Organizing a conference is not an easy feat to achieve, but we have the right solution to get you through. This is not to scare you, but you must know what you are up against. If you have decided to organize a conference, congratulations! It's a great event, one that will be informative and valuable.
To achieve success, you should start preparing for your conference months earlier. Yes! At least six months should precede your conference date or a year if you have a large corporation.
Some of the questions that will be running through your mind the moment you decide on a conference are:
● How do you choose the venue?
● Who will be the speakers?
● What will they talk about?
● Who should be the audience?
With these questions, it might look like your conference is unachievable, but don't worry. You are not alone; many people have been in your situation, and they successfully pulled through. By following our step-by-step keys to a successful conference, you will start planning for your meeting in no time.
7 Keys to a Successful Conference
1) Pick a theme
Every successful conference has a theme or title. Your theme should be the main message your speakers will give a speech on and what the audience will achieve. Your theme should be eye-catching and relatable to garner enough attendees.
The topic should trigger thought-provoking conversations and discussions. For instance, the title "Life after the Pandemic" is quite relatable because the aftermath of covid-19 was agonizing for most people. So, it’s only natural for them to be curious. Your theme will also determine the social promotion of the conference, branding, logo, posters, and campaigns on social media.
2) Create a Team
You possibly can't execute the conference's planning alone, but using random individuals to help you can cause disorganization and mismanagement. Instead, what you need is to look for dedicated team members that will help you achieve the conference's goals.
In other words, your team will handle the different aspects of the program, such as promotion, branding, menu, planning, etc. You will need:
Planning team: This group will be responsible for the conference venue, refreshment, and accommodation.
Administration team:
● Ticket sales.
● Registration and program budgeting.
● Attending to people who need more information about the conference.
Marketing team: Blog, influencers, frequent social media content, promotional material, and management of website and internet activities.
Sponsorship team: Getting sponsors, applying for grants, and fundraising.
Volunteers: Ticket sales, catering, tracking guest list, directing people, and general management.
You should coordinate all these groups to ensure everyone gives the conference their best shot.
3) Set up translation equipment
Suppose you are organizing a large conference or a conference involving people from all walks of life; there is a high chance of having multilingual speakers. As such, it will be an insult to them when they find out the presenters only use one language. While you can't go about looking for a Mandarin or Spanish speaker, you can set up translation equipment to give an accurate translation of the speech being delivered by the speakers. Part of this translation equipment is interpreting booths and you are going to need it for your multilingual conference.
4) Prepare a budget
Even if you already have enough sponsors, you still need to create a budget and plan for every conference activity. That will ensure you spend wisely and manage the resources well. You should have the budget for the refreshment, venue, entertainment, accommodation, Team members, marketers, trainers' fees, and so on.
5) Find sponsors
Unless you are the sole sponsor for the event, you should start scouring for sponsors as soon as you invent the conference in your mind. An excellent way to start is to look for capable individuals with the same value as your conference theme.
Do some background checks on the programs they sponsored in the past or events they usually attend. That will give you an idea and enough confidence to pitch your conference to them. It will be easier to approach a health enthusiast than an educationist for a medical conference.
Also, try to draw the line on how the sponsor will run the conference. Will their logo appear on some things? Will they determine the sponsorship fee? You are the organizer, so you should decide.
6) Pick a date
Now that everything is set in order, you need to pick a date. As stated earlier, you should do this with your team about six months earlier or a year. Also, decide the duration of the conference and consider the weather, location of the attendees, public holidays, etc.
For instance, picking Saturday as your conference date might give attendees who need to travel down enough time to settle in and prepare their journey.
7) Book the venue
Now that you know the date, you can book the venue for the conference. Suitable places for gatherings include hotels, university environments, and other platforms. The title of your conference and expected number of attendees will determine the venue you pick.
For example, a university campus will be the best location for a discussion on academic topics. This venue will receive a significant and related audience than somewhere else.
Conclusion
Planning a conference can be time-demanding and tasking. However, it doesn't have to be like that. By following the steps above, you can pull up a well-organized conference. Some of the things you will need include picking an attractive topic, setting up a reliable team, picking a suitable venue, and setting a budget. Importantly, you will need to cater to multilingual speakers by setting up translation equipment.
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