There are different coworking events and all of these solidify and highlight the core values of any coworking environment. So, as a coworking space, how do you want people to perceive you? That will somehow reflect on the type of coworking events you host.
Now the Christmas season is coming up, do you have an event planned for your members? How did you prepare for it? Did it stress you out? When managing a coworking space, it is essential to hosting events since it builds camaraderie and community. At the same time, it’s a marketing tool to attract potential members to your coworking space. In this blog, we will give you a few tips on what to prepare for organizing an event.
Content
First things first is content. In planning for an event, what is your content? What kind of content do you plan to give out to your members who will attend the event. Make sure that your content is aligned to your strategy, company values, philosophy, and community interest of course. As an example in this holiday season, you may want to host an event that tackles the importance of giving back this Christmas and putting it into action by going around to your community.
If you plan to host a workshop or an informative discussion, you may want to pay attention to the quality of the speaker of the facilitator – make sure that he is well-versed on the topic, interactive, and well-spoken.
Communication and Promotion
Before the Event
There’ll be a lot of marketing preparations to be done before the event. This is to ensure that everyone, especially your target audience will be well-updated of the upcoming event. Publish the event on your website, in your events section, calendar, or blog post and spread the word. Don’t forget the power of word-of-mouth.
Another way is to use social media in communicating and promoting your event. This can make your event viral and it allows you to reach out to a larger audience, as well as keep attendees reminded and up-to-date as the event gets closer.
Last but not least, make sure that the organizer, speaker, facilitators, or artists taking part in the event are influential. Check their followers and following count on social media. Through them, they can already give an impact on their followers as well.
During the Event
Now the event is up, make a live video on Facebook or Instagram and go streaming on Twitter. Let your online community know what is happening in your coworking space at that time. Take good points and capture good photos from the event and you can tweet it or create an Instagram story.
After the Event
Compile all the photos taken and make a nice video. If you’re not an expert, you can look for someone professional in doing this. After all, this will be distributed to your website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Sponsors and Partnership
A well-managed partnership can provide a financial reward, open up marketing channels, promote your space, and accelerate sales. It will be better to take this opportunity to grow your event. The key to getting the right collaboration is you have to seek prospects who have vested interest in the event topic you have prepared and to your target audience. Once you have identified it, both of you have a create a benefits package that will both add value to your event and their business.
With event sponsorship, they pay money to be associated with your coworking space. They are to place their brand, product, or service in front of your audience. They will pay for this access and opportunity to promote or sell their latest offerings. Understand the sponsor’s needs and goals and design a creative proposal to discuss with them. There is no secret formula for this, but you have to understand your sponsor, target audience, and sponsorship objectives.
Production
Production is the hardest part of an event. You should create a checklist of all the materials needed, rentals of equipment, food, drinks, music, audio, lighting, and every event logistics that is needed. It may vary accordingly. There will be some events that you won’t need such a big production. In production, you have to manage the budget well, have good knowledge of the components needed to make the event successful, and have direct connections with suppliers. Overall, set up everything to make the venue a great place for an event.
That’s it! Are you ready to host your event?
Absolutely, the Communication and Promotion part plays a lot for people to show up to your event. Content is another important aspect and it has to be in a way to engage people which is the prime motive of any event.