10 Tips on how to plan a Conference
Industry now a days is busy and immersed in new inventions, we see new ideas that are being floated out every day, new business concepts that people have discovered and thus trying to reach out to the audience either through videos, podcasts, social media and many more such online social platforms. One such thing which is most helpful to researchers, scientists and students who want to showcase their research, business ideas and inventions to the world is through conferences. They provide a platform where people with similar work and research interests meet, exchange their ideas, showcase their new concepts in various disciplines, which propels people to work more on those ideas, and come up with some concrete things which might be helpful to the communities of the world. But a lot goes into planning this big event, and it is a very time consuming and daunting exercise, if you want to plan it well, and make it the most successful event. Planning and execution of such events like the conference, requires a good knowledge of event organizing skills, lot of planning before advance, commitment and discipline to ensure that the conference is a big success. It is a huge responsibility for organizers who take up this task, and they have to ensure that they do full justice to it.
Useful tips that come in handy to plan a successful conference
1. Plan well in advance: Planning very well in advance is the key to organizing a successful conference. You need to look into a lot of aspects like registrations, theme, logistics, venue, attendees, and many more things. If you are tech savvy, keep realistic milestones, and timelines, and you could use Microsoft Project which helps you plan your tasks well. If you have a good time cushion, then it allows you to plan and execute your plans well. So, planning in advance is the key to organizing a great conference.
2. Finalize the Budget:This is the most important thing which allows you to plan your entire logistics right from booking a venue, to hiring a key speaker for the conference. You have to carefully allocate a budget to be spent on venue, speaker, food, travel and other activities during the conference. Setting a realistic budget will help you make good profit.
3. Finalize the theme, subject, and the speaker: Finalizing the topic on which the conference will be based upon is very important to attract more delegates. If it is a topic which is not based on some new trend or subject, then there might be a cold response. Selecting a good keynote speaker will do wonders to your conference. If he is a famous speaker, then it helps in setting the right tone for your event. So selection of a good speaker becomes the key aspect.
4. Finalize the Dates: Once the speaker, budget and subject for the conference is finalized, the dates when you want to hold this conference should be finalized. Do not have a conference which runs more than 2-3 days, because that will be too long a duration to hold back delegates, and keep the interest alive. Cross check and confirm that the dates do not coincide with Government holidays or major events.
5. Finalize the Venue and the geographic location:Look for a geographic location which is well connected by air, road and rail. Also it would be a smart move if you have the event organized when there is pleasant weather, and not very cold or hot. The venue should fit into your budget, and should have enough space to accommodate the delegates who plan to attend. The venue should also have good amenities to serve good food for the delegates who have come in. It is better for the organizer to visit the venue before he finalizes on one.
6. Create an Agenda:Fixing and finalizing on an agenda is the most important part of organizing a conference. You need to give session wise break up details to the delegates, and also plan some extra fun and leisure activities in the evenings, so that attendees socialize, and network.
7. List of items: You need to make a list of items that have to be ready before the conference kicks off, like projectors, computer systems, stationeries to be given to the delegates, lighting systems in the room, ACs, Fans, White Boards if needed, chairs and tables, water bottles for speakers and delegates, and many more things.
8. Plan the marketing Strategy: Plan and market your event well in such a way that it reaches out to the target audience. This way you get maximum registrations. Use brochures, blogs, PR, emails, social media platforms like Facebook and twitter, TV and Newspaper Ads to create an awareness about the event among the masses. You can also send invitations to renowned people in the industry. You can also approach people for sponsorships, and thus create a buzz about the event.
9. Handle registrations: Finalize on the way payments are made for the registration. Will it be an online, or an onsite registration, and communicate the time frame by when the registrations have to be done by the attendees, so that it gives you enough time to know how many people are attending. You can also initiate the process of making Badges for the delegates, with their names printed on them.
10. Have a backup plan: Always be smart enough to plan for a backup, especially for the speaker. Have one or two more speakers ready, so that they can handle the event with ease, if say, the main keynote speaker does not turn up due to personal problems at the last minute. Other backup items could be projectors, systems etc., which should have a backup plan, in case they do not work on the scheduled day.
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