Great corporate events don’t stop once the day is over and everyone has gone home. To make sure your events keeps delivering some crucial post-event activities need to be completed.
Here are some tips from the experts at Apex to ensure that your events keep delivering against your business objectives.
Evaluate your budget
The business world remains committed to live events as an effective marketing channel. Indeed, research by Harvard Business Review has found that hosting and sponsoring events are major priorities for companies of all sizes. But, to make sure your events are delivering return on investment, it’s vital that you evaluate what was spent against the profit made.
But what if your event goal isn’t to generate revenue?
Know what success looks like to you
Whether you’re organising a conference, award show, teambuilding event or roadshow you have to know what you want to achieve.
Without establishing the purpose of your event, there’s a real danger that any benefits will be short-term and easily lost. And without set objectives, it’s impossible to measure whether or not an event is successful.
So, one of the very first things you should do when planning an event is to establish tangible goals and objectives. Once the event is over it is then crucial that you measure the success of your event against the KPIs you set at the outset.
Of course, once you have created an end of event report (with full analysis of success), you should use your findings to formulate an actionable strategy for future events.
If you are not sure how to do this your event management partner should be able to help.
Say thank you
At Apex, we think a lot about what it takes to create winning corporate events. But we couldn’t do it alone. To ensure our events stand out for all the right reasons, and that they deliver against our clients’ objectives, the relationships that we have with our clients, suppliers and partners are crucial.
To make sure you keep your relationships healthy, don’t forget to send thank you emails/letters to all speakers, guests and sponsors. You should also use this opportunity to encourage VIPs to write about the event and/or, share their experience on social media.
Find out more about the importance of relationships when creating exceptional events.
Keep the media happy
To capture media attention for your event you will have distributed creative and informative media packs and press releases to send to identified journalists and relevant bloggers. But it’s vital that you don’t forget to reach out to the media after the event is over. Draft and send post-event PR and check that the media has everything they need from you. Not only will this help you to finish off your current event with a bang, but it will also help to keep the media onside for your next one.
Keep generating content
The right content is crucial when it comes to shaping your agenda and finding the right messages to attract and influence your audience. But your content strategy shouldn’t stop as soon as the event is over. Instead, think about how you can use content generated at your event to maximise the experience.
Post-event content could include things like:
- Sending copies of any presentations (including videos) to registered guests
- Sharing videos and other event collateral on social media to keep the conversation going (e.g. interviews, vox pops, ‘behind the scenes’ content, etc.)
- Encouraging post-event feedback to find out what people liked about your event and where you can improve
- Sharing the findings of any surveys
- Sharing feedback in the form of positive testimonials
- Using the momentum generated from this event to start promoting your next one across marketing channels (emails, social media, in the press, drip feed teasers, etc.)
- Ongoing targeted messaging through social media, PPC, etc.
- Following up with delegates through targeted mailshots
- Sending an event report with key highlights, metrics etc.
Find out more about how to make sure you deliver those all-important communications in a way that informs, impresses, entertains, and motivates.
Event Planning Checklist
We know that you want to create successful corporate events that will be talked about for years to come (for all the right reasons). But how can you make sure that poor planning doesn’t let you down on the day?
Brought to you from the experts at Apex, our handy checklist will help you to reach your event goals and achieve a truly positive experience.
In this event planning checklist for event profs
- Planning the event. Establish your event goals, choose a venue and set your agenda
- Organising the event. Finalise all the details and add some magic
- Promoting the event. Create and launch a winning publicity campaign
- Hosting the event. Entertain, inspire and inform
- Promotion. Attract and retain visitors ahead of your competitors
- After the event. Capitalise on your event presence, long after it is over.
At Apex, we create and deliver objective focused corporate events that look fantastic. With 30 years’ experience in this area, our philosophy is based on exceptional service, expertise and innovative solutions. Contact us today on +44 (0)1625 429370 or email [email protected] to find out more or for an exploratory conversation.