Are you planning an event this summer?

Whether you’re exhibiting at a conference or holding your own summer event, we’ve got 10 top tips to make it a success.

Publicise your event across a variety of channels. Use your website, email marketing, social media and advertisements. Make it easy for everyone to register to attend, and remind them prior to the event that it’s happening soon.

Practice, practice, practice... Make sure all your speakers are well rehearsed and comfortable about presenting. That extra bit of effort will really add polish to your presentation. And ensure everyone is familiar with the conference equipment so everything runs smoothly and to time.

Provide details of how to get there, such as bus, train and tube links and make sure these are on your website too. If they’re coming by car, make sure they know where to park.

Make sure everyone knows the dress code, and provide clear signage to and from the conference so people don’t get lost.

Provide name badges for all attendees – even at an internal event you often find employees won’t know everyone. Avoid embarrassment and give these out at registration.

If you’re exhibiting make sure you attract people to your stand, by providing an attraction such as a competition or game – you can hire these for the event. Provide some free giveaways on your stand – from promotional gifts featuring your logo to complementary refreshments like free coffees.

Don’t hand out printed copies as these tend to get left behind. Save paper and make the presentation available on your intranet or by email. Or why not create a SlideShare file?

Do a follow-up survey after a conference to discover what elements were popular, and if you’re hosting an event ask the exhibitors where improvements can be made in the future.

Keep communicating! After the event send an email to everyone who attended and connect with them on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Banner Business Services provides office supplies and business services to central government, public sector and large corporate organisations. Our customers include the best-known brands in finance, insurance, legal, retail and many other sectors.

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