How do you organize a successful conference?

What does conference organization entail?

A conference is not the same as a successful conference! If you want to organize a successful conference, you need a solid conference organization. This starts with developing a concept for the first meeting and ends after the evaluation of the conference. Without a good conference organization it is impossible to organize a successful conference.

Start on time!

Organizing a conference is a time consuming process. Everyone is aware of this and yet it often goes wrong on this point. Especially if you want to invite top speakers, we recommend that you book these 6-8 months in advance. In any case, start the preparations about 5 months in advance. Make sure you have a clear and achievable goal in mind, determine your target group and determine the budget. Send the invitations no later than 6-8 weeks before the start of the conference. In this way, you give the invitees ample time to reserve a place in their agenda or, where necessary, to free up time.

Involve your target group in the organization

Who knows better what your target audience wants to hear than your target audience itself? Make good use of this by involving them in the organization of your conference. Make an inventory of which speakers they attract and which specific subjects they would like to see discussed within the theme. When you organize a recurring conference, a good evaluation can be worth gold. With a good evaluation you can map the positive and negative points of your previous conference and include them in the organization of your current conference in order to take it to a higher level.

Good planning is essential

We cannot emphasize it often enough: proper planning of tasks and time is essential for the success of the conference. Clearly indicate in the planning who is doing what, where and how. A tight and clear planning prevents a lot of uncertainties. Also make sure that everyone is aware of the other person's duties. This way you know exactly who to contact if you need information or arrange something. A detailed script is essential for good planning. Do you want to know what it consists of and how you can best set it up? Then read this blog.

An interesting and varied program

You organize a conference for a specific target group. Treat your target group to an interesting and varied program. This means not only a varied program in terms of subjects, but also a program in which a lot of interaction with your audience takes place. In this way, the involvement in your conference will increase and the audience will remain fascinated. The “Catchbox” (a cube of soft material containing a microphone) is an example of a tool that is often used to involve the audience in an interactive way in the congress.

Choose a suitable location

A conference can be so well put together in terms of program and content, if the conference location is not suitable and does not meet the expectations of the visitors, then you still have a major problem. Therefore, make sure you have a location whose appearance matches the event and which has all the necessary facilities. The location must be functional and at the same time have charm. In addition, it is important to have a single point of contact within the conference center that is easily accessible before, during and after the conference. Do not forget to make good agreements in advance about your wishes in the field of catering, receiving visitors and other relevant matters.

How you turn or turn it, choosing a suitable location for your event remains difficult. Take plenty of time for this. Do you want to know how to choose the perfect location for your event? Then read the blog below!

Use social media

Use social media as communication material to promote your conference. It is a nice addition to your communication mix and offers many interesting benefits. This gives you an extra platform to communicate news about your event and to interact with your audience. This way you bring your conference to life and build a relationship with your target group. For example, use a Livewall that shows posts about the conference.

Provide good facilities

Make sure the facilities are in order. After all, you don't want technology to let you down. Therefore, test your laptop, the sound, the beamer, PowerPoint, microphone and all other technology several times before the conference. That way you leave nothing to chance. A good technical service in the field of AV such as Bano can completely relieve you of this. A perfectly working technique gives your conference power!

Evaluation is the success for your future conference!

An often forgotten and underestimated part is the evaluation of your conference. I mention underestimated just as explicit, because a good evaluation can be of great value for your next conference. By properly evaluating you can bring to light the positive and negative points of the previous conference. You can then take this with you in the organization for the next edition. Also try to involve the visitors in the evaluation. Their opinions and experiences are very valuable. In the end, it is all about giving them an unforgettable experience at the conference.