Event 101: How to Make Your Event Eco-Friendly

Integrating sustainability into our professional and personal lives is an evergreen process. From carrying reusable shopping bags, to forgoing plastic straws, to choosing The Impossible Burger on a menu, sustainability efforts have become increasingly mainstream as awareness around the environmental impact of our habits grows.

Guided by the familiar mantra to “reduce, reuse, recycle,” we’re highlighting some ways the events space can better practice #goinggreen.

Reduce.

• Go digital. - Put the agenda online! In addition to having the agenda on the event website, explore having your own app created or using a third party software, such as Bizzabo, to build out your agenda digitally. Often, these apps are interactive, allowing attendees to “favorite” sessions and message speakers. The best part? No need for a reprint should you have a last-minute change.

• Cut carbon through catering. - If there’s food at the event, opt for wooden or compostable utensils and dishes. Catering companies are typically able to provide more eco-friendly alternatives to styrofoam plates or plastic forks—you just need to ask! Better yet, have the caterers bring compostable bins for any leftover food that can’t be donated. And don’t forget: no plastic straws! When ordering food, stick to a heavily vegetarian menu. For meat options, opt for poultry, as beef has a much heftier environmental impact—one five-ounce steak omites 331kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, versus 64kg omitted by chicken. That’s equivalent of saving 29.6 gallons of gas, all by switching out one person's meal. (Washington Post, 2017).

• Say goodbye to goodybags. - Stray away from goodybags! If you feel it is necessary to give your guests a thank you, reusable tote bags are a great option.

Reuse.

• Give your materials a longer shelf life. - Having the year listed on the event website and certain materials is extremely important for clarity, but does it need to be printed on notebooks, T-shirts, and pens? If not, this is a great opportunity to reuse! Anything left over or unused from your event that year can be saved for the next edition.

• Say no to plastic water bottles. - Make your event a plastic water bottle free zone! Encourage attendees to bring their own reusable water bottle, to be filled by water fountains or water refill stations around the venue.

Recycle.

• Add recycling bins. - While it may seem obvious, ensure there are plenty of recycling bins throughout the event. Place them near trash cans to avoid someone tossing a recyclable item simply for convenience.

• Have a donation plan in mind for left over items. - When event day finally comes to a close, take an inventory of what’s left over. Food can go to a homeless shelter or food bank, and explore donating other left-over materials to local classrooms, The Goodwill or The Salvation Army.

Interested in learning about how cred can promote and plan your next event? Connect with us at events@credpr.com.

Event 101: Do Room Layouts Affect Audience Engagement?

Remember, the shoe has to fit! Too often venue size, furniture arrangements, and overall aesthetic is not chosen with the audience or agenda in mind. Instead of providing the crowd with an unforgettable experience, they are left to fend for themselves as they maneuver a venue full of disruptions, inconvenient fixtures, and limited seating.

Three things to keep in mind when you’re choosing a venue for your Event:

• Know how many attendees you’re anticipating, larger crowds don't provide flexibility with seating arrangements.

• Venues tend to exaggerate the number of people they can actually accommodate, so always check out the venue in person.

• Don’t forget to take note of any permanent fixtures  that might restrict your layout options.

Now, let’s transition into layouts appropriate for a professional conferences’ content:

• Theater Style: for big conferences, presentations, annual meetings, or lectures.

• Classroom Style: for note-taking at longer events or trainings where attendees might be using laptops.

• Cabaret Style: for meals with presentations and performances, more for luncheons.

• Boardroom Style: for medium-sized meetings or brainstorming and breakout sessions.

• U-shape Style: for interactive sessions or debates.

• Pods Style: for networking sessions or team-building.

• Semi-circle Style: for small meetings and one-person presentations.

Ultimately, your goal for room layouts should always be to optimize crowd participation and experience.

To learn more, check out the full article here.

Event 101: Leverage Social Media for Promotion

Here’s the truth: Whether you’re hosting a 1,500-person conference or a small workshop for 30, your event needs a social media marketing strategy.

Why? Think about it. Why do you attend an event?

1. Networking

2. To learn something valuable (hopefully!)

And that’s what social media is all about - networking, developing, and sharing insightful content. In this way, social media goes hand-in-hand with your event. It can multiply your reach and in turn, boost your event’s reputation and overall number of attendees. Social media also allows speakers, exhibitors, and other attendees to interact before and after your event, thereby offering a more personalized experience. So where do you begin?

First, you’ll need to determine which platforms to use. 84% of event organizers use Facebook to promote their event, with 61% on Twitter and 42% using Youtube. What makes the most sense for your event / what platform does your target attendee audience use the most?

Second, establish your goals. What do you want? More sales? More traffic to your event page and therefore more attendees? More awareness and reputation? Sit down, and think about what you're trying to accomplish before jumping into anything.

Third, create an action plan with content ideas. What clever or useful content can you provide your followers on social media? What is going to make people ‘like,’ re-tweet, star, and share your posts? Ultimately, why should people be interested in your event?

Finally, execute. Easier said than done - and that’s why there are people out there, dedicated to social media as a profession. Social media requires a strategy, and you have to devote time and resources to it. A few tips from us:

• Visual content performs better. (In fact, researchers found that colored visuals increase people's willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.)

• Pay attention. For your specific audience, when do you seem to be getting the most engagement? This kind of testing, for your particular audience, will require a little bit of trial and error - maybe it’s Tuesdays in the afternoon right after lunch,? Either way, consider trends, and replicate that success. 

• Engage with other social media influencers that are relevant to your event and brand, and always, always reply to people, especially when you're just getting started. That’s how you build up loyalty.

For more tips and tricks, check out Eventtia’s articles on event promotion, here and here.

Need help planning your own event?

Contact events@credpr.com.

Event 101: 3 Essentials for Event Venue Selection

The standard convention layout is changing—and event planning agencies are looking for venues that provide experiences beyond the event itself. Aside from budget, number of attendees, and the type of event, there’s a lot to think about.

To help you break through the crowd and ensure your guests have nothing to complain about, here are three essentials to consider when selecting a venue:

1. Flexible space - The demands of your guests are going to vary, and you can only anticipate so much. However, at the basic level, all event spaces should have areas that provide privacy, places to comfortably network prior to the event, and depending on the industry, spaces to work. This means if your guests need to check their emails or social media during the event, you will need to consider having Wifi readily available too.

2. Connectivity with the destination - Remember: it’s also about the experience beyond the event and beyond the venue. If your host destination has something special or unique to offer, incorporate it into the event somehow. Food is the easiest, but be creative! Music, art, activities - the world is your oyster. Providing a list of pre and post-convention activities is always appreciated too.

3. Location - On the topic of cool destinations, location is everything. Choosing a convenient location—something that differs between events - can really help leave a good impression on your guests. If many attendees are from out of town (or the state), choose a venue close to places that will accommodate them for the night. Consider parking too.

On top of the content of the event, making everything seamless and convenient for your attendees is key to ensuring your success. If this means putting up a few extra 8x11 signs to point them in the direction of the check-in area, do it. It can also give you a get-out-of-jail-free card if other aspects of your event don’t work out according to plan.

For more venue tips, check this article out.

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Need help planning your future events or conferences?

Get in touch on Twitter @credpr

Or email us: events@credpr.com.

Event 101: What's New in Event Apps

If you’re wondering what's new in event apps and what attendees and event professionals want, we've got the scoop for you. We ranked app features to establish the most important, and ones up and coming. Here’s the top ten:

1. Real Time Video - A big percentage of survey participants see real-time video as the future of event apps. They want to be able to video stream, upload and share.

2. FOMO Pills - Apps that have true integration with social media help immerse you in the experience and create powerful FOMO as well as ease it at the same time.

3. Less is More - Event management companies love simplicity. An app that does fewer things but better is the best kind of events app. It needs to be easy to access, clean, and intuitive. Simplicity removes the barriers and makes adoption easier.

4. Seamless UX - Many event managers have tried multiple apps and are disappointed with the user experience. Event apps that will be successful in 2016/2017 will feature an easy to use interface for both admins and users.

5. Privacy - When corporate clients or agencies approach apps they are often concerned with the privacy and data protection. No attendee wants sensitive information to be shared on Twitter.

6. Event Management - More and more event professionals demand their apps offer event planning and management features on the backend. The best event apps offer convenient tools to manage the event before, during and after.

7. Easy Pricing - Complexity of price packages is a frustration of many event planners. Apps that will win in the long term will have a fixed pricing structure that's easy to understand.

8. True Integration - Integration with registration platforms is what event professionals yearn for. The more apps talk to each other, the more they will win event organizers hearts.

9. Support Excellence - The most wanted apps are those that guarantee one-to-one support for busy event professionals. They'll take any extra help they can get!

10. Connectivity - If I attend events, I want an easy way to be able to connect and communicate with other attendees I meet, whether it's through the app, email, mobile or other.

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