Top 10 Ways to Set Your Conference Apart from the Others
A conference is a way for many to gather, learn, network, and discuss a particular subject. Annual conferences are held for numerous different industries and businesses. Over the years it can be challenging to continue to stand out amongst the crowd.
A conference is to show the industry what you and your company can provide but it is also about those attending. When setting up a conference you want to make sure the attendees will get as much as they can out of your event so they will continue to attend year after year.
1.Be as organized as possible while, planning and executing your event
This may come off as something everyone knows but throughout planning your event, it may get lost, continue to keep it a top priority for everything you do. The first step to a successful conference is having everything in order. Having your event organized from beginning to end leaves your attendees impressed and stress-free.
One of the easiest ways to stay organized is through technology. Technology is extremely useful when preparing for a conference, especially one that is either virtual or not local to the attendees. Conference registration is the first main aspect to get running for an event to be successful. A conference registration and ticketing software will relieve some of the work from you and your team by managing it for you.
There are many conference registration software’s to choose from that offer unique features and uses.
For example, with Events.org there are many other features besides event registration online that you can utilize to help you, your team, and attendees. Event registration online for guests on Events.org focuses on creating the simplest way for them to register with no sing-ups or excess information added.
This allows attendees to sign up fast and efficiently and does not sway them away from registering for your event by having to make a profile on the site. The conference organizer can customize the conference registration and ticketing page to fit their needs and create a seamless experience for attendees.
2. Create your conference experience hands-on
Although getting a widely known guest speaker can bring many people in, they are not always going to keep them there. Sometimes a smaller intimate experience at a big conference makes all the difference to your attendees.
Focus on other things you can offer to your attendees that will spark their interest. Some things that will create a hands-on experience are workshops, team bonding opportunities, and Q&As with experts on the topic of your conference.
Creating smaller experiences within your conference creates a more comfortable place for your attendees to ask questions and start a conversation. Rather than having hundreds of people listening to one guest speaker and only allowing a limited number of questions. By breaking up attendees into smaller groups where they can be more involved with the speaker, feel like they can ask all their questions, and fully understand what is being talked about to get the most out of their experience.
They will not be leaving the conference thinking they heard an amazing speech but wishing they could have picked the brain of the speaker. They will be leaving knowing they got the most out of their experience.
Having more hands-on experiences will help your attendees gain more knowledge and excitement about both the topic and the conference that you held.
3. Location
The location of a conference is a tough decision. You can choose a city like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles where it is already a populated area. This might allow more people to come to the conference but, it will also create competition for your conference. In big cities, many events are going on that you will have to compete with, and this will cause you extra stress and work to make sure you are promoting your event enough to make it a success in a large city.
Many times, a conference held in a location that the attendee is not completely familiar with leads to the attendee being more immersed in the conference. They are not worried about what is happening outside of the event, they are strictly there for the event and planning to learn as much as they can from it.
Having just the conference to attend makes the guest focus on all things involving your conference, this creates a better environment for everyone involved. Although you are fully confident in your conference, knowing that the attendees are excited to be at your event and not looking forward to other things going on gives you extra confidence as well as your employees and guest speakers.
4. Offsite events
When talking about what an attendee expects from a conference the two main things are, knowledge for themselves or their business and networking. Whether you are having your event in an area well known by an attendee or a new city, having offsite events gives your attendees a break and allows them to enjoy themselves outside of the work atmosphere.
You can only hope attendees will meet people and create plans for before or after your conference themselves but if that is not the case you can create plans for them!
Some offsite events could be a happy hour at a local comedy club or a venue with a live band to unwind.
Local sporting events can be a popular offsite event to many attendees especially if they are in a city new to them. Many people can go to a happy hour in their hometown but not many can always go to a Bulls game or a Celtics game, depending on the city your conference is in.
Breakfast before the conference to get attendees started for the long day of activities you have lined up for them. This can allow attendees to meet beforehand and plan out their days together.
Not every offsite event needs to be extravagant. Creating an environment that is casual but still professional allows for guests to mingle and create friendships outside of business connections.
Planning offsite events can be challenging because you want to plan the right one that is catered to your attendees. One way to get an opinion from those attending before planning an offsite event is by creating a personalized question during the conference registration process on Events.org. This will ensure that you have chosen the right event that you know the attendees will enjoy!
5. Virtual conference package
We did not forget about those of you who prefer virtual events! Today many things are going on in the world that might make someone not feel as comfortable attending a conference in person.
When creating a virtual conference, you need to change many things regarding your event. One thing that will set your virtual conference apart from others is sending a package to the home or office of the attendee. You can easily take the cost of what the venue would have been and use those funds to send out a package that will make your attendees feel as though they are there. There are endless different things that can be incorporated into the package.
A few things that will stimulate being in person at the conference are:
Business cards of all attendees, when event registration online begins you may add a customized question to your Events.org conference page asking if they would like to have their business card sent out in the conference package.
This allows attendees to network as if they would at an in-person conference. If they opt-out of wanting to send a business card, with Events.org their information will also be in the conference directly for networking purposes as well.
Printed out handouts, for many virtual events attendees get sent an email including the conference schedule, any worksheet, or pan flips that would normally be printed and handed out the day of the event. By printing these out rather than sending them all in an email they will be more inclined to read them and makes the attendees feel like they are truly at a conference.
Zoom backdrops, you can still have fun when planning a business conference! Including a backdrop attendees can hang up behind them while attending your virtual conference creates excitement and a fun different detail that not many conference organizers would have paid attention to.
Many will feel prompted to take photos in front of it and post them online. This will help promote your conference and business even more. It also adds room for an advertisement by adding a logo or something you would like to promote onto it.
6. Theme
A theme adds a lot to any event, especially a conference where typically a theme is something that is left out. Conferences can sometimes get stuck in the feeling of needing to stay completely professional and stick to the business. A theme lets your guests know you are invested in running a knowledgeable successful conference but also in creating a fun environment for your attendees to enjoy.
A theme can be something as simple as creating your Tennessee-located conference southern theme to fit the location you are in. You can make it any theme you want, not always focusing on the location. If it is being held in Chicago in the middle of winter do a tropical theme to try to convince your attendees, that they have left the artic chill for the day.
Having a theme can add a lot, it can be incorporated into every aspect of your conference. You can customize the conference registration page to make it feel and look tropical with the colors, photos, and word choices you choose. Adding décor and creative titles to your workshops and speakers’ rooms can be an easy way to involve the theme in your conference.
7. Food and Beverage
Although the attendees are here to learn and network, we have been talking about making sure our attendees are getting the most out of coming, including what they are eating and drinking.
When picking the right food for an event it can be difficult to please everyone’s food preferences and allergies but having multiple options can ease that struggle. Keep in mind gluten and dairy-free attendees, as well as vegan or vegetarians. Adding the basics like water and cracks is what is expected but going the extra mile will make your guests pleasantly surprised.
When going to a conference most people don’t expect much from the food. Adding a coffee cart or juice bar with “brain food” for a snack to keep them engaged and awake throughout the day helps a lot more than water and a bag of chips. A fun way to give your attendee a break and fuel them up for the rest of the day is having food trucks outside, it allows them to get fresh air and a change of scenery.
8. Unique Venue
We have talked about how important the location of the event is when regarding the city or state it is being held in but as far as picking a venue that is also a very important part of your conference. It is one of the first things an attendee can judge your event for besides the conference registration page and summary. Choosing the right one will create a great first impression.
Not every conference needs to be held in a hotel or a conference hall, for example, a museum is a great way to add a different feel to your conference. Using venue platforms to find different venues is a great resource and connects you with venues across the world leaving you endless options when choosing both location and venues.
If a venue is not easy to navigate it can cause stress to attendees when they are trying to find different workshops they would like to attend. As you know during a conference a timeline is very important and sticking to it keeps your conference on track so when attendees cannot find the room their workshop is being held in it can cause them to miss out on what they want to see for that day. So, keep in mind when picking a venue that all the workspaces are easy to find and somewhat close to each other so your guests can move from room to room with ease.
9. Tools
Having the correct tools provided at your conference for presenters as well as attendees creates a seamless conference. When attending a conference many things go into it on the attendee’s side. Traveling is almost inevitable for them and sometimes they do not have the means to bring all supplies needed or can forget important things while traveling.
Greeting attendees with the tools they need for the conference is a great first impression and welcoming them into the conference. A tool can be something as simple as a pencil and notebook to a tablet or laptop that can be rented for the duration of the conference.
Providing the correct tools for attendees makes sure everything that you have planned for your event can be utilized and accessed by them to the full extent.
10. Follow-up
The last step to executing a conference that will set you apart from others is to continue to show that you care about your attendees and communicate with them. Asking for feedback is another great reason to send a follow-up to all that attended.
Just because the conference is over and went off as a success in your eyes does not mean every single attendee felt the same. You may not be able to do anything about it currently but now you are informed and able to steer clear of mistakes for your future events.
A follow-up can be sent in any form, but an email will be most efficient. This can be simple, it’s just to show you care, a thank you message showing your graduate and excitement that they had attended your conference is all you need. A simple way to get feedback on your event is to add an anonymous survey attached, this is a great way to get honest feedback on your conference.
Many things can be done to set your conference apart from others, nothing is too different or out of the ordinary to try for your next conference. Attendees are always looking forward to seeing innovative ideas in action at a conference that will heighten their experience.
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