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Looking for tips on event planning? Our next blog in our ‘10 tips’ series is tips on event planning! Running an event is always a big task. There are so many things to coordinate, tasks to complete and people to negotiate with before and during the big day. As a result, planning is a crucial step in running events and it always helps creating a list to keep track of what you are doing.
We’ve put together a list of things we always keep in mind when planning an event.
10 tips on event planning:
Bounce Ideas
Our first tip is to bounce ideas! Brainstorming event ideas with your team helps you come up with creative ideas that will make your event stand out. Write down these ideas and work out if they are logistically viable.
Allocate tasks
After you have finalised your ideas, break them down into smaller tasks and allocate them to different team members. It is best to avoid having a task being worked on by more than 1 person as there is a greater chance of miscommunication.
Communication is key
One of the essentials in running a successful event is communicating with your team. Ensure that everyone is aware of the tasks they are responsible for. Weekly meetings can help all members of your team look at the event from a bigger picture and see which tasks are progressing well and which ones need more focus.
Contact external parties
If you are having stallholders, catering, or even a guest speaker it is important to contact them early in the event planning process so that there is a greater chance of them being available on your date.
Advertise your event
Get the word out! What’s the point in planning an event if nobody knows about it? When you are advertising your event, think about the unique aspects of your events that will draw a crowd. Also consider where you’ll be able to reach people who’ll be interested in your event – are they on Facebook? Reading the newspaper? Make sure you’re advertising in relevant places.
Be prepared
When you’re planning an event, the earlier you can organise something, the better. Make sure you have finished all your major tasks a week before the event or as appropriate. Leaving important tasks to last minute can leave your team feeling stressed and rushing can make you more prone to mistakes.
Plan for rest
When you’re planning out a timeline of tasks for the event day, remember to schedule in time for rest. Event days are busy! You will get exhausted quickly so it’s important that everyone on your team has a chance to rest, have something to eat and reset.
Be flexible
Even with all the preparation and finalising, there will be things that don’t go to plan on the day. Being flexible is being prepared for situations that might happen on the event day. You can plan for some unexpected situations beforehand by taking a meeting just to play devil’s advocate for all the unforeseen things that can happen on the day.
Enjoy
Enjoy yourself! Running an event is a lot of work, but they can also be a lot of fun! Take photos of what happened on the day to document the achievement of this project your team has been working towards. Photographs can also help your planning for future events as you have a clear visual record of what you did.
Reflect
Reflecting on the success of the event is important if you plan on running another in the future. After your event, have a meeting and discuss the day with your team. What worked? What didn’t? How did the team feel about the entire process? By discussing these topics with your team, you can see what you will keep for future events and what you may change for a better event day and planning process.
Hope you find these 10 tips on event planning helpful!
At Redsteps, we’re more than a marketing agency – we’re an event management agency too! We run events on a regular basis through our two sub-brands, Big Little Markets and Doggy Day Out in various locations throughout Victoria.
Redsteps turned 10 this year, so we’re celebrating with a series of ’10 tips’ blogs to help you with your business’ marketing. Follow us on LinkedIn to be notified when we upload our next blog!