Event planning is the process of organizing and executing a Community Event, that is a time-limited community activity
Community Events play an essential role in the growth and development of communities as they serve as catalysts for community building
To plan your event effectively, think of the process in terms of three separate stages: before, during, and after the event, and outline what needs to happen in each of these stages
Community Events play an essential role in the growth and development of communities, as they are great catalysts for community building and strengthening. An event is a time-limited activity (e.g.: a conference) as opposed to ongoing activities (e.g.: an Online Discussion). Events can take place online or offline, and can range in number of participants.
Event planning is the process of organizing and executing a community event.
Why is event planning important?
When thinking of an event, it is easy to focus on what happens during the event and underestimate what needs to happen before and after the event for it to be successful and impactful.
To organize an effective Community Event, you have to think about and plan how to start engaging members well before the event starts and continue engaging members well after the event ends, in addition to creating engagement during the event.
To plan your event effectively, think of the process in terms of three separate stages: before (pre), during, and after (post) the event.
Before the event
Building anticipation for the event can help boost attendance. For smaller events, you can achieve this crafting and sending a single post announcing the event to the Community. For larger events, it might be useful to send a series of posts over several months. This pre-event content can include:
Initial announcements: announce and promote the event, with basic details about the event highlighting when registration/sign-ups for the event will go live.
Invitations: send out save-the-date invitations and event invitations in good time.
Event previews: outline the highlights, ask members what they are most looking forward to, and promote unanswered questions about the event. You can also interview key individuals (mini podcast series, mini video series, or a series of blog posts).
Registration: include a countdown or information on the event. There can also be a post a day or two before the event with practical information about getting to the event or, if the event is a virtual one, logging on to the online conferencing tool designated for the event.
During the Event
Prepare a content plan to ensure that Content about the event is prepared and posted on the Community’s Online Platforms frequently and consistently during the event. The purpose of this is two-fold: to encourage members who didn’t attend the event to attend the event next time, and to keep them informed so that they are not prohibited from participating in the community after the event.
Content during the event can include:
Blogs: make plans to prepare and post blogs that cover the key aspects of the event, for example: session summaries (see below), interviews with speakers, and live blogging from the most important sessions can have a big impact on boosting online engagement. In other words, these formats stimulate the participation of those who are not physically present but are willing to follow the event online and engage in it through, for example, commenting and re-posting.
Tweets: choose a hashtag for the event and invite Community members to use it in all tweets about the event. This helps people at the event connect with each other, and people who are not physically present at the event to follow it online.
Photos: photos taken by community members and by the community manager can be published and frequently updated during the event. Along with photos, short video clips showcasing what’s happening at the event can be taken and published during the event.
Daily summaries: post round-ups after each day of the event summarizing the major activities and any surprising news. Events need a clear closure to sustain the sense of community amongst members and cement the event into the community’s shared history. This closure may require more than one piece of ending content on the event.
Video: if you have the budget, hire a videographer to take impromptu videos throughout the event; this serves two purposes: it prolongs the feelings of goodwill and camaraderie well after the event has passed. Furthermore, you can use it again before the next event to build excitement about it by showing how great the last event was!
In addition to publishing content, think about various activities you can organize during the event such as:
Arrange face-to-face meetings of subgroups especially between people coming from different countries who rarely get to meet in person.
Anything that promotes and celebrates the community.
Try an “Ask me anything” answer bar.
Organize “Birds of a feather” lunch meetings for people to connect on common topics of interest by putting a sign “sit here if you are interested in topic X, Y, Z” on every table.
Set time aside for “Open Space” where community members offer and facilitate conversations.
After (post) the Event
After the event, there are several important pieces of content to create and publish:
Final summary/Thank you’s/Top 10: it is important to write a summary outlining what happened and thanking members for attending. This should be informative and provide individuals who could not attend a clear overview of what happened. It’s also very effective to draft a highlights/ top 10 learnings post following the event.
Suggestions/Feedback: some of the best suggestions for organizing an even better event next time lie in the minds of the participants. To tap into this resource, think about publishing a post which calls for feedback and suggestions for the next event. A common and recommended approach is to include in your feedback post a link to an online survey asking for detailed feedback.
Resources: publish on the Community’s Online Platforms the event materials such as slides, videos, handouts, and any other materials that were distributed during the event.
Testimonials: testimonials validate the current event and can be used as pre-event content for the next event to encourage attendance and create buzz, especially if you receive some glowing testimonials from well-known and respected members of the Community.
Blog » Planning a Community Event
Planning a Community Event
Summary:
Resources:
Checklist: Event Planning (Before, During, After)
What is a Community Event?
Community Events play an essential role in the growth and development of communities, as they are great catalysts for community building and strengthening. An event is a time-limited activity (e.g.: a conference) as opposed to ongoing activities (e.g.: an Online Discussion). Events can take place online or offline, and can range in number of participants.
Event planning is the process of organizing and executing a community event.
Why is event planning important?
When thinking of an event, it is easy to focus on what happens during the event and underestimate what needs to happen before and after the event for it to be successful and impactful.
To organize an effective Community Event, you have to think about and plan how to start engaging members well before the event starts and continue engaging members well after the event ends, in addition to creating engagement during the event.
How do you plan effective Community Events?
This article focuses solely on the logistical aspect of events. You can read more broadly about Member Engagement as well as Designing Effective Events.
To plan your event effectively, think of the process in terms of three separate stages: before (pre), during, and after (post) the event.
Before the event
Building anticipation for the event can help boost attendance. For smaller events, you can achieve this crafting and sending a single post announcing the event to the Community. For larger events, it might be useful to send a series of posts over several months. This pre-event content can include:
Initial announcements: announce and promote the event, with basic details about the event highlighting when registration/sign-ups for the event will go live.
Invitations: send out save-the-date invitations and event invitations in good time.
Event previews: outline the highlights, ask members what they are most looking forward to, and promote unanswered questions about the event. You can also interview key individuals (mini podcast series, mini video series, or a series of blog posts).
Registration: include a countdown or information on the event. There can also be a post a day or two before the event with practical information about getting to the event or, if the event is a virtual one, logging on to the online conferencing tool designated for the event.
During the Event
Prepare a content plan to ensure that Content about the event is prepared and posted on the Community’s Online Platforms frequently and consistently during the event. The purpose of this is two-fold: to encourage members who didn’t attend the event to attend the event next time, and to keep them informed so that they are not prohibited from participating in the community after the event.
Content during the event can include:
In addition to publishing content, think about various activities you can organize during the event such as:
After (post) the Event
After the event, there are several important pieces of content to create and publish:
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