Over the course of the past few years, we’ve seen an evolution in the way that our event attendees capture their experience. From Instagram to Pinterest to other social media tools, the attendees at our events have become more socially savvy and that has greatly contributed to how we capture information. In the past, we would hire a photographer and videographer and count on them to capture the events and images. But, that no longer needs to be the case. Of course, I always recommend working with your standard photographer and videographer, but it has become clear to me that a) those vendors need to be more social-savvy themselves; and b) there is also a huge opportunity to leverage the sharing nature of your attendees.
Take a look at your event from A-Z. From when an attendee walks in the door until they leave. What are they seeing that attracts them? After attending many events over the past few years, I realize that people will take pictures of anything. They will take pictures of your event regardless of how it looks, but you can be smart about the design of your event to facilitate better sharing. Rather than just let people take pictures of the name of the building where the event is being held, jazz it up and put your brand on it, too. Make it something that people want to take a picture of and, more importantly, want to share.
What planner doesn’t love the opportunity to create an event with glitter and fame and unlimited budgets? It’s incredibly fun. So when the economy fell and budgets shrunk, planners started wondering if we were ever going to recover. Where will people get the money to hire us? What will happen to our clients that were once guaranteed to come back year after year and yet don’t answer our calls now? Or, worse yet, want the same events for 1/2 the price. It was a dark time in the events industry.
I love when I stumble on a blog that inspires, educates and makes me laugh. Though there is a ton of content available on the world wide web, most of it is garbage. Regurgitated, old and uninspired. So when I find the exact opposite in a blog, I become devoted. Today, I wanted to share the top 3 blogs I visit because I know they always have great content. If you follow them, I’m sure you will love them as well! Of course, I follow many other blogs and I’d love to learn about more so if you know of a great blog targeted at the events industry, please leave it in the comments section below!
As many of you know, last week, hurricane Sandy hit the east coast with a vengeance. Thankfully, many forecasters gave us several days warning so that we could prepare, but I don’t think any of us saw the full devastation that she would deliver. Here in New York, I am writing this as I am still without power eight days later. I’m sure you have heard all of the drama with the canceling of the New York City Marathon. At first, organizers decided to host the event and then after an outcry, they decided to cancel. While not on the same scale, the organizers of the marathon and I were having very similar conversations. This week, we are scheduled to host our PlannerTech event on Wednesday, November 7.
One of the exciting things about working in the event industry is getting the chance to meet with people who are just entering the field. Whether they have formal work experience in another industry or they’re simply entering the industry for the first time, I am always happy to meet with people who are looking to find the best way to break in. After meeting with countless people, I’ve noticed a trend in some of the advice that I give. So, I thought I would share it on the blog for anyone who might find it helpful. Here are the three things I think you need to do before you even consider getting into the event planning.
Your name: 
