Northstar

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: NATTAKORN MANEERAT/GETTY IMAGES Checklist Planner's Portfolio 19 MAY-JUN 2019 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM T hese days, a full schedule of compelling education might not be enough to get prospective participants to register, especially if your event is one that will take multiple hours or days. Guests are mapping out the overall benet when making their decision to attend your meeting, but that includes being able to keep up at home. Following are some best practices for keeping attendees engaged and satised from beginning to end. BEFORE THE EVENT Streamline the registration process Streamline the process with convenient meeting invites that include all the necessary information attendees need. To make things simple, nd a meeting platform that oers automatic authentication and supports a smooth meeting-registration experience. Let attendees know what to expect Showcase each speaker, promote articles and information contributed by your event's keynote speakers and let attendees in on the special "perks" they can expect to see, do and experience. Get input from the get-go Post surveys on social media and send attendees to a forum where they can contribute questions and comments regarding the content and what they're looking to get out of the entire event. Steps for making the most of your meeting attendees' time WORDS JESSI MINNECI Keep your attendees satisfied and figure out how not to waste their time. DURING THE EVENT Designate time for appointments Make it easy for those who signed up pre- convention using your matchmaking or appointment-setting apps to hold those meetings by providing a dedicated space or ensuring that exhibitors are set up to hold appointments in their booths. Give them some downtime Allow your guests the chance to catch up, collect their thoughts, rest and relax. A little free time goes a long way in granting your meeting-goers some moments to just unwind and recharge. Get social Feature a social media wall and encourage all attendees to participate. A social wall is as it sounds — a platform that displays social media updates in real time. Your wall could feature a running list of tweets that mention your event's hashtag or Facebook posts that are geotagged at your venue. Hop on the wellness train These days, the overall theme of well- being is huge in the meetings industry. Keep the health and wellness of your attendees in mind by implementing a wellness programme for your event. AFTER THE EVENT While most organisers do some sort of post-show survey, you should consider taking a look at how you've been trying to engage attendees post-event — are you asking the questions that will get you the data you need? Chunk the responses you receive into short info bursts and case studies that you can distribute post-show via your app, social media channels, website and email campaigns to remind attendees of what they learnt and spark the interest of next year's potential participants.

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