Whether you’re new to the events industry or looking to get into the events industry, there are many words out there that can get jumbled together, like event management. Event management pretty much means the same thing as an event planner, meeting planner, and event marketer—so why the separate words? That’s the million-dollar question that we’ll break down alongside the five main aspects of event management and how it differs for virtual, hybrid and in-person events.
Oh, and we’ll also shed some light on other common event terms with about 78 variations.
So what exactly is event management?
Drum roll please… event management is the process of planning an event. Yep. You know those event planners who plan their events and then run around said event making sure everything is in order and perfect? That’s exactly what event management is as well.
You may be asking yourself why there are so many different titles for the same position. And that’s a great question. One explanation is that for each of the listed positions, the nitty-gritty details of the job can vary depending on the industry, company size, and more. But for the rest of this article, we’ll be using them interchangeably.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, back to the definition of event management. Event management or an event manager plans and manages events. The type of events depends on the company but could include virtual, hybrid, or in-person events for meetings, conferences, trade shows, festivals, and webinars. Depending on the size of the events and/or company, event managers may work as part of a team.
5 main aspects of event management
1 CRAFTING YOUR EVENT
Every great event starts with brainstorming, which eventually turns into a theme, a plan, and a goal. Once the event has a purpose, you can decide if the event will be virtual, hybrid, or in-person. The purpose and the type of event will then influence the registration, content, and website. If you’re new to event management, it’s helpful if your event management software has a drag-and-drop website builder. Or if you have the technical chops, get yourself software that does both: drag & drop and BYOC (bring your own code.)
2 MARKETING YOUR EVENT
Marketing your event is one of the biggest responsibilities of event management. That’s why one of the synonymous terms for event management is event marketing. If people don’t know about your event, they can’t attend, and therefore the event is a dud. You don’t want that. Our suggestions for marketing? Try it all: targeted email marketing, paid ads, free social media, etc.
Psst. You aren’t on your own for all of this. You can send targeted emails through your event marketing software, so they are on-brand with the entire event. Still, wondering what the heck event marketing software is? Check out the 6 types of event management software here.
3 MANAGING THE EVENT
Your event has a purpose, and it has marketing. Now it’s time to make sure the event goes off without a hitch. The key to a successful event is preparation. Prepare event technologists, speakers, sponsors, and attendees. Have your checklists ready for what needs to be done and what happens when things go wrong. Trust us, things will go wrong, but what matters is how you respond to it.
4 TRACKING DATA
Event management includes tracking and interpreting event data. Some of the data that’s tracked early on can be used for immediate changes. For example, let’s say you’re getting people to the website, but everyone bounces on the 2nd page of the registration form. That is data that should be watched and changed in real-time.
Additional information, such as leads, will also need to be tracked in an organized manner. The leads that you are tracking in an organized manner will be what you use to help prove the return on investment (ROI) for the event. Events run because they make money. Companies want to see how much money they are making from having these events. Leads don’t automatically become customers after the event. The time it takes to close a deal differs for each company, so you’ll want to be able to keep track of when a lead converts to a sale (even if it’s four months from now.)
5 THE TWO T’S: TECHNOLOGY & TEAMWORK
We know this sounds like a lot of work (and it is), but don’t write off event management just yet. Event management is worlds easier with technology and teamwork. Your event management software is going to be your best friend. It’s going to help you with your website, registration form, payments, marketing, and data tracking; there are many other software tools out there that will continue to assist you along the way. Technology is a must for event management.
Now for teamwork. Unless you’re working for a small company, you’re most likely not going to be alone; there will be others on your team. Lean on your team and throw the most memorable event that people will talk about for years to come.
Now that you know the main aspects of event management, here’s how it differs for virtual, hybrid, and in-person events.
Virtual event management
Virtual events are all about the content. The content must be captivating enough to maintain the attendees’ interest throughout the event. Have you ever watched Netflix and scrolled Instagram? (Don’t answer; it was a rhetorical question.) The goal is to make the content so captivating that the only reason the attendees would grab their phones is to access the event’s mobile app.
Speaking of mobile apps for virtual events … it’s a pro tip to have an app paired with your event. If the attendee is busy using the event app and engaging with it during sessions, the attendee can’t scroll their social media. We suggest checking out Eventmobi.
Ok, so you get the picture that the content must be engaging, but we haven’t addressed that what also makes content engaging is the presentation of that content.
Pssst. Are you new to the world of virtual events? Check out this virtual events glossary. It has all the lingo you need to know to seem like a pro.
Hybrid event management
Hybrid events are all about making one cohesive event while making each component (the in-person component and the virtual component) feel unique. Yes, it sounds like an impossible task, but it’s not!
The number one tip for doing so is having event software that handles both in-person and virtual events. Not only does this help provide a smooth event experience, but it’s also beneficial for operational efficiency and data collection. Read: trying to gather data from multiple sources and collate it sucks.
The other thing to keep in mind is marketing for hybrid events is it’s different than marketing for virtual and in-person events. With hybrid events, you can segment your audience by funnel stages and market appropriately. This is because hybrid events bring a large, diverse audience that covers the different stages of your funnel.
In-person event management
In-person events are all about the connections and overall event experience. People don’t pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to sit in a dull conference room with cold coffee. People pay to attend an experience different from the others they’ve been to and connect with people new and old. This must be top of mind for event managers.
Ok! That’s your rundown of event management. If you’re new to events and looking for event software that has the best support team on the planet, then you’re gonna wanna click here for a demo.
Otherwise, we’ll catch ya on the flip side!