Running a successful business event takes careful planning and preparation, plus a large sprinkle of creativity. From finding the perfect venue to building the guest list and following up leads after the event, there is much to consider. We’ve put together some of our favourite tips to help your event run smoothly.

State your aim

Events can help your business in all sorts of ways:

• Generate new leads
• Convey your brand message
• Educate your audience
• Retain existing clients
• Generate content

You could be looking to achieve more than one of these points, but make sure both your staff and your audience are clear on your purpose to maximise your success.

Make a clear plan

This will help you keep track of all costs, and also enable you to delegate tasks more easily. 

Delegate

Don’t feel that you have to be responsible for everything. As a small business owner, keeping the business running smoothly should be your main concern. Check your plan of everything that needs doing and you’ll be surprised how many aspects of your event can be delegated to others. Just be sure to delegate smartly – if your team aren’t equipped with the time or skills to organise the event then this isn’t the time to learn on the job. Outsource to someone who you trust to make the event a success. This could be specifics such as venue booking or catering, or you could engage someone to organise the whole thing.

Communicate

Events usually involve many different suppliers as well as your own staff members, so constant communication is the key to success. Check in regularly with all parties, even if nothing is happening at that point, to make sure you’ve got everything covered and provide opportunities to raise any issues. This doesn’t have to be complex – a simple email will suffice.

Choose the perfect venue

This will be key so allow enough time to find the right space to meet your needs, and size does matter. If in doubt, it’s always better to go too large than too small. If you can find a venue that links with the theme of your event then that would be perfect.

You’ll want your guests to share your event on social media so consider how it’s going to look in their posts. How does the lighting look? Could you incorporate a branded backdrop somewhere? Is there an obvious space if they want to record video? 

Free wi-fi

If you can offer free wi-fi you’ll be helping your guests share updates and images from your event to their social channels. You’ll also look like a generous host and any speakers working with large files will appreciate it!

Food and drink 

A few limp cheese sandwiches aren’t going to make it on to anyone’s feed. Give your guests a range of Insta-worthy treats and encourage them to share with their followers. These don’t need to be gourmet or cost the earth, it’s all about presentation.

Speakers

When selecting guest speakers, think about who you know that has a great social media presence as well as the obvious professional credentials. You’ll gain exposure to their audience as well as your own. You could also line up a panel discussion to boost interest in your event. It doesn’t need to be Question Time – just two or more guests discussing a relevant topic will work, and you’ll improve audience engagement by taking questions from the floor at the end. 

Ticket pricing

Free events have a higher number of no-shows, so consider whether you could charge even just a nominal fee for the experience and expertise you’re offering. If you’re promoting your event through Facebook, you can sell tickets directly using their link with Eventbrite.

Promote your event

You’ll want to make sure you have the right guests on your list to help your event succeed and deliver relevant exposure on social media and blogs. If there are a few key influencers in your local area then you might wish to get them on board early with a VIP invitation, so they can use their reach to help your event gain early momentum.

In terms of reaching your potential guests, a recent survey of more than 800 event professionals revealed that email marketing is the most used and most effective promotion tactic. And compared to most promotional tools, it’s inexpensive and cost-effective. But avoid generic invitations – varying your message to target each segment individually will maximise your chances of success. According to Eventbrite, targeted emails can improve conversion by 355%. Tools such as Mailchimp make this easy for you.

In terms of social media promotion, Facebook ads and social media contests were shown to be the most effective. Consider giving away free tickets, VIP upgrades or relevant products to get your event noticed.

Follow-up

Events give you a fantastic opportunity to follow up with key guests, as well as engaging with them on the day. A defined follow-up plan, with deadlines, will ensure that you maximise the potential from each contact.

We hope your event goes smoothly, and are happy to help with any questions you might have along the way!