As hard as you can try to create content for others to push and market for you (we do it constantly so no shame here) you will never get people to share as enthusiastically unless it involves their own contribution. Bands pay a fortune to have their performances filmed and edited perfectly to give the best reflection of their shows, yet most of the audience will still whip out their iPhones because Instagram just can’t wait.
Event planners need to provide opportunities for potential attendees to be the ‘makers’ of immersive learning experiences. This article provides 3 tips on how event planners can motivate potential attendees into being a part of the event- and how to take a load of your own backs in the process.
- Themes help
Every conference has a theme. This is derived from client objectives on how to get their central message across to affect behaviour change. Just an event isn’t going to get people talking but something where they can use an appropriate emoji might. Think about how the theme could be used as the framework, within which topic strands relevant to the theme can be created.
Through the framework you can crowd-source ideas from many of the potential attendees. Broadcast messages – keynotes and panel discussions – can be programmed as topic strands within the thematic framework but you can be an innovator and also include a method to develop other conversations that people might take heed of. Just keep putting the theme out there in different ways.
- The Conference Schedule
By being motivated by the general theme of a conference and the fact that they are active protagonists in co-creating the conference content will provide the ‘pull’ factor. The conservative approach will be to programme a schedule where you have a mix of broadcast keynote experiences and other opportunities where people can come together and co-create a experience.
If you feel you want more control over the output, the hybrid approach will work better for you and key broadcasted messages will be delivered. If you are more adventurous, using the feedback will inform you about which topics are most in demand and a schedule can be built around these. The added value of the co-creation approach is it will aid in the marketing of your conference.
- At the Conference
This is where all your hard work comes together. Whether you have decided on the hybrid approach or whether you have decided to go down the adventurous route, this is the point where your research is going to pay off. You may have crowd sourced your keynotes as well as your topic stands and may be getting nervous about who is going to participate in the sessions you have scheduled. The news is that you have already provided the ‘pull’ factor for people who want to contribute to particular topics. So get them more involved. For example, if someone suggested a keynote speaker, ask them to introduce them onstage.
Another involvement technique is getting a group of people who suggested a particular topic strand to chair that session and crowd source the agenda in the beginning of the session. Basically involve people! Those who speak up online are far more likely to want to in person and once people start discussing topics they have already bought into, they will be more than keen to participate. Remember that for each session some sort of moderation is required. This could be one of your co-creators or a professional moderator who will sum up with the learning key points from the session and can incorporate the main conference messages into the session conclusions to take-away.
