.
- The promotion of the program requires widespread reach. So, there is no alternative to having social media and technical support.
- Even the free promotions need technical support.
- The entire registration process is interrelated to technology. It begins with the registration, paying the registration fees, receiving the confirmation, collecting tickets, and confirmation of attendance.
- You can share the conference on social media to reach a huge audience.
- Upload the presentations on the company website and social platforms.
Welcome Speech to Approach the Attendees
A warm welcome to the attendees and providing them with a clear idea about the program’s schedule is the best way to approach all the attendees. The speaker who will provide a brief description of the program should be spontaneous and confident.
- The entrance must give the vibe of the topic of the conference.
- Welcome the attendees by addressing them.
- Provide a brief description of the program.
- Welcome the guest and the experts with a round of applause.
Meanwhile, all these things require confidence in the face of the anchor. His/ her ability to connect with a huge number of crowd can make the program a successful one.
A Management Team to Conduct the Event
A team of responsible people is necessary to run the program smoothly and accordingly. According to the effective conference plan, the team members will work together. They will have a pre-planning on how to maintain the program’s sequence.
The management team will have a team leader, who will guide the other members throughout the event. Members of the team will be given specific responsibilities to work on.
Meanwhile, all of them must be accountable for their deeds and this will let them focus on their work more.
Time Management is Crucial
Without proper scheduling for the events, the attendees might get confused regarding what’s coming next or what events are included in the conference. Therefore, you can go through the following steps for proper time management.
- Choose the most appropriate time to start the program.
- Reveal all the events of the program to the attendees.
- Use a background on the stage to showcase the events covered in the conference.
The active participation of the attendees is only possible when they are aware of all the events. As the conference’s purpose is to ensure the active participation of the attendees, one should put maximum emphasis on time management.
Provide Program-Related Accessories to the Attendees
Before officially starting the program, the authority should hand over basic accessories necessary for the attendees to showcase their ideas or any sort of innovation. Moreover, the attendees will receive a bag, a notepad, a program guide, and a pen from the organizers.
Ensure the Engagement of the Attendees
The best thing about a conference is to create the opportunity to talk with experts in different fields. Arrange panel discussions and interactive sessions, so the collaboration between the experts and attendees happens.
Moreover, the speakers must try to interact with the participants to create an interactive environment. For this, instructions should be given to the speakers even before the program starts.
Also, the attendees must respond to the speakers and ask any queries they have without any hesitation. Furthermore, showcasing any of their ideas with the experts is a way to increase engagement.
Snacks and Beverages for the Attendees
Being hungry or thirsty, it’s impossible to enjoy or participate in any activity, regardless of how engaging it is. Therefore, the organizer should keep in mind that there should be a segment or a little break where snacks and drinks will be served to the attendees.
Avoid Any Security Issue
One of the challenging tasks to ensure the success of any conference is to maintain security. While choosing the venue, you must check if there is any security issue or not.
- Impose active forces to keep a close eye on every corner of the conference.
- Security cameras are crucial for extra safety.
- Security guards must be there on the entry and exit.
To maintain a calm and peaceful environment throughout the program, there is no alternative to maintaining tight security.
Online Marketing and Sharing of the Conference
To spread the conference beyond the venue premises, there is no better way than sharing the presentations on social platforms. Except for this, to reach the target audiences, the best way is to promote the conference through social media.
Online marketing and sharing include the following stages.
Social Media for Promotion of The Conference (Conference Description)
Create an engaging description of the conference by one of your experts in your company. Use this description to run promotions on social platforms. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are some of the best platforms to let you reach your target audience conveniently.
Both Paid and Free Promotion
Paid and free are two promotion methods available for promoting your conference. Which one would you like to go for?
Free Promotions:
- Write informative and public-engaging content promoting your conference to reach the intended audience.
- Use hashtags using the conference title for enhanced reach.
- Also, creating short videos telling the audience why registering for your conference is worth it.
Paid Promotions:
- Sending personalized E-mails is the best way to reach the targeted audiences.
- Create engaging paid ads on social platforms to reach the people who have shown interest in the same topic as your conference motif.
Running both free and paid promotions can work better to get the target audience quickly.
Share the Program on Social Platforms for Mass Reach
Won’t it be great if you can live stream the entire program on social media? Most of the time, the organizers seem careless about this, but it’s indeed a great idea to reach more and more people virtually.
You can do a few things for this.
- Share glimpses from the event through photos and short videos.
- Share behind the scenes on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
- Upload the best presentations from an event on your website.
- Keep your followers informed about the upcoming events.
All in all, social media platforms are blessings for any organization to increase its reach.
Upload the Presentations and Crucial Segments to Social Media
Suppose, someone visits your website to register for the next conference. But that person becomes a bit confused regarding the ticket purchase. At that moment, he/ she found one of the videos from the previous conference and felt interested.
So, it simply appears helpful to upload presentations on the website, doesn’t it?
- Upload the best presentations of any conference immediately on the website.
- Share the uploaded presentations on various social media platforms.
- Include the schedule of the upcoming conferences on the website and social sites.
You must have the website of your company, right? So, why not upload the best presentations and crucial segments of a conference in there? It’s a good way to offer your visitors to take a look back at the previous events.
Post-Conference Events and Feedback
You’ve done your homework regarding the preparation for the conference and the execution was perfect as well. Now, it’s time to end the program on a good note as well. Rewarding the attendees for their excellent presentation, receiving feedback regarding the program, and creating memories through a photo session are some of the things you can do for a perfect ending.
Collect Feedback from the Attendees
To do better in the upcoming conferences, it’s necessary to collect feedback from the participants of the current conference. The motif is to get real feedback about whatever they experienced, good or bad throughout the event.
You can collect the feedback in two ways:
- Provide a note physically on the premises of the conference and let them express their experience.
- Invite them to visit your website and submit their opinions and suggestions regarding the arrangement.
Both these ways are useful, but the physical one serves a little bit better compared to the virtual one in most cases.
Photo Session for Collecting Memories
To enrich your website and social media pages, you can post glimpses from the conferences regularly. Posting images and videos from a conference does a couple of things.
- Leaves the memory of the participants on social media platforms and websites.
- Keeps the social media and website up to date for the visitors.
Even, it’s a good way to increase engagement in your posts and pages, which may increase the number of participants in your next conference as well.
Rewards for Excellence to the Attendees
The last and most interesting thing you can do as an organizer is to hand over rewards to the attendees, who have proven their excellence in their respective fields through their presentations and innovations.
You can provide a certificate to the excellent participants and also wish them good luck. It works as an inspiration to the attendees, and they might get an opportunity to collaborate with industry experts sometime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any other questions remaining related to the successful conference? If you have, there are no worries as this section will serve to resolve your issues.
What Are the 4 Features of a Successful Conference?
Four features of a conference are the method of measuring whether it is a successful one or not. No matter what the organizers are looking forward to achieving from the arrangement, they must go on following the four features.
These four features are –
- Choose a secure venue that can accommodate the expected attendees, which has to be easily accessible.
- Arrangement of interactive sessions, panel discussions, and workshops for learning expertise, insights, and skills.
- Having a technically sound event is mandatory.
- Keep your attendees comfortable and energized by serving food & beverages during the break.
How to Manage a Conference?
To manage a conference, the first thing you need is to have a management team that will work from making the event’s outline to giving it a concrete shape. The benefit of having a team is that the responsibilities are distributed.
Therefore, members with expertise in similar fields can work together to kindle the spark of success. Also, different people with different opinions can generate better ideas, which can be helpful for the arrangement.
Meanwhile, the second thing is a project management tool. It helps everyone to keep track of the work progress. Moreover, members will be accountable for any mistake in their field.
Also, communication becomes more convenient due to the use of the management tool to manage the conference.
What is a Conference Layout?
Conference layout means the layout of the chairs and tables in the conference room. The layout can be different depending on the type of the conference.
Here is a list of some common layouts found in a conference room.
- Lecture style layout, which is perfect for large conferences
- The boardroom-style layout is perfect for interactive sessions
- Box style or U-shape style is ideal for small events inside the company
- A banquet-style layout is often used for networking-type events
- Classroom style is another type of lecture-style layout but has tables in front of the attendees
- The huddle-style layout is perfect for unofficial or informal discussions.
What Happens in A Business Conference?
A business conference is a meeting place for industry leaders, professionals, business enthusiasts, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Here the attendees have a common goal of showcasing their innovative thoughts and papers.
Moreover, sharing innovative ideas can provide them with opportunities to collaborate with industry professionals for their professional and personal development.
Meanwhile, a successful arrangement increases the brand value of a company as an organizer. Moreover, sponsorship can earn them a better reputation which is a great step for the upcoming event.
Final Thoughts
One can’t expect to build a successful conference without the engagement of the speakers and the attendees. However, the attendees might not benefit from the arrangement if the planning is not great. Again, the planning becomes worthless when the execution is faulty.
So, forming a team of a few active members, who will work together to give the plan a concrete shape, is a must for building a successful conference.
The team will select an appropriate venue, arrange ideal speakers, make a proper schedule, ensure the presence of a maximum number of attendees, and impose high security. Thus, it’s possible to build a successful conference.
