This makes it difficult for event organizers and marketers to use a one-size-fits-all approach to engaging diverse audiences. Strategies that work with Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers simply won’t be compelling for Generation Z. Fortunately, there’s an answer to this problem!

Amenah Rizwan is the founder of Picnics Toronto, a company that specializes in micro and experiential events for younger generations. In other words, she’s the perfect person to talk to about engaging Gen Zers at your in-person, virtual, and/or hybrid gatherings.

Some of the strategies Amenah shares in this article include:

• Sending personalized invitations
• Using eye-catching aesthetics
• Meeting attendees where they are
• Daring to have a little fun with your events
• Taking a non-traditional approach from time to time
• Leveraging social media platforms the right way

6 Strategies to Engage Younger Audiences in 2024

How do you appeal to younger generations? Plenty of association and corporate event planners have asked themselves this exact question in recent years. The good news: it’s really not that difficult.

The six tactics below will help you reach Gen Z in productive ways—without forcing you to completely redesign your entire event experience. Even better, they come from an event planner who specializes in helping her clients engage a young demographic at their events.

Let’s take a look!

1. Personalize Your Invitations

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; personalization is essential.

When it comes to live events, personalization can help create buzz around your gatherings and engage attendees even better during keynote speeches and breakout sessions.

“We generally try to really create a lot of buzz and we do it by focusing on personalization.“

-Amenah R.

In fact, personalization is a key component of Amenah’s event strategy—and it all starts with the custom invitations she sends to every person on her guest list.

“We will send [attendees] personal invitations, very aesthetic invitations, so they feel like they’re not just getting invited to just another event. It feels a little bit more tailored and personalized to them, and that’s one of the ways we really strive to create that.”

-Amenah R.

There are many ways to personalize an invitation. Obviously, you can address each attendee by name. But you can also design your invites in a way that connects with your target audience.

Who is your event for? What do these people care about? And how can you incorporate these things into your invitation emails? These are the kinds of questions you should ask yourself.

Of course, personalized invites aren’t the only way to appeal to younger generations. You can also make sure your events look good. Let’s talk more about that…

2. Use Eye-Catching Aesthetics

Put yourself in Gen Z’s shoes.

They’ve grown up with the internet. Social media is their preferred form of entertainment. And influencers are more revered by them than most Hollywood celebrities.

Younger generations are also inundated with content. As such, they tend to gravitate towards things that look good. Put another way, they like content that has a pleasing aesthetic.

“I think aesthetics is incredibly important for Gen Z. They’re a very aesthetically-conscious generation because they’ve grown up in a digital age.”

-Amenah R.

When Amenah plans an event, she pays special attention to the imagery her team creates. Her invitations, venues, decorations—even the merchandise—all work together to create a cohesive experience that speaks to Gen Z’s well-cultivated visual tastes.

“Aesthetics is very important to Gen Z… It really makes them feel like it’s more than just another corporate event. It’s something tailored to them.”

-Amenah R.

3. Meet Attendees Where They Are

Contrary to popular belief, Gen Z wants to engage with your events. You just have to plan content and activities that feel relevant to their interests and stage of life.

“We’ll look at what their interests are, what their hobbies are, what type of little engaging activities we can do.”

-Amenah R.

Amenah has found a variety of effective ways to do this. For example, she’s booked specific venues that Gen Zers will deem social media-worthy. Or made sure Daydream and Sapsucker beverages were available. Or planned in-person bingo activations that make it fun for event attendees to network with one another.

According to Amenah, your event merchandise can be used to engage event attendees, too. The key is creating merchandise that Gen Zers actually want to wear—even after the event is over.

“And then for Gen Z, they have no problem wearing [merchandise] they just want it to integrate a little more into what they would regularly wear. So if we have an event… We would have merchandise in neutral colors that go along with the brand that they could wear regularly outside of the event and outside of the workplace as well.“

-Amenah R

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Have Fun

Even the most serious attendees, regardless of their age, see events as a break from their day-to-day work. This is particularly true for Gen Z. 

“It’s essentially just being okay with having a little bit of fun. You can still have a very professional event, but still showcase a little bit of your fun side.”

-Amenah R.

Gen Z wants to learn, network, and have a great time at the events they attend. The question is, how do you host a professional gathering that adequately entertains your younger guests? To achieve this, Amenah encourages her clients to look to pop culture for inspiration.

Speaking of which…

5. Take a Non-Traditional Approach

Older generations often treat Gen Zers like aliens. The truth is, they’re not that different from Millennials and Gen Xers. They simply grew up in a radically different environment.

“I think the gap, it’s not honestly too big to bridge. It’s just essentially creating space for Gen Z as well… So it’s not necessarily very different.”

-Amenah R.

According to Amenah, one of the best ways to connect with younger generations is to step away from traditional venues. Why host your next meeting in a hotel conference center when you could host it at a lakeside retreat center? The second option will be much more appealing to your younger attendees.

“We’ve arranged beach days or outdoor movie nights for even senior and C-suite level staff, and they’ve always had a great time.”

-Amenah R.

Now, you don’t have to abandon everything you’ve ever learned about event management to appease Gen Z. Small gestures go a long way. For example, you can host your event at a traditional venue. But try to set up a unique outdoor space that lends itself to content creation for your younger attendees.

Or, go ahead and work with your favorite caterer for your next event. However, purchase trendy beverages that Gen Zers will want to post about on TikTok.

“You can keep the traditional, but then you can also just add in little pockets being able to step outside of the box.”

-Amenah R.

6. Leverage Social Media Effectively

Finally, to appeal to a younger generation, you have to ace your social media game.

Gen Zers spend a lot of time on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. If you want them to attend your event, you need to create content for these platforms. Just do it the right way.

“Leverage social media and, just like I was saying, leverage it in a fun way.”

-Amenah R.

The content you create for social media should be fun to engage with. That way, when a younger person in your target audience sees a post about your upcoming conference, they think to themselves, “Hey, that seems pretty cool. I’d love to buy a ticket to their next event!“

According to Amenah, Duolingo is one of the best brands on social media right now. Why is that? Because they create awesome social content that elevates their live events.

“Look at Duolingo, look at how insane they’ve blown up over the past couple of years. And they’ve also maintained that growth with how they create for their social media perspective. It’s not so they’re informing their audience of what they’re doing. They’re just resonating with their audience and getting them to want to participate in their events.”

-Amenah R.

Wrapping Up

You can appeal to younger generations with your events. You just have to think outside the box and adopt new strategies. After reading this article, you have a leg up in that regard.

Here’s another idea you can use to connect with Gen Z attendees: use a fully customizable Event App.

The EventMobi Mobile Event App is loaded with features you can use to keep attendees informed and engaged during your next event. It’s also easy to create a totally unique and eye-catching design that will differentiate your events from the competition. Oh, and it’s extremely user-friendly—which means your Millenial, Gen X, and Boomer attendees won’t have any issues using it, either!

To learn more about EventMobi, sign up for a free demo!

Book a Demo

The post Tips from the Trenches: 6 Ideas to Make Your Events Appeal to Gen Z  appeared first on EventMobi.

But what if you’re looking for something different? You’re in luck!

Karen Hill is the Director of Meetings and Events & Engagement at Barcami Lane, an Association Management Company (AMC) that works with national and regional nonprofit associations. She recently spoke at EventMobi’s ‘The New Rules of Engagement’ webinar, where she shared numerous audience engagement strategies—each tried and tested over her 19 years of experience delivering engaging association events.

Some of the insights Karen shared include:

• Leveraging your event’s location to amp up the fun
• Sourcing inspiration from diverse voices as you design your program
• Adding mystery and intrigue to build anticipation

Keep reading to learn three new event engagement tactics that actually work!

3 Unique Ways to Increase Audience Engagement

You want to increase engagement levels at your next event. But you’ve already exhausted your usual tactics. Karen has a few outside-the-box ideas for you:

1. Pick the Right Location

Any real estate tycoon will tell you, it’s all about location, location, location.

Well, location matters when it comes to event engagement as well. The right city and/or venue can surprise and delight your audience. Take inspiration from your host city’s unique locations, scenery, and landmarks to create more engaging and memorable experiences.

Karen recently helped plan the annual conference for the Association of Academic Surgical Administrators, which was held in Boston. This was a new city for many of the attendees.

“I think one of the things was a lot of them had never been to the city—or if they were in the city, they were just stuck in a meeting room…. This was just the opportunity to almost push them, go out, go see the city, team up with other attendees, and just explore.”

-Karen Hill

Karen and her team used the city to their advantage, planning fun activities for attendees that encouraged them to explore their surroundings.

You can do something similar. Take a page out of Karen’s book and plan a city-wide scavenger hunt for your audience (more on this below). Or take a small-scale approach and use your pre-event communications to highlight unusual facts about the location where your next industry conference will take place.

If you’re lucky enough to have your host city’s Destination Management Company (DMC) as an event sponsor, you could collaborate to ensure your attendees experience exclusive locations or activities highlighting the city’s most unique and exciting aspects.

Any of these approaches will give your attendees something special to get excited about.

“We presented a list of 10 different items throughout the city of Boston… We had to get them to go out, explore, try new things, new foods. We would have them actually upload them in the app and then we get all their photos immediately… So we cut out social media completely and just focused on having people engage more in the app and share their experiences.”

-Karen Hill

As an added bonus, the scavenger hunt required attendees to upload photos of their progress to the Activity Feed in the event’s mobile app. This was a great way for participants to break the ice and make new connections with other attendees.

To participate, attendees had to log in to the app, which was a win-win scenario for Karen because it guaranteed attendees could also access all the event information, content, and engagement features that would help them make the most of the annual conference.

2. Listen to Diverse Voices

To ensure her events offer real value to all attendees, Karen taps into her volunteer base. This enables her to source inspiration from diverse people representing the event’s target audience. 

A group of committed volunteers can help you handle administrative tasks, raise funds for future events, and market and deliver your association’s next gathering. They can also be a rich source of information about their own demographic. Since your most engaged members are likely to be your volunteers, gather their insights into what activities will be most compelling to people like them who may be considering joining your association—or exciting to existing members.

“So we work with a committee to come up with and brainstorm different ideas to help new members or first-time attendees engage with each other and also get out and enjoy the city that they’re in.”

-Karen Hill

The question is, how do you connect with and recruit volunteers? First, ensure the people in your association know the benefits of volunteering. For example, they’ll be able to make a difference in their industry, connect with other professionals, and develop new skills. In certain situations, they may be able to enhance their resumes, too. Plus, it will be a ton of fun!

Second, supercharge the recruitment process. A simple way to make it happen is to streamline the application process. The easier it is for people to apply, the more volunteers you’ll get.

Also, make sure to define each volunteer’s responsibilities. What do you expect of them? Total clarity in this regard will help keep everyone on the same page.

Next, promote your volunteer opportunities across your association’s website, your event’s registration website, community app, and social media channels. Explain the benefits of volunteering, highlight the fun, and include your events’ hashtags in your social posts to drive registrations. 

Finally, consider rewarding your volunteers for their efforts. What can you offer them? Potential options include hands-on training, industry-wide recognition, and networking opportunities.

3. Add Mystery and Intrigue

There are two ways to drive excitement before your event: tell them exactly what you have planned with your activities and hope they get excited. Or, keep key information under wraps so the element of mystery builds a new level of anticipation. Karen took the latter approach.

“We didn’t release any information about the actual photo scavenger hunt until the day of… We wanted to make it exciting—like this is what you have coming up.”

-Karen Hill

We know what you’re thinking, “Did this approach actually work?” Absolutely!

The scavenger hunt was designed to encourage networking and direct attendees to must-see spots in the city. Instead of providing a list of recommendations in advance—a more common approach—Karen ensured attendees had dedicated time and a great reason to get out there and see them.

“We saw an increase in engagement and people downloading the app and getting involved… They’re actually looking for recommendations on what place to go to get the cannoli or get something, some chowder or something else. So it went well.”

-Karen Hill

A scavenger hunt might not work at every event. Rather than copying Karen’s exact playbook,  you can use mystery and intrigue to increase engagement with just about any fun activity you have planned for your attendees.

Elevate Audience Engagement With a Proven Event Platform

There are many different ways to engage your attendees. Thanks to Karen Hill, you now have a few more unique strategies to help capture their attention.

Want an additional tip? Invest in a proven Event Platform to keep your audience engaged and excited during your events—as well as in the weeks or months between gatherings.

Your association can use EventMobi to manage events, host content, build an engaged community, and communicate with members year-round. A single platform where your members can log on to register and attend events, learn, and network throughout the year and across events.

To learn more about EventMobi and see how the event platform can help you engage your members at and in between events, sign up for a free demo!

Book a Demo

The post Tips from the Trenches: 3 Outside-the-Box Engagement Strategies for Your Next Event  appeared first on EventMobi.

With nearly 3 in 5 employees reporting negative impacts of work-related stress, event planners such as yourself need to take ownership of their mental health and seek out stress relief strategies that work for them.

That’s what this guide is for! Here, we’ll cover the top stress relief strategies. With them in mind, you’ll be able to confidently manage your mental health and ensure that you can handle your day-to-day responsibilities.

Why Is Stress Relief Important for Event Staff?

Before we explore the strategies, let’s take a closer look at why stress relief is so important for event planners and other event staff. According to Swaim Strategies, planning an event requires many steps, such as determining your event’s purpose, setting event goals, establishing your budget, deciding on event details, promoting the event, and following up with attendees afterward.

As an event planner yourself, you know that these steps can each be broken down into dozens of smaller tasks, resulting in a great deal of work on your plate. Aside from the workload, there are many other stressors that you may encounter, such as communication issues, meeting client expectations, tight deadlines, long hours, and more. In fact, event planning is considered the sixth most stressful job.

As stress builds up, it leads to several negative effects, including reduced motivation and job satisfaction, physical and mental health problems, low productivity, increased absenteeism, and interpersonal conflicts. All these effects can create a vicious cycle that results in lowered productivity and even more stress, eventually leading to burnout.

3 Stress Relief Strategies for Event Planners & Staff

You know that event planning is hard work. Because of that, you need to take stress management into your own hands and implement practices that will work for your unique needs. Consider the following three stress relief strategies and how they might help you become a more fulfilled and less stressed event planner.

1. Prioritizing Time Management

When you have a mountain of tasks to complete, it’s natural that you might not finish all of them within a single workday. That’s totally okay—as long as you’re making the most of your time at work with effective time management skills.

Here are a few ways you can better manage your time at work:

• Choose a daily priority. Every day, identify your most important or most time-sensitive task. Commit to completing this task before your workday ends to ensure you stay on top of your responsibilities. This strategy will allow you to approach your work more mindfully.
• Break big tasks into small ones. When faced with a large, daunting task, some professionals will feel overwhelmed, increasing their stress levels. To combat that, break any large task into its smaller parts. For instance, if you need to book a caterer for your next event, you can break the task into researching and identifying five top choices and requesting a consultation or quote from each.
• Choose a time management system. You may benefit from having a dedicated time management system. For example, you might consider time-blocking, where you dedicate certain “blocks” of time to focus on certain tasks without allowing other tasks to distract you. This might look like setting aside two hours in the morning to research event registration software and dedicating the hour after lunch to answering and sending emails.
• Automate repetitive tasks. Streamlining routine tasks can significantly boost your productivity by leaving more time, and energy, for larger projects. Using AI-powered tools, for instance, to automate processes like content translation, generating speaker descriptions, or wording email responses can save you hours each week. This speeds up your workflow and ensures consistency and accuracy, allowing you to focus on creative tasks that drive a greater impact on your attendees’ experience.

The most important aspect of time management is to stay realistic about your capabilities. Give each task the time it deserves and try not to underestimate how long they take—otherwise, you might reach the end of the workday without completing all the tasks you intended to.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce the time your tasks take, you may request that your company purchase software to help you do so. This is a common practice for businesses and nonprofits. For instance, a massage business might purchase massage therapy software to streamline bookings and a nonprofit might purchase a constituent management system (CRM) to help keep track of all its supporters.

As an event planner, you’ll probably benefit most from event management software. The right solution will help you organize memorable events, streamline your promotional efforts to increase ticket sales, manage attendee data, measure your event’s return on investment (ROI), and more.

Recommended Resource: Are you looking for cost-effective, easier ways to build and manage your events? Watch 8 short videos to learn how to deliver events in any format that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value—no matter your team size or budget!

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2. Fostering Work-Life Balance

Aside from strategically managing your time at work, you must also foster a work-life balance that supports your priorities and needs. While it’s inevitable that you’ll have long days as an event planner, that doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice your work-life balance every day.

Consider these ideas for finding a balance between your personal and professional life:

• Take breaks when necessary. During the workday, don’t hesitate to take breaks if you need them. They can actually improve your productivity by increasing creativity and decision-making ability, resulting in higher quality of work. If you’re feeling stressed, take a quick 10-minute walk to clear your head and help you refocus.
• Set boundaries with work. Allow yourself to fully disconnect from your work when you’re at home or taking personal time. To do so, set reasonable boundaries with work, such as not working through your lunch hour, not checking your emails or taking work calls when you’re out of the office, and limiting overtime hours to what is absolutely necessary for your role.
• Take your vacation time. The best way to recharge is taking time away from your stressful work environment, which means taking your vacation time. Even if you’re worried about your workload, studies show that for every additional 10 hours of vacation time employees take, their year-end performance improves by 8%. If nothing else, think of it as a way to perform better in the future!

When it comes to finding the right work-life balance, your first step should be staying mindful of your needs. Constantly assess your work performance and stress levels and adjust your approach if you find your standard of work slipping or your stress rising.

3. Setting Aside Time to Relax

On the surface, this strategy may seem very similar to the previous one. However, there’s a difference between balancing your personal and professional lives and setting aside dedicated time to relax.

Make space for yourself to connect with your peers and participate in any hobbies that help you reduce stress and feel more positive. This could mean getting dinner with friends, going salsa dancing, watching a movie at home, or any other activity that you find relaxing.

You can even seek external sources to help you relax by treating yourself to massage therapy or booking time with a mental health counselor. These activities may even be covered by your health insurance (according to MassageBook, some massage therapists will accept insurance to make their services more affordable!), making it even easier for you to participate in them.

Ultimately, the way you relax is entirely up to you. What you need to do is identify what helps you unwind and completely detach from the stress of work.

Your Mental Health Matters

From worrying about vendors to gamifying your event for attendees, you have many responsibilities to stress over as an event planner. However, to ensure you deliver events that meet your goals and drive the impact you desire, you must take care of yourself. With these stress relief strategies, you’ll be well on your way to developing increased focus and productivity in your event planning, all while still being able to relax!

The post Managing It All: 3 Stress-Relief Strategies for Event Staff appeared first on EventMobi.

Want to establish authority in your field? Generate quality leads for your sales team? Drive legitimate revenue? A conference can help you achieve these things—if you host it correctly.

To ensure your conference is a smashing success, invest in conference management. Doing so will lead to greater attendance, better experiences, and happier sponsors.

Keep reading this comprehensive guide to learn:

What Is a Conference?

A conference is a formal gathering that brings together like-minded people to discuss specific topics. Conferences usually take place over multiple days and require a fee to attend.

Oftentimes, conferences include keynote speakers and workshop sessions, each designed to educate attendees. Most of them give said attendees a chance to network with each other as well. Exhibitions and product demos are also regular occurrences.

While every organization’s goals are different, almost all of them host conferences for similar reasons: to connect with a target audience, generate leads, and drive revenue.

How Do Conferences Differ from Events and Conventions?

“Event” is a blanket term that includes everything from intimate weddings to mega industry get-togethers. (Like the annual Salesforce conference, Dreamforce, for example.) 

Both conferences and conventions fall under the “events” umbrella. But conferences and conventions have a few differences you should know about.

As described above, a conference is usually a formal, multi-day event that allows attendees to discuss specific topics and network with like-minded individuals.

Conventions, on the other hand, are often larger than conferences and focus on entire industries or fandoms, rather than specific topics within said industries.

That said, conventions also aim to educate attendees via speeches, panels, and workshops. So the difference between conferences and conventions is about scope and content. Conferences are smaller and more focused. Conventions are larger and, at times, less formal.

Recommended Resource: Want to deliver amazing attendee experiences at all of your upcoming events? Watch this free Events Masterclass session, Event Apps 101: Your Playbook for Creating Engaging Event Experiences, for tips from industry experts!

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Common Conference Types

There are many different conference types out there.

This is good because it gives conference organizers more ways to achieve their goals. Everything from academic conferences to virtual events is fair game.

But some conference types are more common than others. Here are the six kinds of conferences you’re most likely to see in the event industry:

Seminar

A seminar is a small, interactive conference. During the event, subject matter experts share information on a specific topic with attendees. This is often followed by a Q&A session or group discussion. As such, seminars are typically less formal than other conference types.

Symposium

A symposium is a medium-sized gathering. This kind of conference often features multiple speakers, who each present information on related topics. In fact, conference organizers usually plan symposiums around central themes to promote cohesion. Because symposiums are bigger get-togethers, they typically don’t involve a ton of audience participation.

Workshop

A workshop is a hands-on event that allows attendees to build skills through practical learning. Like seminars, workshops are usually small, informal gatherings led by subject matter experts. The main difference has to do with participation levels. While seminars encourage attendees to ask questions, workshops allow them to actively participate.

Roundtable

A roundtable is a unique kind of conference. There’s no lead speaker. Instead, a small group of people have conversations about specific topics. The goal of the roundtable is to create an open dialogue between folks with diverse viewpoints and solve problems.

We should say that, while the number of people participating in the roundtable is always small, the number of people watching can be as large as conference organizers want. 

Summit

A summit is a large event that attempts to address popular issues in a strategic way. Because of this, summits usually feature influential speakers. While summits often draw a lot of attention, guests typically need an invitation to attend. (In other words, not everyone can buy a ticket.) Limited guest lists help conference organizers keep their events focused on event goals. 

Virtual Conference

A virtual conference is any conference that’s hosted online. Audience members can attend from anywhere in the world, as long as they have a WiFi connection and a ticket. This makes most virtual events more inclusive. Since attendees don’t have to spend money on travel-related expenses, more people have the ability to attend.

Most virtual conferences feature keynote speakers, workshops (hosted via breakout rooms inside the host’s event platform of choice), and attendee networking sessions.

We’ve chosen to segment conference types by format. But they can also be segmented by content. For example, academic conferences focus on specific scientific disciplines and enable attendees to display their findings, network with other researchers, and learn about their fields.

Academic conferences are very different from, say, technology conferences. These aim to educate attendees on tech ideas and products while also encouraging networking.

Conference organizers can select the right conference type by choosing an event format, a specific content type, or a combination of the two. You could host a virtual conference, for instance, that tackles healthcare topics. It’s up to you.

Why Is Conference Management Important?

Event planning is never easy. Important? Yes. Rewarding? Absolutely!

But if you’ve been in the event management space for a while, you know that planning a successful conference takes work. That’s because conferences have a lot of moving parts. 

Fortunately, conference management can help you streamline many tasks, from proper budget allocation to communication with vendors to monitoring team members.

Here are three concrete benefits you’ll enjoy once you commit to conference management:

More Registrations, Ticket Sales & Attendance

Want to attract more conference attendees? Partner with interesting speakers, plan valuable content, and promote your events and sessions to the right audience.

Conference management can help with these things, while keeping your event focused and on budget. That’s because proper management looks at the big picture, ensuring your team does what it takes to reach its target audience and drum up excitement.

Greater Attendee Engagement

Conference management leads to happier attendees–and more memorable event experiences.

A well-managed conference tackles relevant topics and presents them in interesting ways. It also gives attendees a chance to network. In fact, 77.7% of people say they prefer in-person B2B conferences because of the networking possibilities.

These things lead to greater attendee participation, which is key to a successful event. If your attendees aren’t actively engaged at your event, they won’t learn as much. This will lower their satisfaction levels.

Higher Sponsor Satisfaction & ROI

As a conference organizer, your attendees should be your number one priority.

But your conference sponsors should be a close second. After all, these organizations can add legitimacy to your event, while improving its financial outlook.

Proper conference management will help sponsors feel valued. As we just discussed, it will also create more engaged attendees, which will help sponsors achieve a greater return on investment (ROI). Both of these things will increase sponsor satisfaction and lead to additional partnerships.

Conference Management Types

There are a bunch of ways to pursue conference management. Here are five common management types you can use to achieve organizational goals:

In-House Management

In-house management is when an organization uses internal resources to plan and execute a conference. This management type allows for maximum control over event details. But it can put a significant strain on an organization—especially if it doesn’t have in-house expertise.

Joint Partnerships

A joint partnership is a collaboration between the organization hosting a conference and an outside agency. Both entities assume various event management duties. This model allows organizations to outsource difficult event planning tasks but often leads to higher costs.

Third-Party Organizers

If you want to host a conference, but don’t want to plan or execute it, you can work with a third-party organizer. These companies have the experience and skills to create successful events. This model allows organizations to focus on content, while the third-party organizer handles logistics. The downside is the lack of control and additional costs.

Volunteer-Driven Management

Do you represent a nonprofit organization? Maybe you’re planning a community-based conference. Either way, the volunteer-driven management approach might be a good fit. Volunteers will give you the resources to plan, organize, and execute an event. (All without a giant budget.) Unfortunately, this model might not give you enough expertise to make your conference successful, as volunteers don’t always have the necessary skills.

Sponsorship-Driven Management

Many sponsors are happy with their name and logo on conference marketing materials. Other sponsors want to help plan and execute the events they support. The latter scenario is known as sponsorship-driven management. While this model can relieve your organization of some event management tasks, you’ll have to share control of decisions.

The Conference Management Process

So, how do you actually, you know, do conference management?

You take a step-by-step approach that will keep you organized, your audience informed, and your budget in line. In other words, you follow this proven process:

Determine Your Goals

What does a successful event look like to you?

Before you do anything else, decide what you want your conference to accomplish. You might want to increase brand awareness. Or generate leads. Or drive revenue. Or something else.

When you know what your goals are, you can make strategic decisions to achieve them. That’s why every event management process starts with goals.

Create a Budget

Now that you’ve determined your goals you can create an event budget.

How much money can you spend on your conference? Make sure it’s enough to cover conference management software, a venue (for in-person events), speaker fees, marketing campaigns, event workers, AV equipment, and whatever else you need.

Assemble Your Conference Planning Team

You’re not going to plan your conference all alone, are you? We hope not!

Event planning is often time-consuming and complicated. If you don’t have other people to share the workload with, you’ll be super stressed and your event will suffer.

The question is, who do you want on your conference planning team? Recruit individuals who are excited about the event and have complementary skills. Then make sure they have the time to help make your get-together a memorable experience.

Finalize Conference Logistics

Next, nail down a date, time, and place for your conference.

You need to be strategic here. For example, you probably shouldn’t plan your event on the same day as the Super Bowl. Or in the same building as a competing conference.

Also, take into account the weather, the accessibility and atmosphere of your venue, and any other details that could affect conference attendees in a negative way.

Secure Speakers and Sponsors

Great speakers make life easier for conference organizers.

Why? Great speakers attract an audience, deliver quality content, and increase attendee engagement. This last perk is especially important, as 82% of conference organizers use attendee engagement as a KPI for their events.

Identify potential speakers who align with your conference goals and fit your budget. Then send them (or, in some cases, their teams) a personalized invitation to present. Make sure you explain why they’d be a perfect match for your conference and the benefits you can offer.

If a speaker agrees to participate, send them a contract that stipulates their role in the conference, the amount they’ll earn, and other pertinent details.

You can use a similar process to secure sponsors. Identify brands that serve your audience or believe in your conference mission. Contact them to explain why they should sponsor your event. Then draft and sign a contract that defines the role of each sponsor.

Adopt the Right Conference Technology

You could host a conference without conference management software. But why would you put yourself through that particular brand of misery? There’s no reason for it.

Instead, adopt software that will help you market your event, facilitate registrations and check-ins, design event badges, track attendance, help attendees network with each other, and handle many other details. (Note: we’ll talk more about these tools in a bit.)

Doing so will make life easier for you and improve the attendee experience. Research shows that 62.9% of people expect in-person conferences to use modern tech.

Promote the Event

So, you’ve created amazing content, connected with top-level speakers, and secured sponsors for your conference. You’ve also invested in technology to ensure the event runs smoothly.

Now what? Now you need to market your conference, of course!

Email your subscribers about the event. Talk about the planning process on social media and explain why your followers should attend. If you have room in your budget, invest in a few paid ads or influencer marketing campaigns to reach more people in your target audience.

Get the word out about your conference so the right people know about it.

Facilitate Event Registration

If you market your conference effectively, people will want to register to attend. The way you handle this process will set the stage for the entire event. No pressure!

Fortunately, the right event technology will help you streamline registration and ticketing. You’ll want to create a registration website that allows your attendees to sign up, pay, and receive event-related information with ease.

Again, more on conference technology in the next section. Stay tuned.

Manage Onsite Operations

Finally, make sure your actual event runs like a well-oiled machine.

If you’ve completed the steps above, you should be ready to host a successful conference. That said, it never hurts to do a dry run or two.

Make sure your team knows what their jobs are and the equipment you rented works. Then take a look at your check-in process to ensure it’s convenient. Lastly, have people on standby to handle problems that pop up during the conference. (There’s always a few of them.)

How to Select the Right Conference Management Software

The right tools will streamline conference management for your team. That way you can focus on tasks that need human input, like allocating resources and negotiating with sponsors.

The question is, which conference management software is right for your organization? We can’t answer that question for you. But we can tell you which features to look for:

Try to invest in an event management platform that has audience engagement tools, too. This will make attendee participation more natural and convenient during your conference.

Last but not least, experience the tool you want before you buy it. Some tools offer free trials. Others offer in-depth demos. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Why EventMobi is the Best Conference Management Solution on the Market

You don’t have time to research every conference management software on the market. Luckily, you don’t have to. Just go with EventMobi!

EventMobi’s event management platform is both easy to use and innovative. It’s also versatile, allowing users to manage virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. 

With EventMobi you can…

• Create a branded event website for your conference that includes customizable registration forms, secure payment processing, and reporting capabilities. “Overall, we have gained a lot in terms of participant loyalty and opportunities for our partners thanks to EventMobi.” – Andrea Held, Managing Director of Alkmene Verlag GmbH
• Enjoy a revolutionary event management platform that will supercharge marketing campaigns, live stream video, facilitate networking, increase audience engagement, and much more. “The gamification really drove traffic to our exhibitor booths.” – Arlene Schilke, CMP, DES Executive Producer, GO WEST 23
• Use one of the best Mobile Event Apps on the market to engage conference attendees, increase value for sponsors, and display post-event content. “We had a lot of individuals on-site actually come and ask, ‘Where did you get this app? How can we use this at our next event?’ And I highly recommend this [event app] for any future event.” – Javon Findlator, Executive Lead, CAMS Visible Minority Committee
• Streamline onsite processes with simple QR check-ins, create your own attendee badges, and even receive professional day-of support. “The EventMobi Event App really enhances the experience of the attendees.” – Melissa Arnott, Show Manager, Canadian Meetings + Events Expo Director of Events, Newcom Media Inc.

Get Started with Effective Conference Management

It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting in-person, hybrid, or virtual events. Effective conference management is key to a successful gathering that engages attendees and achieves goals.

Of course, technology makes conference management easier. You just need to choose the right platform for your organization. Might we suggest EventMobi?

Sign up for a free demo of EventMobi today to see if the tool meets your unique needs.

Once you schedule your EventMobi demo, continue your education. The EventMobi blog is full of practical articles with advice from top-level professionals. Here are three you might enjoy:

• 14 Best Event Management Software Solutions for 2024
• The Easy Event Check In Guide: How to Impress from the First Hello
• Tips from the Trenches: 7 Audience Engagement Tips Guaranteed to Build Excitement

The post Conference Management: What Event Organizers Need to Know appeared first on EventMobi.

With so many different tasks on your plate and stakeholders to cater to, managing events is a tall order. To stay on top of everything, you need a clear strategy that incorporates event management best practices to guide you.

Curious to learn how you can use event management best practices to create more impactful events in the long term? Read on to explore event management best practices that allow you to both delight your attendees and achieve your organizational goals.

Recommended Resource: Using event technology is one of the top best practices for running successful events. To see how quickly you can put event technology to work for you, watch How to Get Started with an Event App of Your Own (In 6 Easy Steps!)

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1. They help you achieve your event goals and objectives.  Proper event management best practices enable you to effectively work toward your event goals like increasing registrations, generating revenue, and building brand awareness.
2. They enhance the attendee experience. Focusing on critical details and contingency planning best practices will create a smoother event experience for attendees—and ensure they remember an event for all the right reasons.
3. They drive future event success. Documenting processes and lessons learned allows you to continually improve your events. You can use established best practices to create a knowledge base that informs your future event strategy and execution.
4. They provide structure and organization. Detailed plans, timelines, and procedures inherent in best practices give you a reliable framework to operate within and help coordinate all the moving parts.
5. They allow for scalability. You can replicate solid best practices—with modifications—as your events program grows or changes over time. This scalability ensures more efficient growth.
6. They promote stakeholder confidence. Sponsors, vendors, staff, and leadership can have greater confidence that your event will meet its objectives when following industry best practices.

Top Event Management Best Practices

Whether you’re planning a large-scale conference or a smaller event like a seminar, incentive trip, or sales kickoff, it pays off to follow tried-and-tested processes. The event management best practices below will help set you up for success from the beginning of your event planning process right through to event day. 

1. Set Clear Event Goals and Objectives

Before planning an event, it’s important to set clear goals and objectives that align with your organization’s overall business goals. Well-defined goals provide direction for your event planning process and help you measure success after the event concludes.

For example, common event goals include generating leads, increasing brand awareness, educating customers about a new product or service, or building relationships with stakeholders.  

Start brainstorming your event’s goals by asking yourself key questions:

• Why are you holding this event? 
• What do you hope to achieve?
• Who is the target audience?
• How does this event align with your business objectives?

Once you’ve determined your general event goals, clarify them using the SMART goal framework, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Setting focused, quantitative goals with clear metrics to track will allow you to better evaluate the impact of your events.

2. Create a Detailed Event Budget

Having a budget in place early on in the event planning process helps your event team work efficiently within the prescribed resources, easily track expenses, and make adjustments as needed. 

When creating your event budget, be sure to account for all potential costs including:

To help you do more with your resources and optimize your budget, we recommend getting estimates from different providers to compare your options. Consider working with local vendors to help lower costs associated with shipping (and contact them well in advance!) so you can plan the perfect event while staying within your organization’s financial resources. 

3. Strategize About Your Event Date 

Choosing the right date for your event is crucial for success. You want to give yourself enough lead time to properly plan and promote the event while also avoiding dates that conflict with holidays, school breaks, or other major events that may prevent your audience from attending. 

When picking an event date, keep these tips in mind:

• Give yourself at least 4-6 months of planning time if possible. Major conferences and trade shows often require a year or more of advanced planning. Even smaller events need several months of preparation.

• Check for conflicting holidays, observances, or cultural events on your potential date that may prevent participation. Look up statutory holidays as well as religious or cultural celebrations that are important to your target audience.
  
• Avoid major school holiday periods when potential attendees may have travel plans. These include summer vacation, spring break, and winter holidays in December. If your event depends on students, plan around their academic calendar.

• Research other events happening locally, regionally, or nationally that may compete for the same audience. Check industry calendars for conferences, trade shows, or public events you’ll be competing with for attendance. 

• Confirm date availability with all key participants like speakers, VIPs, honorees, or organizational leaders before cementing the date to accommodate their schedules.
  
• Be flexible on potential event dates in the planning phase. This gives you some leeway in booking the venue you want or aligning with participants’ availability.

Choosing an event date may seem simple, but it requires thoughtfulness and planning. Avoid last-minute choices or picking a date for convenience. Take the time upfront to maximize attendance by selecting an event date that works for your goals, audience, and other stakeholders.

4. Assemble an Event Planning Team

A successful event requires an organized team to ensure you handle every detail properly. Assemble your event planning team by assigning clear roles and responsibilities to each member. Some key roles to fill include:

• Event Manager: This person oversees the entire event planning process from start to finish. They are the main point of contact and coordinate with all vendors, staff, and stakeholders. The event manager creates the master event plan and detailed schedules and timelines. 

• Event Marketer: The event marketer oversees all event promotion including email campaigns, social media, paid ads, public relations activities, and more. They are responsible for spreading awareness and driving event registrations.

• Volunteer Coordinator: This person recruits and organizes event volunteers. Key duties include determining volunteer needs, creating duty schedules, conducting training, and managing volunteers during the event.

• Program Manager: The program manager creates the overall event agenda, schedules speakers and presenters, plans entertainment and activities, and manages program content.

• Accountant: The accountant manages the event budget, tracks expenses, processes payments to vendors, and handles all financial matters. 

• Registration Manager: This person oversees the event registration process including website forms, payment collection, name badges and credentials, and attendance tracking.

Clearly define each team member’s responsibilities, and hold regular meetings to keep the team aligned on event progress as the big day approaches.

5. Book Your Event Venue Strategically

Your venue sets the stage for every other element of your event. Consider the following when selecting a venue:

• Size: Make sure the venue has enough space to comfortably accommodate your expected number of attendees. Evaluate the main event space as well as the potential for breakout rooms, lobby space, or specific networking sections.  

• Amenities: What features does the venue offer? Look at basics like tables, chairs, and A/V equipment. Also consider extras like catering capabilities, free parking, and WiFi.

• Insurance & Permits: Check if any special insurance or permits are required to host your event at the venue, and factor these costs into your budget. 

• Accessibility: Ensure the venue is accessible to all potential attendees. Look for wheelchair ramps, elevators, gender-neutral restrooms, and accommodations for service animals.

Selecting the right venue sets the foundation for a successful event. Take time to thoroughly evaluate all options before signing any contracts.

6. Create a Master Event Plan

A master event plan is essential for pulling together all aspects of your event and ensuring everything stays on track. Your master plan should cover the following details:

• Event Timeline: Map out your entire event planning timeline, including when contracts, permits, and insurance need to be submitted, when registration closes, and a detailed schedule for the day of. Build in buffer time for potential delays.

• Vendor Contacts: Compile a list of all your vendors for the event with their associated contact information, services provided, and contract details. Having all of this information in one place makes it easy to communicate with vendors leading up to the event.

• Marketing Plan: Outline your strategies for promoting the event through email, social media, event listings, advertisements, and other channels. Include key dates and details for each initiative.

• Event Agenda: Develop a detailed schedule for your event programming and activities. Include session topics and times, speaker names, and room assignments.

• Volunteer Needs: Determine how many volunteers you’ll need, what their responsibilities will be, and who will manage them. You should also include recruitment and training timelines.

Having a comprehensive master event plan is crucial for assigning accountability, coordinating across teams, and ultimately executing a smooth, successful event. Treat it as your North Star guiding you through each stage of planning.

7. Implement Event Management Software

Event management software automates tedious tasks and streamlines your workflows. The right event platform can facilitate everything from registration, ticketing, badge design, and check-in, to Mobile Event Apps for your attendees and post-event reporting, freeing up your time to focus on other critical areas. 

When evaluating event management platforms, look for these key features:

• Event website builder to create a custom website for your event with all key details.
• Registration management features, like easy-to-build custom registration forms, payment processing, and automated confirmation emails.
• Email marketing tools to create and send targeted email campaigns to promote your event
• Badge printing and check-in so you can pre-print your badges or offer onsite printing at guest arrivals and check your attendees into the event.
• Mobile Event Apps that allow attendees to access schedules, maps, exhibitor information, networking features, appointment booking, and session content on their own mobile devices.
• Ongoing communication. The Event App should allow you to send emails, push notifications, and alerts directly to attendees so you can engage your audience before, during, and after your event.
• Reporting and analytics tools to gain insights on engagement and performance at every stage of your event.

The best event management software centralizes all your tools and data into one unified platform. This eliminates having to juggle multiple systems and enables seamless collaboration across your team. Be sure to evaluate integration capabilities as well in case you need to connect with external tools like email providers, payment gateways, or your constituent relationship management platform (CRM).  

EventMob’s comprehensive event management platform offers all of the features listed above–and then some! Investing in a robust event management platform allows you to streamline your workflows and ensure your events run smoothly and efficiently. To see what’s possible with the right platform in place, check out EventMobi’s self-guided Product Tour.

Want to see event management software in action? Watch the EventMobi Product Tour to learn how to create, promote, monetize, and deliver incredible event experiences!

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8. Focus on the Attendee Experience

Creating an exceptional experience for your event attendees should be a top priority. There are several ways to delight your attendees and make your event engaging and memorable.

• Personalize the experience. Get to know your attendees before the event by having them fill out surveys during registration. Ask about their interests, organizational roles, and goals for attending. Use this data to customize parts of the event for each attendee. For example, you can provide personalized session recommendations based on someone’s role and interests. 

• Offer a Mobile Event App. A mobile app allows for a more seamless and personalized attendee experience. Attendees can access schedules, maps, speakers, and networking features from any mobile device. You can also send push notifications about changes and upcoming sessions. A well-set-up app will foster a stronger connection between attendees and your event.

• Encourage engagement. Incorporate interactive elements into your event to get attendees involved. Live polls, Q&As, games, challenges, and group activities are great ways to engage different types of attendees. Also, prompt experience sharing on social media with your event hashtag and in your Mobile Event App by encouraging attendees to post photos and thoughts in Group Discussions or Activity Feeds. 

• Facilitate networking. Don’t underestimate the importance of networking and social moments. Build in plenty of dedicated time for open networking sessions, group meals, mixers, and interactive activities. Attendees will appreciate the ability to connect, share ideas, and form new relationships.

Remember that the attendee experience goes beyond the event itself. You can continue to build relationships with your audience in between events by thanking them for coming, sending out post-event surveys to collect feedback, and continuing to offer educational resources and engagement opportunities.

9. Measure Your Event’s Return on Investment (ROI)

Determining the ROI for your event requires assessing the event’s outcomes against its original goals and objectives. This practice provides tangible metrics to measure success.

When calculating event ROI, remember to:

• Track event data and metrics. Look at numbers like event registrations and attendance, social media reach and engagement, surveys completed, leads generated, and revenue gained. Compare this data to the goals you originally set. 

• Gather feedback. Send post-event surveys to attendees, staff, speakers, sponsors, and other stakeholders. Ask questions to find out what resonated with them, what could be improved for next time, overall satisfaction levels, and their willingness to return or recommend your organization’s events to others.
  
• Review speaker and session ratings and comments. See which sessions had the highest attendance and received positive feedback. This data provides insight into what content and topics appealed most to your audience.

• Assess sponsorship ROI. Look at metrics provided on visibility and engagement with sponsor booths, materials, social media, signage, and sessions. Evaluate which sponsorships delivered the most value.
  
• Analyze marketing and promotion efforts. Determine which initiatives drove the most registrations and engagement such as social campaigns, email blasts, print ads, and referral programs.

By gathering data, feedback, and insights across all event elements, you’ll gain a holistic picture of what was successful, what missed the mark, and what you can adjust to improve future events. This assessment process is key to continually enhancing the attendee experience and exceeding stakeholder expectations.

Keep These Event Management Best Practices in Mind

Ready to unlock the full potential of your events program? Follow the best practices outlined above and you’ll be well on your way to running impactful events that deliver value to attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders alike!

Follow event management best practices with the top event management software. EventMobi has all the features you need to make your event a success!

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The post Event Management Best Practices: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on EventMobi.

Administrative workers deserve recognition and appreciation for the important role they play in organizations all around the world. They often have stressful jobs, serving in critical roles that span a variety of responsibilities–including acting as impromptu event planners!

Not only are administrative professionals busy keeping organizations running efficiently and acting as the right hands of busy executives; but they’re also often tasked with organizing, planning, and executing events of all sizes and types. 

As anyone who’s ever worked in an admin role can tell you, it’s not as easy as it might appear to some outsiders. Being a great admin professional requires a lot of quick thinking, endless patience and flexibility, and superb organizational skills.

In honor of these mighty jack-and-jane-of-all-trades, we’re highlighting the important contributions of administrative professionals in the events industry and offering up suggestions for how to celebrate them on Administrative Professionals Day–and show your appreciation for them all year round!

When is Administrative Professionals Day?

Administrative Professionals Day is held on the last Wednesday of April, which means the exact date moves around each year. Here are the upcoming dates for Admin Professionals Day for the next few years so you can mark your calendar:

• In 2024, Administrative Professionals Day is April 24
• In 2025, Administrative Professionals Day will be April 23
• In 2026, Administrative Professionals Day will land on April 22
• In 2027, Administrative Professionals Day takes place on April 21

Why We Celebrate Administrative Professionals Day in the Events Industry

Plenty of admins fulfill event planning duties, even if it’s not their official job title. According to MPI, an estimated 80% of corporate meetings are planned by team members who don’t have “planner” in their title.

In many ways, administrative professionals are the backbone of the events industry. They play a vital role in ensuring the smooth execution of events by scheduling appointments, managing communications, coordinating logistics, and supporting event planners and organizers with ad-hoc tasks. 

Admins are often required to juggle multiple projects simultaneously, navigate last-minute changes, and act quickly to ensure events and meetings go off without a hitch. Suffice it to say that many of the amazing events we plan, support, and attend simply wouldn’t be possible without their meticulous attention to detail and organizational superpowers.

How to Celebrate Administrative Professionals Day

There are plenty of different ways event organizers, executives, and other team members can show appreciation for administrative professionals. Here are some of our favorite ideas for celebrating admins during Administrative Professionals Day and throughout the year.

Ideas for Administrative Professionals Day

Recognizing administrative professionals on their special day goes beyond mere acknowledgment—it’s about showing appreciation for their hard work and dedication.

Recognize their efforts publicly

Your admin staff work hard–you know it, they know it. But so much of their job takes place behind the scenes that it’s possible the rest of your organization, your partners, and your customers might not realize just how much your admin really does!

So, why not take the opportunity to brag about their achievements? Give a quick toast if you’re in a small office, send an emoji-filled Slack post or email if you’re remote, or even share the love in a social media update from your organization’s account.

Host a team lunch onsite (or take them out!)

Catering lunch or taking your admin staff out for a meal is a simple yet impactful way to connect with your team and show your appreciation. Plus, a free lunch provides a mid-week boost for everyone.

Of course, one meal isn’t going to make undervalued team members suddenly feel good about their job; but a team lunch can be an enjoyable perk in addition to recognizing their hard work in other ways. 

Order from their favorite local restaurant or give out vouchers for a meal delivery service so everyone can get exactly what they want. Alternatively, take them out to lunch so you can get to know them better and spend some quality time together.

Show your appreciation with a gift

Personalized gifts and gestures of appreciation can go a long way in showing admin professionals that you value their contributions. The gift doesn’t need to be elaborate or expensive, especially if it’s personalized or thoughtfully supports their interests.

Support a cause they care about

Another great way to honor your administrative professionals is by donating to a social cause that’s close to their heart. 

Find out which organizations they care about and look for ways to get involved. For example, you could make a donation in your admin’s name, organize a paid volunteer day, or host a fundraiser. If you can give your admin team a full or half day to spend volunteering, they’re sure to appreciate it. 

How to Appreciate Administrative Professionals All Year Round

Beyond Administrative Professionals Day, there are plenty of opportunities for ongoing recognition and appreciation of your favorite admins. Here are a few ideas for celebrating admin professionals all year round:

Equip them with the tools they need to excel

Make sure your administrative professionals have access to any tools or subscriptions they need to do their job well. This includes hardware, like a comfortable chair and an ergonomic desk set-up, as well as any software that streamlines their workflows. If you’re not sure what your admin team needs to excel, check in with them to see what could make their jobs easier.

Recommended Resource: Are you looking for cost-effective, easier ways to build and manage your events? Watch 8 short videos to learn how to deliver events in any format that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value—no matter your team size or budget!

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Support their career goals

One of the best ways to ensure your admins feel valued and fulfilled in their roles? Support their career and skills development. What this looks like in practice depends on the individual goals of your admin professionals and what skills they’re interested in improving. 

Ask about the types of professional development they’re interested in and consider offering to send them to relevant conferences or enroll them in online courses.

Promote healthy work-life balance

The stress of managing time-sensitive tasks and working long hours during crunch periods can take a toll on your admin team members. It’s important to encourage them to use their vacation or lieu days and take time to recharge after the whirlwind of planning an event or meeting. Make it clear that you do not expect administrative professionals to be available 24/7 or respond to emails on their off days. 

Administrative Professionals Spotlight: Mara Schmidt

Mara is a coordinator at the Santa Catarina’s Federation for Business Associations. She coordinated all the operations for the annual event, which brought together 146 business associations from all over Santa Catarina, Brazil to discuss digital marketing, innovation, and technical solutions.

Mara partnered with EventMobi to create an app for the event. She took on the role of developing the entire app on her own–in addition to keeping track of everything involved in the event planning!

Mara quickly learned how to upload and personalize content with the easy-to-use Event CMS, and worked with her colleagues to test and provide feedback on all features before launching to attendees. She was as thorough and methodical as any professional event planner would have been.

During the event, Mara constantly posted pictures and promoted the Event App’s Activity Feed to increase engagement. By driving app adoption and attendee engagement, she did an amazing job at not only developing the event app but also ensuring her hard work paid off. 

As a master of chaos management, Mara ensured the event ran smoothly and was a hit for everyone–from the Board of Directors to attendees and sponsors. 

The post-event feedback survey received a huge volume of positive comments about how great the event was. Attendees, in particular, loved how the Event App improved and modernized the event experience. From Mara’s perspective, the app made it easy to engage her audience at every stage of the event lifecycle.

Thank You to All of the Outstanding Administrative Professionals Who Keep Events Running

Administrative Professionals Day serves as an important reminder for all of us to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of administrative professionals in the events industry and beyond. 

To learn about the accomplishments of other incredible event professionals, planners, and admin professionals, check out more Event Success Stories here.

Interested in learning more about EventMobi? Book your personalized demo of EventMobi’s Event Management Software platform today!

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The post Happy Administrative Professionals Day! appeared first on EventMobi.

However, turning attendees into qualified leads for your organization requires more than just nabbing a prime spot on the show floor and hoping people flock to your booth.

It’s not about having the biggest space or the flashiest booth design (though that certainly doesn’t hurt!).

In order to attract more foot traffic, book more meetings, and capture more leads, you need to find creative ways to stand out from the crowd–before, during, and after an event. Not only do you need to leverage pre-event promotion to get on attendees’ radar and design a booth that grabs attention and creates a positive impression onsite, but you also need to give them a reason to connect with you and learn about your brand.

In other words, you need to make the most of your company’s presence at every event–which is something planner Alistair Fernandes has quite the knack for, honed over 16 years at events including IMEX America, BCTECHSummit, and DiscoveryX Conference and Trade Show. 

Below, we’re sharing 10 tried and true exhibitor booth ideas that Alistair has used at recent events to create buzz, drive qualified traffic, and help salespeople start conversations with new leads and customers. Plus, get a sneak peek at one completely fresh idea he’s excited to try next!

10 Exhibitor Booth Ideas That Will Help You Stand Out from the Crowd

The goal for any B2B event booth design and activation should be to create an experience that engages attendees onsite and motivates them to follow up with your team post-event. 

Today, we’ll look at the most effective and creative ways Alistair has elevated his booth experiences to achieve organizational event goals. 

Craft an Immersive Pop-Up Experience

Your booth is an opportunity to create your own branded world. Drawing inspiration from successful B2C pop-up shops such as SKIMS and Glossier, look for opportunities to turn your booth into a cohesive branded experience. 

For example, at CSAE Tête-à-Tête, EventMobi’s sponsorship of a lounge area offered a unique opportunity to create an engaging, branded experience for guests looking to rest, refuel, or network over refreshments in between sessions. Alistair leveraged a monochromatic color scheme using EventMobi’s signature orange for his tablecloths, backdrops, and swag. 

He designed packaging for drinks and snacks in the same shade for a unified look and feel and guests were free to help themselves to branded swag, like orange notebooks and pens. And when attendees left the lounge with an EventMobi-branded treat in hand, they helped drive additional brand awareness as they walked around the show.

When it comes to pulling off a pop-up-like experience at your booth, Alistair emphasizes that consistency is key. Not only is color-coordinating your booth and giveaways a great way to grab attendees’ attention, but it also contributes to the overall impression that attendees have stepped into a cleverly branded world—just like a memorable pop-up shop experience.

“From snack packets and tablecloths to swag and banners, branding every element of your booth with your color scheme and logo helps you stand out from other exhibitors on the trade show floor,” says Alistair.

Engaging attendees with your activation is just the first step: Once they’re at your booth and chatting with your team, you’ll want a Lead Capture App to simplify follow-up and make it easy for your sales team to continue the conversation after the event.

Think Local, Act Local

Is there anything that draws attendees to a booth quite like a giveaway (especially if the prize is on display at your booth)? You already know the pull of an eye-catching gift basket—people will swing for their chance to win. But how many of them will think twice about your brand once they’ve entered and moved on to the next booth?

One simple yet brilliant way to make your giveaway memorable is by partnering with local businesses to source prizes. And that’s exactly what Alistair did at IMEX America and NWES.

Partner with Local Suppliers

At IMEX, Alistair partnered with a local supplier in Ottawa for a gift basket giveaway packed full of treats from local vendors. The orange baskets were on-brand and were a huge hit with attendees thanks to the meaningful connection to the local community. 

Similarly, Alistair worked with Seattle-based BiteSociety to create an eye-catching gift basket filled with local products at NWES 2024. Once again, interest in the raffle was driven by his selection of unique, local products. This allowed Alistair to capture a high number of new contacts to nurture post-event when they shared their contact details to enter the prize draw. 

How you can do this: When participating in a region-specific trade show, look for relevant local partners to provide branded prizes and giveaways with locally-produced products. This thoughtful touch will resonate with your audience.

Plus, working with local suppliers and businesses has the added benefit of simplifying pre-event logistics. Since it was easy for Alistair to pick up the baskets from a location close to the venue, there were no shipping costs or logistical challenges that could come from ordering gift baskets with perishable goods.

Integrate Thoughtful, Personalized Services

Getting a professional headshot taken is a necessary evil for even the most camera-shy professionals. Not to mention, booking dedicated studio time with a photographer typically costs hundreds of dollars! 

As Alistair puts it: “Whatever helps people professionally will always be a good activation.” So, at IMEX Frankfurt, Alistair created a professional headshot studio at the EventMobi booth, making it quick and easy for attendees to update their LinkedIn profiles with a shiny new headshot. 

Attendees who booked meetings with the sales team had the opportunity to strike a pose before they moved on to their next appointment and the final, edited image was delivered to them in a post-event email. Not only did this activation offer a high-value service, but it also encouraged attendees to follow up with EventMobi once they were back at work!

“It’s easy to use booth space inefficiently,” says Alistair. “For instance, a big table full of swag isn’t always good for traffic flow. But this activation allowed us to make really good use of our 10×10 space.”

The key to this type of activation is providing services that offer true value to attendees beyond promotional swag. Help them in their professional roles, save time, or make their trade show experience more enjoyable and productive. With thoughtful services personalized to your event audience, you can effectively engage participants while collecting leads for follow-up.

Pro tip: If your event organizer is using a Mobile Event App, find out if you can send messages to attendees pre-event to promote onsite activations. This is an effective way to drive appointment bookings and get people interested in visiting your booth before the show even starts!

Encouraging attendees to book appointments ahead of time has the added benefit of helping you plan and staff your booth efficiently.

“For IMEX, we anticipated that we’d have fewer appointments than we did–and then we were overbooked! This is a good problem to have, but anything that helps gauge that ahead of time is beneficial.” – Alistair

Be the Hero Attendees Need (and Deserve!)

Spare your attendees from the burden of navigating the show floor laden with heavy swag, drained batteries, and weary feet. Provide thoughtful conveniences such as charging stations, branded swag bags for easy carrying, and comfortable seating areas for relaxation or dining.

When you’re coming up with swag or service ideas designed to improve the attendee experience, focus on convenience. “Most people appreciate anything they might need during a long day at an event,” says Alistair. “That’s why at Tete a Tete, we set up tables where people could eat and bean bag chairs for anyone looking for a spot to relax.”

Here are a few of Alistair’s top suggestions for booth ideas that are always a hit among event attendees:

Charging Stations

Charging stations placed in prominent areas of your booth can be a lifesaver for attendees trying to conserve phone battery while navigating the show. Offer a variety of charging cables to accommodate both Android and iPhone users. If possible, provide standing tables near the charging area so attendees can use their devices while charging.

Branded Swag Bags

Branded swag bags are a practical freebie that also provides great advertising as attendees continue using the bags long after the trade show ends. Choose bags made of durable, sustainable materials like eco-friendly cotton canvas or upcycled materials. 

Showcase your filled bags around your booth to drive interest in what you’re giving away. Consider including your booth number, social media handles, and a special show promo code inside each bag.

A Comfy Spot to Sit

Comfortable seating invites attendees to relax and spend more time engaging with your exhibitors. Chairs and sofas should be neatly arranged to allow open flow for booth traffic. High bar table seating also encourages visitors to linger. Having a seating area for meals and snacks is another great draw. Keep decor cohesive with other branding elements for optimal effect.  

By anticipating and providing solutions for common trade show pains like dead phones, armfuls of brochures, and tired feet, you show attendees that you care about their experience. This thoughtful approach makes your brand more memorable.

Embrace the Competitive Spirit

Don’t forget to harness the power of friendly competition! If the tradeshow organizer has created a gamification challenge within the event’s mobile app to help drive traffic around the show floor, ensure anyone who visits your booth is aware of the challenge–and have booth staff give out your code as an easy way to break the ice!

Usually, trade show organizers offer the opportunity to increase your company’s sponsorship to ensure your company appears at the top of the challenge list. This will be money well spent, as getting a top spot on the challenge list will increase visibility and drive attendees to visit your booth first to get the code.

Alistair also recommends prominently showcasing both your gamification challenge code and an enticing prize at your booth. You can also tease your code in pre-event communications to build anticipation and awareness.

Bonus: Commission Local Artists for One-of-a-Kind Swag

Take inspiration from limited-edition fashion drops that create lines that go for miles. Find a local artist and partner with them to design custom, branded swag and gear.

This is a concept Alistair and his team are particularly excited about—though he has yet to fully execute it! He’s already working with a local artist who does cool, funky, graffiti-style designs to create EventMobi t-shirts for booth staff—plus some extra stuff to give away!

Curious to see how this turns out? Swing by EventMobi’s booth at IMEX Frankfurt 2024 May 14-16 to see the results in person and for the chance to get your hands on this limited-edition design.

Turn Your Booth Into a Powerful Touchpoint for Your Brand

A successful event doesn’t just create brand awareness, it sparks new connections, conversations, and client relationships.

Trade shows present a valuable opportunity to grow your database and connect with potential clients. The more attendees on the show floor, the more opportunities you have to make a great impression and quickly turn cold leads into qualified contacts for your sales team to follow up with.

We hope these creative exhibitor booth ideas inspire you to try something new at your upcoming events! If you have any questions or fresh ideas of your own that you’re trying out, we’d love to hear about it.

Want to learn more about how event technology can help you keep the conversation going after an event? Book your personalized demo of EvenMobi today!

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The post Tips from the Trenches: 10 (Mostly) Tried and True Exhibitor Booth Ideas  appeared first on EventMobi.

To make sure you get their buy-in again next year, you need to make it easy for them to capitalize on the lead generation opportunities available to them onsite. By offering them a cost-effective Lead Capture App, you will help them make the most of the conversations they have with your attendees.

Traditionally, exhibitors would trade contact details with attendees using business cards or paper forms at their booth. This makes it difficult for them to gather and score leads, follow up with them quickly post-event, and measure the value of exhibiting at your event. A Lead Capture App will allow them to do all of this in seconds.

In this blog post, you will learn how the right Lead Capture App can help you and your exhibitors:

• Efficiently capture, score, and follow up with leads
• Streamline workflows with more sustainable processes
• Easily record detailed notes on conversations with leads
• Justify the cost of exhibiting at your event next year

Recommended Read: Looking for detailed advice on designing an event sponsorship package that will be competitive in today’s market? Download the free Sponsorship Strategy Guide to learn how!

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1. Efficiently Capture, Score, and Follow Up with Leads

Manually entering attendee lead details into a spreadsheet from their badge or business card is time-consuming. Not only does this slow down the post-event follow-up process, but the risk of human error can compromise the integrity of the data.

Your exhibitors need a way to quickly collect and qualify leads so their sales and marketing teams can easily prioritize their outreach efforts. But when many lead retrieval tools like CVENT lead capture are prohibitively expensive, what are the best options that won’t break the bank?

EventMobi’s Lead Capture App is a cost-effective option for event planners. It enables exhibitors to automatically capture attendee contact information by scanning a physical or digital QR code. This means the data will always be accurate and booth staff can avoid the awkwardness of lost business cards!

Exhibitors can add their own qualifying questions with personalized fields. This will help them qualify leads based on criteria such as job title, industry, and buying intent. 

From there, exhibitors and sponsors can focus on the leads that are most likely to convert into customers. They can also download all the contact information from the leads they’ve scanned directly into their CRM or marketing automation platform along with their notes.

In this video, Carlee Toms, Sr. Account Executive at EventMobi demonstrates how to use the EventMobi Lead Capture App.

2. Improve Workflows with Sustainable Processes

Over the last few years, there has been a growing trend toward making events more sustainable. Businesses are putting in place CSR goals to encourage planners and exhibitors to organize and participate in sustainable events.

Reducing the amount of paper waste generated by events started with planners opting to use mobile event apps instead of paper show guides. Now, event technology has matured to the point that just about every process can be managed digitally. 

One small example of how processes are changing is networking with business cards. Today, attendees and exhibitors are much less likely to give away or collect business cards during an event. Instead, connecting on social media platforms like Linkedin or scanning badges is the preferred way to make new connections. 

Using a Lead Capture App eliminates the need for paper forms and business cards. Capturing contact information digitally is a quick, efficient, and more sustainable process for exhibitors. The EventMobi Lead Capture App works offline, so even if the internet goes down they can continue collecting leads. 

3. Easily Record Details from Conversations

Wondering what else you can do with a Lead Capture App? In the video below, you’ll see another way your exhibitors can record lead details to enrich lead capture plus a creative tip for you to collect feedback about your event.

In this video, Thorben Grosser, VP of Product Marketing at EventMobi, shares two ways you and your exhibitors can make the most of your Lead Capture App. 

Talk it Out with Text-to-Speech

After scanning an attendee badge, sponsors can use text-to-speech note-taking to quickly record any details they don’t want to forget. Under the field for additional notes, exhibitors can simply tap the speech-to-text icon, dictate their thoughts, and save the note along with the lead’s contact information.

This feature allows your exhibitors and sponsors to efficiently add context from their conversations while it’s fresh in their minds before moving on to the next lead. These extra details can serve as an important reminder after a long day of interacting with leads and making new connections.

Personalize Survey Questions on the Fly

Your Lead Capture App can do double duty as an onsite survey tool. All you have to do is create a new company and add representatives to it, giving them access to lead scanning. This allows your event staff to gather information through personal chats with attendees, providing more valuable data for event evaluation.

4. Justify the Cost of Exhibiting at Your Next Event

Event organizers are increasingly under pressure to ensure sponsors get more value from exhibiting. Planners need to make it easy to quantify the value of attending the event relative to the costs of exhibiting. Data will help prove (or disprove!) this. 

The first thing exhibitors want to know is how many leads they collected from your event. Second, they want to identify how many of those leads are qualified. The number and quality of leads are crucial real-time success metrics and this data helps exhibitors decide which events deserve a slice of their budget.  

EventMobi’s Lead Capture App makes it easy for exhibitors to see the number and quality of leads generated from an event. The star rating feature helps exhibitors score their lead data in seconds. Here’s how we recommend using it:

• One star means no sales follow-up is required, add them to the database. 
• A three-star rating indicates the contact is a warm lead ready to be assigned to a Business Development Representative for additional qualification. 
• Five stars can signal a hot lead for an Account Executive to follow up immediately.

Planners can’t control how exhibiting companies engage with attendees onsite or post-event. But a Lead Capture App will make it easy for them to manage leads and see the ROI from your event. If your exhibitors generate more revenue from captured leads than it costs to exhibit, it will ensure their buy-in again next year.

Impress Your Exhibitors with EventMobi’s Lead Capture App 

A Lead Capture App will help event exhibitors efficiently capture, score, and follow up with leads. It empowers them to streamline their workflows with more sustainable processes, and easily see the ROI from exhibiting. 

With EventMobi’s Lead Capture App, you can provide exhibitors and sponsors with the tools they need to achieve their event goals. Lead Capture gives exhibitors the ability to automatically capture valuable attendee information, qualify leads on the spot, and go paperless with streamlined processes.

Want to see EventMobi’s Lead Capture App in action? Book your personalized demo today!

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The post 4 Ways a Lead Capture App Helps Exhibitors Make the Most of Your Event appeared first on EventMobi.

Paper lists and expensive scanners are not the best way to check in large numbers of attendees or set the tone for your event. Did you know that the tablet or mobile phone you use daily can efficiently check guests in and out of your events in real-time? When paired with the right Event Check-in App, it’s easy to create a fast event registration and check-in flow for your attendees.

In this article, you will learn:

• What you can do to speed up your check-in process
• How to reduce hardware costs 
• How you can use check-in data to better measure event ROI 

Plus, check out the bonus tip on how to get creative with your check-in data and extract powerful insights using AI! 

Use an Event Check-in App to Speed Up the Process

Long lines at the registration desk are a common frustration for attendees at everything from conferences and trade shows to free events. Typically, delays are caused by event staff checking in attendees with printed lists. This might not make a huge difference at the smallest of events with under 40-50 attendees. But, at larger events, manually checking names off a list one by one will slow down the process and create a poor first impression. That’s why planners need easy-to-use check-in technologies that move attendees out of the registration hall and into the main event experience.

EventMobi’s event management solution includes a user-friendly Event Check-in App that lets you quickly scan attendees in and out of your event and sessions. All you need to do is point the in-app camera at the QR code on an attendee’s physical or digital badge (digital badges are found in the attendee profile in your event’s mobile app!).

An attendee’s unique QR code includes all the information captured at registration—including attendee type, which allows your check-in staff to quickly distinguish between guests with different levels of access. For instance, speakers can be directed backstage before their presentation without having to explain what their role is. Likewise, your staff can recognize VIPs, sponsors, and other important guests immediately at check-in to prevent confusion or potential delays.

If an attendee doesn’t have their badge handy, simply type their name into the app to check them in. EventMobi’s Check-in App is lightning-fast, which means it won’t disrupt attendees as they enter your event and move through sessions. It also produces valuable data, making it easy to measure session performance and award CE credits. In the future, you also have the option to include a QR Code Google Form in the promotional materials for your upcoming event, like posters, flyers, and banners, to achieve faster event check-in.

To make check-in and check-out even faster, create a self-scanning station for your attendees by downloading the Check-in App onto tablets and enabling the service kiosk mode.

EventMobi’s Production Services Team Manager, Ryan Sturno, demonstrates how to get started setting up your event check-in app and create a streamlined self-check-in kiosk with any tablet. 

Reduce Check-in Hardware Costs with an Event Check-in App

Many event teams have tighter budgets than ever, so it’s important to invest in event technology that will reduce costs. Typically, the expense of rented badge scanners is prohibitive for many events. But, when your team’s mobile phones or tablets can be used as scanners, you can affordably increase the number of staff checking attendees in and out.

EventMobi’s Event Check-in App works on any mobile device that can read QR codes. Add staff email addresses to the check-in feature in EventMobi and an access code will be automatically emailed to them. If you’re working with external staff, there’s no need to worry about data privacy. The access code only grants them access to the front end of the Check-in App, so your event data stays safe.

The EventMobi solution also includes an easy-to-use Badge Designer and cost-effective Pre-Printed Badge Ordering—offering yet another opportunity to reduce hardware costs and make badging the least stressful part of your event. With Pre-Printed Badges, you can place your order through the EventMobi platform, so all of your attendee data is automatically synced and ready to print. Simply select the number of badges you’d like, review your quote, and enter your address, and your laminated, ready-to-wear badges will arrive at your venue within 5 business days!

Recommended Resource: Are you looking for cost-effective, easier ways to build and manage your events? Watch 8 short videos to learn how to deliver events in any format that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value.

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Measure Your ROI Better by Tracking Attendance with an Event Check-in App

Accurately reporting on in-person events as a marketing and engagement channel is a challenge for planners. Registration software can’t tell you what happens onsite! But, by leveraging an easy-to-use check-in app with powerful analytics in the backend, you’ll get valuable details about the event attendee journey.

As attendees scan in and out of sessions, you’ll see where—and for how long—they chose to spend their time at your event. This is important for awarding CE credits and reporting on sponsored session ROI. This data will come in handy when you need to prove the value of your event to potential sponsors next year! Use it to highlight attendee demographics and report on engagement by measuring time spent in sessions.

BONUS: Use AI to Generate Reports with Your Check-in Data

Did you know AI can help you generate different types of reports based on your check-in data? Say you’re responsible for member education at your association and need to award CE credits. Instead of manually calculating time spent in sessions for every attendee, you can ask an AI tool like ChatGPT to tell you how long attendees spent in sessions so you can allocate credits accordingly. Check out the video from our VP of Product Marketing, Thorben Gosser, who breaks down how to do this step-by-step.

Thorben Grosser demonstrates how you can use ChatGPT to bulk-calculate attendee time spent in sessions.

Create the Best Event Check-in Experience for Your Guests

What happens at check-in will set the tone for the rest of your event. Paper lists and expensive scanners will slow down the check-in process—not the best start for your attendees! EventMobi’s Event Check-in app will help you get your guests faster, save money on hardware, track session attendance, and measure event ROI. Plus, you can feed that data into an AI tool to get even more insights if you need to.

Interested in learning more about EventMobi’s Check-in App and onsite features? Book your personalized demo today!

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The post Get Your Guests in Faster with an Event Check-in App appeared first on EventMobi.

• Makes a great first impression on attendees
• Helps attendees identify each other
• Serves as a knock-out branding opportunity for your event and organization 

Now, if you use Photoshop and mail merge (or, worse, manual input!) for your badge designs, then conference badges might feel like the worst part of your event prep. But the conference badge design process doesn’t have to be complicated.

From getting inspired to managing your attendee info to understanding your printing options, we’ll help you create outstanding conference badge designs for your upcoming events.

What Should Every Conference Badge Include?

Here are the key elements every conference badge should include:

• Conference logo. As an essential branding element, you should clearly display the conference logo on the badge. It helps attendees identify the event and reinforces your organization’s branding.
• Attendee name. Including the attendee’s name on the badge is crucial for networking and introductions. Make sure the font size is large enough for easy reading.
• Attendee role. Adding the attendee’s role and company name is another way to encourage networking and break the ice between attendees.
• QR Code. You can use QR codes to link to info about attendees, sessions, or the event as a whole. Exhibitors and sponsors can also use the QR codes to add leads to their sales pipeline by scanning attendee information right at their booths.
• Snazzy design. A great design can make your badge stand out and add to the overall event aesthetic. Even better: it can turn a badge into a keepsake, which is the type of brand marketing you just can’t pay for.
• Conference badge ribbon. Conference badge ribbons are a popular way to add additional information to badges. They can be used to highlight the attendee’s role, sponsor status, or other special designations.

When it comes to conference badge design, there are really only two rules: be eye-catching and be useful.

Once you’ve got those, you’re good to go.

Recommended Resource: Do you want to learn how to make the most of your resources and create a seamless experience for your attendees? Watch 8 short videos to learn how you can easily design and deliver in-person events that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value.

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How Do I Choose a Badge Designer?

You don’t want to be stuck in the weeds of an overly-complicated badge designer. The risks are too high! Manually adding names? Designing from scratch? Not today.

When you’re figuring out how to manage your conference badge design, consider these questions:

• Does the badge designer sync with registration data? Your event badge designer should either sync with your event registration data or be part of the same event management system. That way, you can pull attendee, speaker, and sponsor information to automatically generate badges. This can save you literal hours and reduce the risk of errors.
• Does the designer have pre-built templates? Some conference badge designers offer pre-built templates that you can customize with your company’s branding and event information. AKA a massive relief if you’re short a graphic designer.
• Is it easy to customize the conference badge’s design? If you have a specific design in mind, look for a badge designer with built-in, non-designer-proof customization. This looks like drag-and-drop functionality, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to upload custom graphics.
• Can you create bulk badges? If you have a large event with hundreds or thousands of attendees, look for a badge designer that allows bulk badge creation. There is no reason for you to have to do this one by painful one!

Want to jump into an easy-to-use badge designer?

EventMobi’s Badge Designer is built right into the event management platform. It’s perfect for event planners who need hundreds of badges, without a graphic designer in sight.

Not only is your attendee data automatically synced to your badge design tool, but you can also choose from prebuilt templates, customize badges, and create badges in bulk. Plus, it’s built right into an event experience manager with everything you need to run in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.

Chat with our team to see if EventMobi can make your badge design process easier, or watch the video below to learn more

6 Steps for Great Conference Badge Design

So you’ve chosen your conference badge designer.

Now, the moment of truth: designing the world’s most beautiful badge. (Okay, okay. At least a really solid one.)

Here are the six steps you can take to design, create, and distribute your conference badges.

Step 1: Source inspiration

Before you start designing, you need inspiration! Here are some suggestions to get you started on how to design a conference badge:

• Browse Pinterest. Pinterest is a great resource for design inspiration. You can search for conference badges or event branding to see what other organizations and events have done.
• Revisit past designs. If you’ve hosted events in the past, take a look at your previous conference badge designs to see what worked well and what didn’t. (Bonus points: Check out your event surveys and search for “badge” to see if you have any qualitative info!)
• Check out similar organizations. Look at what other organizations are doing for their conference name badge design! It’ll help you differentiate your event while meeting attendee expectations.
• Organize a brainstorming session. Get the team together! Invite your key stakeholders and executors in a room to bring all your research together, gather ideas, and set your final direction. This ensures your conference badge design aligns with your organization’s branding and event goals.

Step 2: Use a badge template

Like we said above, a pre-designed badge template is an awesome tool. But if you need more tailored designs, custom badge templates may be the way to go.

Here’s a look at both:

• Pre-designed templates. This can be a great option if you’re short on time or design expertise. Simply upload your logo, choose your colors, and select the information you want to display on the badge.
• Custom templates. Have a designer? A specific vision? You might need a custom template. That way, you’ll have more control over the design choices and layout for your badge.

Step 3: Design your badge

Once you have a template in place, it’s time to start designing your conference badge. Your badges should be a cohesive part of the overall look and feel of your event, so you want your design to reflect your event or organization’s unique visual identity. But it’s important to balance art with function!

When designing your event badge, ask yourself:

• Is it readable from a distance? Name badges for conferences should be easy to read from afar, so attendees can quickly identify each other and network effectively.
• Are the font sizes large enough? Make sure that the attendee’s name is the largest text on the badge, followed by their role and any other key information.
• Is there a clear information hierarchy? A clear hierarchy of information helps attendees quickly identify important details. For example, you could use different font sizes or colors to distinguish between the attendee’s name and role.
• Is there a QR code? Including a QR code on your badge can make it easy for attendees to connect with each other and access event information. Just be sure to test the QR code before printing to ensure it works properly.
• Is the conference badge design keepsake material? A well-designed badge can serve as a keepsake for attendees and promote your event long after it’s over. Consider incorporating design elements like your event logo or a unique color scheme to make your badge stand out.
• Have you added the right sponsors? If you have event sponsors, including their logo on the badge can help increase sponsor visibility and recognition, while also adding visual interest to the badge design.

Step 4: Use your registration data to customize your badges

You should never have to use mail merge again! At least, not for a conference badge.

As mentioned earlier, EventMobi and similar platforms come ready to sync your attendee, exhibitor, and sponsor information with your badge design tool. Even better, if you use EventMobi’s event registration and website builder, your attendee data is already available in the Badge Designer.

With the registration data in your Event CMS, you can to print attendee info–like name, role, and attendee type–directly on your badges without any extra effort. This makes it simple to manage event badging at scale and customize your designs with relevant attendee, staff, and speaker details.

Step 5: Conference badge printing

Once you’ve designed your conference badges, it’s time to start thinking about your options for event badge printing. How you choose to handle badge printing will depend on several factors, including the size of your event, the type of check-in experience you want to provide, and your event budget.

Let’s take a look at some of the best solutions for badge printing:

Pre-Printed Badge Ordering

Want to pre-print your event badges but are short on time or resources? It’s not easy to find a print shop for last-minute orders and doing it all yourself (printing, laminating, cutting, stuffing) requires more time and energy than you might have to spare.

With EventMobi’s Pre-Printed Badge Ordering, printing your badges is effortless and affordable. Use Badge Designer to create your design, place your order, and get event-ready badges delivered to your office or venue–within five business days!

Live Badge Printing

For larger events or those with a more complex check-in process, you may want to consider printing badges directly on-site. EventMobi offers Live Badge Printing solutions that streamline the check-in process, minimize wait times, and leave a great first impression on your attendees.

Plus, Live Badge Printing allows you to handle walk-ins without missing a beat.

Step 6: Don’t forget a lanyard!

Once you’ve designed and printed your badges, your attendees need a way to wear them with style! Here are some common options for conference badge holders:

• Lanyard. The classic option is a lanyard that goes around the neck. You can customize the lanyard with your conference branding or add sponsor logos for extra exposure. This is a huge opportunity for visibility since every single attendee will be wearing it around their neck for the entire event!
• Ribbon. Conference badge ribbons are a unique alternative to lanyards. They attach to the bottom of the badge and can include additional information like the attendee’s role or company.
• Safety pin. If you’re looking for a low-cost option, safety pins can work in a pinch. They attach to the back of the badge and can be fastened to clothing.

If your badges are more delicate, pair them with high-quality conference badge holders. And don’t forget that the lanyard or ribbon is another opportunity to showcase your branding or sponsor logos. Make sure to take advantage of this real estate!

BONUS: Use your conference badge design tool to create nameplates for speakers and panelists

If you’re looking for an easy way to create nameplates for your panelists and speakers, your conference badge design tool can do the trick! 

EventMobi’s VP of Product Marketing, Thorben Grosser, shares a clever hack to help create nameplates with the Badge Designer. By selecting your badge size as A4 and adding a templated design from a free design tool like Canva, you can easily create nameplates without the inconvenience of copying names into a document page by page. 

Check out the video above for a step-by-step guide to creating nameplates using your event badge software.

Make Badging a Breeze with EventMobi

If you’re looking for a hassle-free way to create stunning conference badges for your next event, EventMobi is a great option! With the Badge Designer and Pre-Printing Badge Ordering built right into the platform, you don’t need to be an experienced visual designer or have a big budget to create professional-looking badges.

Here’s a quick overview of how EventMobi can streamline your badging from collecting registrant data to creating the perfect design to hassle-free printing:

• With EventMobi’s event registration platform, your attendee data is already available in your Event CMS–and ready to print right on your badges
• The drag-and-drop Badge Designer offers pre-built templates and gives you plenty of creative freedom when it comes to customizing your design
• With Pre-Printing Badge Ordering, you can get laminated, ready-to-wear event badges sent straight to your venue in just 3 clicks! That’s all there is to it–no dealing with the printshop, no badge stuffing, no hassle. Your pre-printed badges will arrive within 4 business days!

Wanna upgrade your conference experience? Get in touch to explore EventMobi’s badge design and printing solution today!

Book a Demo

The post Conference Badge Design: Create, Print, and Distribute in 6 Easy Steps appeared first on EventMobi.