As a busy event planner in NYC, you have a lot on your plate. Today’s guests have high expectations of you, too. Every detail has to be perfect, and the whole event needs to go off without a hitch. Fortunately, there are ways to automate many aspects of the event planning process so you can focus your attention on the areas that need it most. Embrace automation with these five optimizations to streamline your process and spend less time facilitating and more time being a genius creative with your events.
1. Automate Promotions to Streamline Your Process
One of the most critical tasks you’re faced with as an event planner is promoting your event. After all, an event is only successful if guests know about it and want to attend. That’s why automating promotion is one of the best ways to streamline your process.
For instance, you can tap into automation software to promote your corporate or social events on multiple social media channels at once, allowing you to push the blogs and articles you want promoted. Additionally, you should automate email marketing prior to your event. That way, discounts, registration links, and service information can be sent to your target event audience at ideal times to drive engagement.
2. Automate Registration and Check-In
Using automation for registration and check-in is helpful for both you and your guests. Your guests appreciate the convenience and time-saving option of registering and purchasing tickets online at the same time. Similarly, providing a smooth check-in service at the event gives your guests a positive impression of both your company and the event itself.
On your end, automation saves you precious time and money. For example, you don’t need as many staff working check-in if guests are able to use an automated process to check in through their phones. That frees you and your staff to work on tasks that can’t be automated. Plus, you’ll appreciate having a comprehensive database with all the information you need about your attendees prior to the event.
3. Use Automation to Facilitate Connections During the Event
Automation additionally helps you stay in contact with your sponsors, guests, and exhibitors throughout the event. Furthermore, it also helps you facilitate connections among your sponsors, guests, and exhibitors. That’s paramount because you can’t be everywhere at once (no matter how much you wish you could be!)
One of the best ways to do this is by automating emails to be sent during your event. These emails can provide information about how to check in, where specific presentations are, details about the venue, a map of exhibitor booths, etc. You can also facilitate connections during the event by using automation to invite attendees to meet with sponsors and exhibitors as the event goes on with your event app.
4. Automate Communications to Streamline Your Process
Chatbots are everywhere today, and if you’re not using them, you’re missing out on an easy way to streamline your process. Chatbots effectively provide attendees with answers to common questions, help you upsell during registration and check-in, and shorten response times, all while freeing you to concentrate on other tasks.
Crucially, automation can also help you collect data on attendees, both through chatbots and through other forms of engagement, such as social media clicks. That information will be especially important post-event.
5. Streamline Your Post-Event Follow-Up
After the event, it’s a good idea to send out surveys to attendees, exhibitors, and vendors. However, as time goes on, the likelihood of participation drops, as does the quality of the responses you are likely to receive. Automation solves this problem by prompting recipients to complete a survey during the checkout process when they are most likely to engage.
You should also compile and analyze data after your event ends so you can improve attendance and engagement at future events. Automation streamlines this process for you, too. With automation, you can collect data at every point during the event, from registration to engagement with particular exhibitors to the final checkout process. The wealth of information you receive helps you better tailor events to your target audience in the future.
Discover All the Best Automations and Event Tech at The Expo
Are you interested in learning even more about how automation can help you streamline your event planning process? The Event Planner Expo provides the perfect opportunity to both showcase your business and learn about the latest trends in event planning. Reserve your booth today and get in the room to learn from the industry’s top pros!
