Social events designed to help build brand awareness need to resonate with your target audience and reflect your brand persona. This can be hard to deliver, especially if this is your first event.
In this article, the experts who manage our social event space in Vaughan will share nine special event planning tips to help your brand succeed.
1. Set goals
Having specific goals in mind will help drive the content included in the event. If you’re trying to expand your reach, you might want a hybrid event with remote and live attendance options.
If you are launching a new product or service, then you likely want to include interactive opportunities to experience your new offerings.
Are you trying to build brand awareness? If so, you need to carefully choose activities that speak to your values and beliefs, and showcase your efforts to improve your corporate social responsibilities.
2. Create authentic experiences
Walking away from an event with meaningful memories and knowledge is far more valuable to today’s consumer than a bagful of cheap, throwaway freebies like branded baseball caps.
Finding opportunities for guests to learn something new, experience your products or services in a personal way, or engage with your brand through unexpected activities such as participating in a project using your paint, making a meal with your brand of sauce, or engaging in competitions with fellow guests on your app are examples of authentic experiences consumers crave.
3. Allow people to attend in different ways
The pandemic taught us an important lesson when it comes to participation: it is possible to engage people without being “in the room.”
Although attending events in person is the ultimate experience, you can expand your brand’s reach and meet more people by introducing digital options that allow them to participate on their own terms. This might include live-streaming seminars or presentations, live call-in Q&As, or using an in-person event platform.
4. Invest in an event mobile app
Real-time communication throughout the event can greatly improve engagement. A mobile app that provides live updates about what’s happening and where can ensure guests make the most of their attendance and see and experience everything.
Mobile apps can create personalized schedules with notices, so guests know where to go next based on their interests, maps to help with wayfinding, a communication tool to feed live questions about the event with real-time answers, Q&As during seminars, and more.
5. Ask guests what they want
Before you plan your event, ask attendees or invitees what will make the event worth attending. Present some of your ideas, ask for feedback, and solicit suggestions to create an exceptional event.
However, post-event surveys and reviews also play a critical role in improving each event you plan. With every insightful comment you receive, and patterns in criticism or praise you spot, you become better at understanding your audience and meeting their needs to help your brand succeed.
6. Build event momentum
Social events are all about the buzz they create. Taking steps to get that conversation started prior to the event increases interest and can positively impact attendance.
Providing opportunities for ongoing interactions leading up to, during, and after the event is the best way to boost attendance and raise interest in future events.
As mentioned, an event mobile app can help, as can social media posts and live feeds on your website that keep people updated on what the event might include.
Post-event communication is also critical, such as sharing videos of what happened, taking live after-event questions to provide real-time answers, or sharing photos and stories about positive outcomes. All these steps contribute to the experience, while building momentum for upcoming events.
7. Include personalization
Personalizing the event’s content and experiences ensures that every attendee gets the most out of your brand.
This begins by asking attendees for input on what they want from the event. It continues by sharing information based on the most relevant activities and content that helps meet those needs and ensures guests have the information they need while attending the event.
In sum, personalization ensures attendees don’t get lost in the crowd or miss the moments that matter most to them.
8. Avoid the norm
Brand-hosted social events are all about separating your brand from the rest. As a result, you need to think beyond the norms and trends that everyone else is following and create unique experiences.
How can you take the experience to the next level? Can you leverage technology to help present evocative interactions? Can you create more excitement post-event by using social media?
Can you livestream key moments to include those who couldn’t be present at the event? Can you partner with non-competitive brands who share your views and those of your customers to make more meaningful connections?
9. Practice what you preach
All of the above planning tips must reflect the brand image you’re trying to project. For example, if you’re a green brand focused on sustainable, eco-friendly practices, you must ensure you:
Are using recyclable materials.
Aren’t using plastic “goodie bags” or wasting paper with excessive handouts.
Provide a QR code to access your information package.
Encourage shared rides to and from your social event space in Vaughan to reduce your carbon footprint.
Serve locally sourced food and drinks.
Reduce waste by using real plates, glasses, cutlery, etc.
If you’re committed to the community, you might:
Ensure the staff at the event all live locally.
Include local businesses to provide your supplies.
Book a social event space at Vaughan Banquet Hall to support your community.
Contact the Social Event Venue Experts
Planning social events for your brand is all about understanding your audience and taking steps to engage them. However, it’s also about understanding your brand persona and ensuring your social events reflect the core values you wish to share with your customers.
To help make certain that your brand events are a success, reach out to the experts at Château Le Jardin’s social event space in Vaughan here. You can also call us at 1-888-529-8573 or contact us here.
