UPDATED: 07/29/2024

If you ever wondered what makes an event successful, you're in the right place. Successful event planning is often about looking back and finding inspiration for the next event. There's always room for improvement. 

No matter how prosperous you might think your last event was, a good host will be able to look at the shortcomings (that only you will have noticed) and want to make sure to improve your performance next time.

Staying organized and ahead of the game is key for successful event planning. The better your preparation, the better your event. Not only for your guests but for yourself as the organiser. That’s why we’ve created a guide on how to achieve event success. Discover top 7 event planning tips to successfully execute the big day and find out what makes a successful event planner.

1. Stay organised by using technology

Successful event planning nowadays cannot be done without technology. Fortunately, technology is our friend, and there are tools available that you can utilise to make your job stress free and create a seamless result. Your event is essentially a project that requires meticulous project management in order to stay on task. That’s where a tool such as Trello comes in.

Trello is an incredible project management tool that, quite unbelievably, comes free of charge - it is very easy to use and visually oriented. Each task can be assigned to a specific person or can be labelled with colourful tags named by your choice. Aesthetically pleasing and organised in one package – I’m sold!

Making smart use of technology will streamline your successful event planning no end. You can even utilise new technology systems to improve communication between fellow team members. Centralising your discussions over a Slack channel helps to keep everything in one place and keep those involved in the organisation up to speed on any changes.

2️. Improve engagement by using apps

Attendee engagement rates are pivotal to the event success. Choosing a suitable app like Eventee is proven to improve attendee engagement at the event with a whole host of features attendees can get involved in. With a simple download on your guests’ devices, you will have your attendee’s attention from the get-go, even in the lead up to the event. 

With an app that offers multiple engagement features, you can tailor it to the specific needs of your event.

With Eventee, you can:

• Offer a Q&A via the app, so that your guests can ask those burning questions as they crop up
• Live polls and feedback feature so that you can gain insight from your attendees in real time.
• Push notifications can also be used to give timing updates to your guests, to make sure they don’t miss key moments throughout the event.
• Eventee’s newest feature: Social wall allows your attendees to share posts in the app itself, as well as allowing them to interact with the posts of their fellow attendees. You can even moderate the posts so that you can ensure that only appropriate posts are being published giving you complete control over the posts.

3. Utilise a moderator to help the event flow.

If you want your event to flow seamlessly, it’s important to instruct a moderator who will guide your audience as they work through the event agenda. Regardless of your event focus, a moderator can be a really underestimated tool that you’ll want to utilise. Having some external help means that you can focus on liaising with your guests, rather than being the one to keep things flowing as the event goes on.

Making sure you choose an appropriate moderator specifically for your event is a key decision that you’ll want to make early-on in your event planning. We’ve put together a guide on how you can choose the best event moderator depending on your event’s requirements so that you can make sure to find the right fit. 

4️. Keep in control by managing incidents effectively

No matter how much forward-planning and organisation goes into an event planning, sometimes there are things that, just simply, go wrong or some last-minute changes that are beyond our control. It’s almost inevitable.

Whether the change is due to a sudden adjustment in one of your speakers, maybe having to rearrange timings to accommodate an overrunning Q&A or, the most common culprit - those pesky technology failures. Fortunately for you, we’ve created a blog that covers all those things, helps you put preventative measures in place to manage your incidents effectively, and achieve event success easily.

How you handle the incidents as they arise is going to be the real key to ensuring that your event gets back on track as quickly as possible and with little disruption to your meticulously planned itinerary.

5️. Improve your event by effective promotion

Letting people know about your event is the real defining factor to its success. An event is only successful if there are ample attendees there to participate. So, choosing the right method of promotion is something you will want to consider right at the beginning.  

With so many options available in today’s modern world, between video marketing, email marketing as well as social media, you can very often get lost in the process. One of the first things you’ll want to consider is your target demographic – who are they and where is their focus going to be? That’s how you decide which marketing tools you’re best taking advantage of in the run up to the event.

One thing that is becoming increasingly popular is the use of influencers promoting the event. Choosing the right figurehead to plug your event can increase attendance rate dramatically. Opt for a well-known, trusted influencer and you’re on to a firm winner.

6️. Research early on to improve the event program

Creating an enticing and engaging event program can often be the tricky part of your event planning. Although you know what you personally, as a brand, would like to experience at the event, what your audience is looking for could be completely different.

It’s important, therefore, to carry out thorough research in the early stages of your event planning to find out more about your target demographic and the kind of experience that has gone down well in the past. Whether you carry out a survey, research feedback from similar, past events or even go from your own experience - just make sure to add a research phase at the beginning so that you can ensure to secure the necessary components well in advance.

When considering the components you want to incorporate, you want to be sourcing interesting speakers to capture your audience’s attention not only in building FOMO and increasing attendance but also to keep them engaged during the event too.

Outside of speakers, you want to offer a wide variety of sessions during the event. Including some workshops that allow your attendees to get hands-on and interact with one another. Incorporate a presentation here and there to give them a chance to sit back and absorb key information, as well as the opportunity to have open discussions with their peers and share ideas. The added variety will keep things interesting for your attendees, and it’s likely to mean that there’s something on offer for everyone.

7️. Improve by offering more networking opportunities at your event

Last but not least, out of the event planning tips networking might be the most vital. No matter what purpose your event is trying to achieve, networking is what makes an event successful. It will always be at the front an centre of your attendee’s mind whilst they’re there – it’s just good sense to expand your network whilst you’re in a room full of likeminded brands and businesses.

Whilst networking can come naturally to some, to others, not so much. But there are steps that you, as the host, can take to help your attendees settle in and come out of their shell to ensure that each person can effectively network whilst they’re there. 

We’ve created a helpful guide specifically aimed at organising a networking event, as well as a guide on offering tips on boosting networking at your event – with ideas that include interactive quizzes to break the ice, utilising a successful networking tool like Eventee’s mobile or web app, or speed networking to make as many connections as possible. It’s well worth a read if you’re looking to help foster community spirit among your attendees and make connections with suitable sponsors.

✍️ In conclusion

Behind every successful event is a new lesson. This is why it’s so important to remember to do a post-event evaluation to continuously improve on future events by measuring against the success of your previous ones – again, we’ve put together a helpful guide on just how to do that too. 

Whether this is the first time you’re hosting an event of this kind, or, if you’re an event planning expert – hopefully, you’ll have found some useful event planning tips in this guide as you work through your planning stages and make sure to incorporate Eventee’s app to streamline your event. You’ll thank us later!