Back in 2015, I introduced five trends I expected would have a major impact on making events stand out. But since four years is practically a generation in the world of technology, I wanted to revisit the initial predictions I made, as well as introduce the new trends I’m looking forward to as event management technology has continued to evolve. Did mobile event apps, iBeacons, event analytics, interactivity, or gamification have the impact I’d predicted they would? What new trends have eclipsed them in the event space? Let’s dive in together.

Back when I first wrote this article, I predicted that “it’s a good bet event apps will be the tool with the largest impact on the conference industry in 2015.” Not only do I believe this trend fully materialized, I believe it continues to grow in importance today, in 2019.

On the floor of a major conference or event, apps make it possible to quickly preview schedules, uncover networking opportunities, identify priority exhibitors to visit, and find needed amenities around the venue. It should come as no surprise that the 2018 Event App Bible produced by Event Manager Blog reported that 91% of 1,000 survey respondents believe that event apps are still relevant, or that a study from Global Experience Specialists found that “91% of event planners who have incorporated an event app have experienced positive event ROI.”

Mobile event apps have their challenges. As the Event App Bible notes, GDPR compliance and Apple App Store updates relating to templated apps released in 2017 are both concerns for mobile app producers. But given that the same report predicts 26% potential growth for event apps over the next year, it seems safe to say that the impact of these considerations will be manageable.

The potential impact of beacons on event personalization remains indisputable. But have they taken off the way I predicted they would? The answer appears to be both yes and no.

Since I first published this article, a number of notable events have gone on to use beacon technology, including Mobile World Congress, the Detroit Auto Show, the Bonnaroo music festival and more. Additional types of beacons have been developed that are carried by attendees, such as in the form of lanyard beacons on event badges. This adoption shouldn’t be surprising, given that “proximity-aware event apps are found to be 235% more engaging than standard mobile apps at events,” according to Beaconstac’s Devika Girish.

However, there are worrying signs as well. Though Apple launched the first beacon technology – iBeacon – in 2013, it was quickly followed by Google’s hardware-agnostic Eddystone platform (part of its Physical Web initiative) and the Nearby app for Android and iOS in 2015. However, in October 2017, Google removed Physical Web support from its Android and iOS Chrome applications, and discontinued Nearby notifications entirely in December 2018, citing an increase in “locally irrelevant notifications.”

Of course, beacon usage at events is quite different than retail usage. But reading through event blogs, I’m still seeing a number of articles continuing to introduce the benefits of beacon usage – such as Event’s April 2018 article, “Is Proximity Beacon Technology the Missing Piece to Your Event?” This suggests to me that beacons aren’t yet fully understood and haven’t reached potential peak adoption in the event space in particular (perhaps due to privacy concerns on the part of users).

I’ll keep watching this one as we move into 2019, though I’m not as optimistic as I was in 2015.

No one would argue that analytics have diminished in importance since 2015, which is why I’m comfortable predicting this trend to continue through 2019 and beyond.

One interesting change from this article’s initial publication, however, is the way different apps have diverged in their approaches to analytics. The proliferation in the number of event apps out there means that each has a slightly different take on the data that’s gathered and how it’s interpreted.

If you’re shopping for an event app solution these days, it isn’t important to just ask whether or not it has analytics available. Now, you have to drill down to the core features that are most relevant to your company. Do you need real-time analytics? Do you need the ability to heat map your venue? Are you more concerned about measuring event ROI or sponsor engagement? Ask these and other questions of yourself before choosing a solution.

It’s also worth noting that analytics generation depends on app adoption. If you want to make event app analytics a higher priority in 2019, it’s just as important that you focus on ensuring as many attendees as possible are using your solution.

As with analytics adoption, the use of interactivity in conferences and events continues to expand as event app development grows. Google’s Demo Day program, for example, now uses its event app to facilitate voting for its Audience Choice awards. Audience keypad voting, polling and quizzing features are now commonplace at events.

One other area where I’ve noticed increased interactivity recently is through the use of real-time speaker feedback gathering. Rather than handing attendees paper forms after each session (and trusting that they’ll find their way to you, not the garbage can), event apps make it possible for session participants to quickly share feedback while it’s fresh in their minds.

Like beacons, gamification appears to have enjoyed more success outside of the events space than within it to this point. For instance, according to a MarketsandMarkets report, “the global gamification industry will be valued at $11.1 billion by 2020, up from $1.65 billion in 2015.” Yet, despite this potential growth, the team at MCI Experience notes that, “although gamification is a concept which has been around for a number of years now, it’s still an idea that is relatively unfamiliar to many people in the events industry.”

In part, I believe some of this disconnect lies in challenges differentiating gamification from interactivity. Interactive polling and quizzing, for example, can share elements of gamification, depending on how they’re deployed. But as Himani Sheth writes on Medium, gamification can be so much more, potentially encompassing activities such as scavenger hunts to orient participants to the layout of the venue, reward-driven networking games and more.

I’ll continue to watch this one as technology and adoption grow.

Since 2015, the use of chatbots – through Facebook Messenger and apps like Drift – has exploded in popularity. I can see tremendous potential for their usage within conferences and events, such as the ability to answer quick questions regarding ticket level access, session room assignments and the location of amenities within the venue.

Morgan Howard, a freelance customer experience manager, shares her experience working on a Facebook Messenger bot that answered fan queries at the Sound on Sound Fest music festival. “It was automated, and able to answer a lot of customer questions with a great success rate,” she says. “Fans got the instant gratification of receiving a response.”

However, I can also see them running into many of the same challenges faced by traditional event apps – namely, adoption. If no one knows the feature is there, it won’t get used. That chatbots can only answer simple questions that don’t require human intelligence may also limit their usefulness in the context of the events, but I can also see them providing conference organizers with valuable event data. If a significant volume of questions are asked at a certain time or on a particular topic, that could indicate that better education or additional human support is needed.

One emerging trend identified by the Event App Bible is the use of voice search features or “Siri-like responses” in event apps. This is understandable, given that “50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020, according to comScore.”

People have grown accustomed to asking questions of Siri, Alexa and other voice search-enabled technologies, rather than typing them into search engines. It’s reasonable to assume they’d expect to be able to translate this same behavior to their conference and event apps, which is why I expect we’ll see more event technology adopt this approach in 2019 and beyond.

One final trend I’m watching are the many potential applications of different virtual reality (VR) technologies at conferences and major events, growing out of the recent release of affordable, self-contained VR devices like the Oculus Go.

Not only could exhibitors and vendors use these technologies to give attendees the full experience of their products and services, speakers, and presenters could use them in an educational context to make session materials more engaging than standard lecture-style delivery.

Given that the Oculus Go currently retails for $199 per unit, providing a headset for every conference or session attendee may not yet be practical. However, as the technology becomes more ubiquitous and prices come down, I expect we’ll see it used more and more at conferences and events.

What technologies have you used to make your events stand out? Any you’d add to this list? Share your thoughts below.

You’ve decided on the type of event you’re going to hold.  You’re ready to start spreading the word on your organization’s social media accounts. You’re crafting a registration landing page that any attendee will find easy to use.The only thing missing is memorable merchandise that will commemorate your event and spread the word about your organization.

Event merchandise can supplement your fundraising efforts, strengthen relationships with your supporters, and attract more attention for your cause. When your attendees wear, carry, or display the merchandise they’ve picked up at your event, others are likely to ask them where they got the items and what they represent.

Your goal is to create merchandise that will make your attendees happy and generate conversation surrounding your organization and the good work it does long after the event is over. While designing merchandise is a creative process that gives you lots of room to have fun, following a few guidelines will ensure that your organization benefits from your merchandise.

In addition to these guidelines, we’ve noted a few common mistakes you should avoid as you start designing. Let’s begin with the most important aspect to consider when designing merchandise: giving your event attendees what they want.

Knowing your audience is the first and most essential step in designing custom merchandise for distribution at your event. Your attendees want merchandise that fits within their personal styles, relates to the cause they care about, and reminds them of how much fun they had at your event.

This may sound like a tall order, but don’t worry! You can create merchandise that addresses all three of these preferences if you do some research on your supporters ahead of time. First on your list is knowing some basic demographic information about your attendees.

How old are your attendees? If most of them are around the same age, they’re more likely to share design preferences. If you’re worried about following a trend that will quickly become outdated, remember that attendees of all ages will appreciate a simple, stylish design that places your organization’s mission at its center.

In-person events take place in specific communities, so why not incorporate your attendees’ shared geographic location into your merchandise design? Consider incorporating town and city names and landmarks in your design or modifying your organization’s logo to reference the location of an event.

If you’re designing wearable merchandise like t-shirts as an event fundraiser, try to create a design that guests of any gender would be comfortable wearing, or provide multiple options from which they can choose.

Need to do more research before creating something that you know everyone will love? In addition to broad demographic research, focus on your organization’s past experiences with community engagement. You may have useful information on hand from previous community events, social media interactions, or earlier merchandise sales.

After you take your attendees’ demographic information into consideration, it’s time to think about their relationship to your organization. Think back to what you know about your supporters: what draws them to your cause? If you can summarize that in a memorable phrase or a striking visual, you’ve uncovered the starting place for your design.

Depending on the focus of your organization, you may be already associated with certain images (animals, children, or nature, for example). But this isn’t the case for all nonprofits! If your cause doesn’t easily translate to an image, a good typographic design is just as effective.

Mistake to avoid: Not doing enough research on your attendees! Choose and design items and styles that your particular group of supporters is most likely to love.

Your attendees want merchandise that shows their pride in the good work your organization does and serves as a memento of the event they attended. Commemorate the occasion with a design that will remind them of how much fun they had every time they wear it.

You have multiple options when it comes to deciding when your attendees will receive their merchandise. Will you use merchandise as a way to promote your event, including the items with registration and distributing them before the event so that attendees can wear, carry, or use them there? Or will you sell merchandise at the event so that everyone can take home a memento from the big day?

Whichever you choose, you know that your goal is to create merchandise that your attendees will wear or use to show their support for your organization wherever they go. They’re more likely to do so if the item reminds them of how much fun your event was!

Wearable merchandise, like customizable shirts from Bonfire, is a perennial favorite among both nonprofits and supporters. If you’re opting for t-shirts or sweatshirts, don’t forget to take the season of your event into consideration! Choose a sleeve length that’s appropriate for the time of year and climate of your event. You may even consider a seasonal color scheme, especially if it fits well with your organization’s branding.

The type of event you’re hosting can also help you decide on a design. For instance, athletic activities like runs and walks are common fundraising events. If you’re holding one, go for a sporty design. If your merchandise is a take-home gift after an evening event, try something classic and elegant, or something bolder for a louder party setting!

Mistake to avoid: Your merchandise references your organization but not your event or–more dangerously–references your event but not your organization! The perfect design strikes a balance between identifying your organization and cause and commemorating your event.

Take the time to create a design that your attendees will associate with both your event and your organization. The key to the latter is to brand your merchandise in a way that’s creative, but still consistent with your organization’s imagery.

You know and love your organization’s familiar branding: the color scheme on your website and other materials, the characteristic font you use for your name, and of course your logo. While you may not be able to include all of these elements in your event merchandise, incorporating your organization’s branding within your design in some way is essential.

Consistent branding builds familiarity, trust, and recognition among your supporters and in the wider world of individuals who may become your supporters in the future! One main purpose of event merchandise is to build awareness for your cause when your attendees wear or use the items in public.

If you want to use your organization’s branding but need to tailor it to your event, create a design that combines these two elements. If your organization’s name can’t be displayed prominently within the design you choose, consider keeping your color scheme to boost recognition in this way.

Your organization’s logo is likely to be a part of any design you create, but consider updating it to reflect an aspect of your event or a shared interest of your attendees. A modification or partial redesign may make your logo fit in with the activity around which the event is centered, the location where it’s taking place, or the season when it’s being held!

Mistake to avoid: You design stylish merchandise that your attendees love to wear or use, but it contains few or no clear references to your organization or indications of your cause. Remember that part of the purpose of event merchandise is to spread the word about your organization and all of the good work it does!

Don’t neglect the power of branding in your design. If you create merchandise that your attendees love, they may even wear or use it in efforts to promote your next event in-person and on social media!

If you’ve decided on a color scheme and know how you want to incorporate your organization’s branding, it’s time for you to choose the design’s central image or text. Leaning toward a catchy phrase? Typographic designs are powerful, memorable, and suited to a wide variety of organizations and causes.

You’ll likely be able to decide quickly whether your organization’s work is better expressed in images or words. You can, of course, always combine them in your design, or use your logo as the image component of your design.

If you’ve decided on a typographic design or are making text a large component of your design, you’ll need to choose a phrase that expresses the mission of your organization within the context of your event. This phrase should be short, memorable, and easy to understand. Merchandise that displays the phrase may end up introducing others to your organization!

Keep in mind that your goal for your typographic design is that onlookers are able to read it! This means that you need to put thought into your font selection, font combinations, and especially your choice of background and text colors.

Choose easily readable fonts and large type to ensure that your phrase comes across well on your merchandise. Need a little extra artistic value in your text-only design? Use multiple fonts, making sure that they complement one another. Above all, don’t choose two light or two dark colors for your background and text! Color contrast is essential to readability.

Mistake to avoid: Your phrase doesn’t strike the right balance between catchy and informative, or your have a great phrase that your design renders unreadable. If your phrase requires too much reading, is too dry, or contains too much “insider information” for onlookers to identify your organization’s purpose, revise it before you create your merchandise. Once you’ve formulated the perfect phrase, use a design tool to test out available fonts and color schemes to ensure readability.

You’ve researched your audience, created a design unique to your event, incorporated your organization’s branding, and selected just the right image or phrase. Before you order your merchandise, go over this final checklist to make sure that the design will look as good on the items as it does in your plans.

Have you:

If you have ideas for designs but need some help with the process or don’t have the time to address every event planning challenge yourself, consider enlisting the help of someone with graphic design experience. You’ll get the design you want and save yourself time when you need it most.

We don’t need to tell you that events are a big deal in the event world, but we can tell you that you want your supporters going home with a professional-quality item that they’ll want to show off again and again. Provide them with the right merchandise and watch as awareness of your organization grows!

Social Media has infiltrated every area of modern life and exhibitions are no different. Every one attending or presenting uses social media in some way. One of the benefits of social media for business is its speed: you can test concepts and ideas quickly to see if they work. This ability to quickly speak to your audience gives you an opportunity when designing your stand to refine your concept for maximum impact. You can test how your audience responds to certain types of messaging and ideas, and then feed this data back to your exhibition stand designers so they can build the refinements into the design. 

When it comes to the design of the stand itself,  you can integrate social media into the design in numerous ways. Social media’s functionality is easily adapted to work with your stand’s technology or experiences. This means you can add social elements to individual areas of the stand depending on the experience you are trying to deliver. These elements can help you with everything from engagement to lead generation.

The use of social media on exhibition stands in recent years has become increasingly innovative and entertaining. As the tools and audiences grow so does the inventiveness of those using it. There are no rules on where you can use social media, that is down to your imagination and creativity. However, there are some natural fits for social media within the modern exhibition stand. Below are the most common uses we come across:

Live engagement is using social media in its purest form. You merely create someway in which people using their social media can engage with your stand. This can be as simple as a “live social media screen” where photos using your event hashtag will appear on a screen in your stand. Another idea is to encourage selfies through a backdrop wall. Some companies have used social media to run competitions and then build in screens on the stand that let them announce winners and display their winning entries.

Mattel devised a wonderfully clever way to get social media engagement at Brand Licensing Europe. Their Barbie photo booth let people become a packaged Barbie and share the image online. Creating a fun buzz around their flagship product.https://www.instagram.com/p/BaHTqkNHp-X/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Feventupplanner.com&rp=%2Fhow-social-media-is-impactingexhibition-stand-designs%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A4252.5%2C%22ls%22%3A1999%2C%22le%22%3A2173.900000035763%7D

Take social engagement to the next level with real time interactions. This involves interacting with those who take the time to engage with you. Unlike the above, which tends to be automated, the interactions will require human elements. How this impacts the design can vary depending on your approach. If you are simply keeping interaction limited to social media itself, it just means having someone dedicated to doing so. However, some brands have decided to be a little more creative. This has led to some stands where the interaction has become part of the experience. Letting those influence what is happening as they watch or engage with the stand. It is simply digital audience participation. The difference is this is participation that you can then use to promote your brand online as it’s shared on social media.

One company embracing the possibilities of social media interactions is Old Navy. Their #Selfiebration campaign toured various cities letting people interact with Old Navy in a truly fun and engaging way.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4y0IZS1iPF4%3Fenablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Feventupplanner.com

Live stream offers you a vast opportunity to engage with people who aren’t even at the event. If you have a renowned keynote speaker or exciting product launch you can share this with the world, not just the room. The design consideration here is how to present this. For brands on a budget, you can just film it on your phone or you can go for a higher quality video format. The IBC Exhibition in Amsterdam is one of the leaders in live streaming in the industry. They have evolved their live streaming of the event into a highly engaged community that continue to engage long after the event. Whatever you decide, you have to consider how it looks and sounds online before the event. Do you need more lighting? Do you need a pa system? Would screens help? Try thinking about what would affect your experience if you were to watch it online.

Social media’s growth is tied to smartphones and as these have grown, so has the amount of technology that they can connect to. Now you can control everything from your smartphone, from the lighting to the toaster in your home. Exhibitions are no different. This connectivity gives you the opportunity to let your audience control elements of the stand itself. Meaning you can deliver highly personalized experiences across your stand. You can also use this technology to be more playful, letting people connect to and play games on your stand and then share the experience online, all from their own phone. An example of this is Candy Mechanics’ Edible Selfies. Candy Mechanics can use your selfies to create candy recreations of the images for you to feast on. It is a simple and fun way to bring your social media interactions to life.

Whatever you want to do with social media, the key thing to remember is planning. If you want social media to play a part in your exhibition stand, it has to be built into the design from the beginning. Social media needs to be a consideration at the concept stage. By knowing in advance what is required, your stand designers can make a feature of it in their design, which will only help drive engagement. This engagement will then give you the opportunity to build relations and generate leads.

Author Bio

Mark Gill has been with DMN Design Build since 1997 when he started his career with the firm as a joiner. He now heads up the production team, managing the process from prototype to handover, specializing in exhibition stands design and exhibition services.

Although the digital age has provided marketers with a wide range of tools, email remains one of the most effective, especially when talking about events. Generating anticipation, building a guest list, and sharing crucial information about an event all become much easier with email marketing.

That said, it’s important to focus on developing an effective email strategy to reap the full benefits this channel offers. Following best practices, like segmenting lists, using an email address checker, and personalizing messages are important parts of launching an email campaign, no matter what the purpose.

The following tips and information will help you plan an event email marketing campaign that helps you achieve your goals.

Focusing on key metrics can help you better evaluate a campaign’s performance. Specific metrics to pay attention to include the following:

Your goal should be to design a strategy that helps you improve these metrics. Keep the following tips in mind to do so effectively:

It should come as no surprise that the majority of emails today are read on mobile devices. That’s a key reason to ensure the formatting and design of your messages are simple and clean.

This doesn’t mean relying solely on text. It just means breaking up your content into scannable sections. A smart principle to keep in mind when designing your emails  is the “Rule of Three.” By separating your marketing email into three sections, you can convey important information without overwhelming a reader.

The first section could explain when and where the event will take place, along with what types of experiences a guest can expect to have if they attend. The next part might be a video that gives a reader a more dynamic look at the event. The third could then give them the option to sign up for a guest list.

Breaking up your content into these basic sections makes it easier to present all the necessary information in an organized manner. It’s also more likely to appeal to a recipient and keep them reading.

Colors that don’t match can make an email look too jarring to a recipient. An inconsistent color scheme also reflects poorly on your brand. That’s why you should use a color wheel or consult with a designer to make sure you’re using an arrangement that pleases the eye.

That said, your call to action needs to stand out. This is where you ask a reader to register for your event, so it’s important that it’s visible. Make sure you choose a color that doesn’t blend into the background when designing your CTA.

Segmenting your email list is another smart way to boost your open rate. This is especially important when promoting an event. After all, there’s a good chance many of your existing email list subscribers won’t be able to attend your event if they live far away. Through segmentation, you can ensure you’re only emailing people who’ll genuinely have the chance to attend.

Keep these points in mind as you design your campaign, and remember to monitor its effectiveness. Email marketing is powerful because it gives you the chance to communicate with potential guests directly. With a strong, well-planned campaign, you’ll be able to take full advantage of this marketing tool.

Trying to attract more guests to your next event? Consider using Facebook ads to grow your reach. The popular social media platform boasts 2.19 billion active monthly users. It also gives Facebook advertising firms and event marketers alike the option of targeting specific types of users with its Custom Audience tool. That makes it easy to reach people who are actually interested in your event.

To design an ad that performs well, it helps to focus on these key features:

Studying examples of strong Facebook event promotion ads can help you better understand what you can do to guarantee yours is effective. The following examples illustrate how to create promotional ads that work.

Many events feature a wide range of “sub-events” that may be more appealing to specific types of users. For example, a music and arts festival could play host to sub-events like a specific artist’s performance, a unique exhibit, and individual activities.

That’s why these examples from London’s annual “Totally Thames” event are worth paying attention to:

Instead of promoting the event in a generic way, the marketing team focused on ways to highlight the individual activities guests could participate in. This is a smart tactic for larger events with many attractions that could otherwise be overwhelming to attendees.

Statistics indicate that using video in marketing content can have an extremely positive impact on an ad’s effectiveness. That’s why you should use it when promoting an event on Facebook, like the marketing team for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe did.

Video works because it gives users a more dynamic look at the event than they are likely to get from images alone. This makes it more naturally appealing, and viewers can get a true sense of the event as well.

Corporate events often support social causes. Organizers may look to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity, for example. It’s smart to highlight this in an ad. This example from Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea indicates how you might do so:

This is a particularly smart strategy if you’re targeting a younger audience. According to surveys, members of Generation Z want brands to be socially-conscious. Even if they can’t attend your event, users who see this type of ad may be more likely to engage with your brand in the future.

As with all Facebook ads, it’s important to A/B test, experimenting with different approaches to find out which are most effective. These tips will help you design ads that perform well and attract guests to your event. By applying them and monitoring your ad’s performance, you’ll achieve the best possible results.

Looking for a way to revitalize how you promote your events? Look no further – here are a few of the most promising strategies of to try now.

Running a successful event is about more than what you do on the show floor. It’s about what you do before and after, as well. How effectively you promote a trade show or conference is arguably as much a factor in whether it flies or flops as vendors, keynote speakers, or presentations – maybe more-so.

With that in mind, let’s go over some of the biggest trends in event promotion emerging this year – and how you can tap into each with a successful strategy to bring your event to more eyes than ever before.

By now, everyone knows that they need to be on social. Promoting your events on Facebook or live-tweeting a keynote is table stakes in 2018. This year, why not take things a little further?

After all, recent changes to social algorithms are going to make it more difficult than ever to reach your target audience. Posts that don’t immediately inspire deep engagement are likely to get lost in the digital noise of the social web. As such, in order to stand out, you’re going to need to get creative in how you engage your audience.

Promote your event while it’s going on with Instagram stories, and save the best ones to your instagram account. Make smart use of influencer marketing (find people with pull who are into your events, and inspire them to promote for you). Consider hosting livestreams of your event or live Q&As on sites like Twitch TV.

The trick is that you need to start using social media in the same way your attendees do – it’s no longer enough to use it like an event planner, you need to start using it like an attendee.

You might be surprised to see email on this list. After all, it’s an archaic medium, isn’t it? What good is it for event promotion? You might be surprised.

I don’t think I’d be remiss in saying that you’ve probably planned most of your events via email. You probably have a ton of emails from vendors, clients, and sponsors sitting in your inbox at this very moment. And even if that statement is inaccurate, the vast majority of people still check their email accounts every single day.

Creating intelligently-targeted, personalized promotional emails to people who have signed up for an event or signed on for a mailing list can be a great way to increase engagement and encourage more people to attend. And when I say personalized, I mean deeply so – your email lists should be segmented as much as possible, separated by anything from interests to location to age.

Just make sure you make unsubscribing from such lists both easy and intuitive, or you’re bound to generate more frustration than engagement.

Also referred to as engagement marketing, experential marketing encourages its audience to directly participate in the evolution of a brand (or in this case, of an event). Rather than looking upon your attendees as passive participants, it looks at them as part of the event itself. It gives them a direct, active role in shaping their event experience.

What that means depends largely on you. Maybe you’ll allow people direct input on what keynotes and presentations to include as part of your promotional efforts. Maybe you’ll include virtual reality or augmented reality on your event floor.

The important thing is to give your attendees agency over how they experience your event – and to make it clear from the start that they have such agency.

The biggest challenge facing event planners (and businesses in general) is reach. There are so many different businesses and brands vying for our attention online these days that it’s a wonder any of them get through to us. This is one of the biggest challenges in event promotion – but it’s also one of the most promising opportunities.

As part of your promotional efforts, you need to decentralize. Extend your reach beyond a social media page or event website. Start posting about your event on promotional apps and websites like Goldstar. The key is to allow attendees to find out about your event through as many channels as possible – and to let them purchase tickets the instant they find out about the event.

Promotion is as much a part of your job as event management, like it or not. That’s why you need to be aware of emerging trends – and aware of how best to tap into them. Because if you don’t know how to promote your event, it doesn’t matter how great it is. No one will know about it.

Brad Wayland is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, a site with high-quality, easy-to-design custom t-shirts.