Articles from:September 2020

• Blog 2: 5 things to include on your event website

  Tuesday, September 22, 2020 | By kdudley

  

  Looking to plan an event? Our Conferences & Events team pulled together their top 5 things to include on your event website.

  1. Your Event Details

  This may be the most obvious piece on this list, but you would be surprised by just how many websites that do not include all of the event information on them!

  When talking about event details, this should include more than just the date, time, and location. The name of the event and the purpose should be front and centre. What is it and why would I want to attend?

  Details matter:

  There should be information regarding parking, the check-in desk, and more. Think like your customer, what information do you need to know in order to feel confident registering for your event?

  Think to answer questions such as:

  • Is parking free for guests?
  • Is there a specific parking lot guests should be parking in?
  • Where do guests sign-in on the day of the event?
  • Will the sign-in desk be open for the whole event or just for a few hours at the beginning of the day?

  2. Registration Link

  Closing the sales cycles means getting customers to hit the register.

  So how do you make sure they don’t miss it?

  • Have a bold call to action – Register Now, Register Today. Don’t miss out on the event of the year.
  • It is highly recommended to have a pre-registration call to action (see next section for more tips for this).
  • Market how full the event is e.g. 80% sold out!
  • Locate the registration link in a prominent location. Remember: People will give up rather quickly in attending an event if they must search through multiple pages or information to figure out how to register for your event.

  3. Registration Pricing/Early-Bird Rates

  Getting people registered early allows you to start working on operational logistics. Clients that offer savings on registration prices typically see strong registration numbers early in the planning cycle.     Include this on your website! Don’t forget to send out reminders leading into the last days of early pricing. The last thing you want is to have someone not register because they thought they had more time to receive the discount. Tip: have an early bird registration countdown on your website.

  4. Accommodation Options

  Are accommodations included in the guest’s registration fee? If not, you will want to provide local accommodation information for your guests on your website.

  Perhaps you have a partnership with a specific company that is going to offer a flat rate or your chosen venue offers overnight accommodations like we do at Brock University.

  Include information about the rates, the rooms, and contact information for how they can book a room for the event.

  5. Event/Conference Schedule

  Again, another one that may be obvious, but so often forgotten. Always be sure that the schedule posted on your site is the most up to date it can be. Keeping it up to date will allow potential guests to see what sort of sessions or activities are being offered and entice them to hit that Register Now button!

  For more tips from our Brock University Conference and Events team or to get a quote on your upcoming event, email [email protected]

  Happy Planning!

• Blog 1: 5 Tips for Planning a Virtual or Hybrid Event

  Friday, September 11, 2020 | By Brock University

  

  2020 has brought on many challenges to the world, with one being the ability to gather together. With this change we are seeing a shift to hosting more and more virtual or hybrid style events.

  As we prepare and alter our offerings to service this new industry trend, we wanted to share a few tips with you when planning a virtual or hybrid event.

  1.Determine your content first, then choose your delivery method.

  Your content should influence your delivery. Take in to consideration the following questions to help guide you.

  • Are your presenter’s comfortable and familiar working with technology?
  • How many guests are attending?
  • Will there be one-way flow of information or an open conversation?
  • Does part of your content require hands on interaction?

  The two main methods of delivery are webinars and training sessions.

  • Webinars – one-way flow of information, large number of guests
  • Virtual Training Sessions – back and forth dialogue, small number of guest

  2. Know your equipment before launching the event.

  You should be familiar with any sort of technology system or equipment that you will be using to run your event. If a problem does occur, you want to be able to fix the problem quickly so that the event can keep moving forward.

  3. If you go hybrid, be sure to consider both in-person and virtual attendees.

  A hybrid style event is where you have both virtual and in-person guests for your event. Chances are you would have many more guests attending virtually than in-person for a hybrid event, but you want to ensure that anyone signing up to attend is getting the same experience.

  Some items of consideration for this part of the planning process include:

  • Can both types of guests ask questions to the presenter?
  • Is the presenter easy to hear both from the back of the room and virtually?
  • Is the presenter clearly visible to those attending virtually as they are to those attending in-person?
  • If you are running multiple sessions, is it easy for the virtual guests to jump between sessions as it would be for those in-person?

  4. Lighting and sound are key factors.

  Lighting and sound can greatly impact your guests experience when they are attending virtually.

  Lighting Suggestions:

  • Have the presenter sitting without too much going on in the background (most virtual services offer preset backgrounds if need be)
  • Find a location where light is focused on the front of the presenter
  • Do not trust natural lighting. Your lighting will change as the weather changes throughout the presentation.

  Sound Suggestions:

  • Have presenters connected to microphones if your budget allows
  • Sit in a location where there is not a lot of background noise or chances of interruption
  • For hybrid events, test the sound throughout the room as well as virtually

  5. Do a test run!

  When you begin planning, schedule in your test date at the beginning so you have a date to work towards. Doing a test run will help you work out any kinks that could happen prior to the event date. This is the opportunity to test out your lighting and sound and adjust as needed so that you know how to setup for the day of. Tip: Encourage all presenters and anyone involved in hosting the event to be present at your test run.

  For more tips from our Brock University Conference and Events team or to get a quote on your upcoming event, email [email protected]

  Happy Planning!