5 Simple Steps to Creating a Great Event Website

The event website is your event’s shop window to the world.

If you haven’t sent a potential delegate an email promoting your event and the site, this could be the first impression they get of your event. You may have a lot of information that you need to get across which can often dissuade visitors. So what makes a great event website? These are our 5 simple steps;

1. Attractive, clean, clear event webpage

Web design trends are focused on the minimalistic look and feel, which is a long way from what event websites just a few years ago looked like. A number of event sites still follow the old-school event marketing techniques where everything on the page is fighting for attention. What ends up happening is nothing stands out. Creating a clean-looking webpage with all the key event details upfront, along with concise copy as to what the attendee can expect is essentially all that’s needed to give a great first impression.

2. Simple Navigation

With this being said about over-the-top content, content that relates to your audience and the event theme or topic is an asset that you should utilize, perhaps not on the main event page. Include simple navigation that either takes visitors to another page within your event site or links back to your main website where people can find out more about your brand. Just remember if you’re taking potential registrants away from your event website, to include a call to action at the end of your related content in order to get them back to your event website to register.

3. A strong proposition

So many events fail to provide a proposition that clearly lays out the purpose and value to the delegate without simply pushing your event key messaging out there. Planning a successful event starts way before you put the content on the website with your target delegate. Articulating why they should care about your event needs to come through loud and clear. You’ll find that with a strong proposition a delegate is more likely to buy into the event.

4. A clear call to action

The registration price (if applicable) shouldn't be hidden in copy or found on a separate page. Registration options and pricing should be accompanied by a clear call to action to register.

5. User-friendly registration form

Well done! You’re doing all the right things to get your website visitors to the registration page. If you’re noticing a drop-off from here, revisit your registration form.

• Does it take longer than 90 seconds to complete?

• Have you marked every field, even the ‘nice-to-know’ questions, as mandatory?

• Are you asking too much?

If you've answered yes to these questions, then it’s almost certainly your registration form discouraging visitors to register.

The only old-school technique (that was clearly ignored in previous years by some event websites) is KISS - “keep it simple,stupid” or “keep it short and simple” if you’d rather skip the insult!

Creating event websites can be a big task depending on whether you are creating your own template, attempting to personalise a pre-made template, or even instructing a designer. Our philosophy is to keep the things that need to be simple, simple.

6 New Ideas on How to Engage Attendees on Your Next Event

Event marketing is a seriously powerful tool for all marketers. Various reports estimate that Millennials will account for 75% of the UK workforce in ten years and that they will spend around half a million pounds on live events. As you can see, events are a quite a thing nowadays and they will only become more popular in future. But, what is a number one priority of events? Well, one of the most important aspects of events is the engagement. It’s really important to keep your attendees engaged. And people are always looking for new ways to keep the folks engaged at an event. So, let’s take a look at fresh 8 ideas that deal with engagement.

Social photo booths

Do you know what a social photo booth is? Well, have one at your event and you will see tons of photos appear online and they all ‘advertise’ your event. Social photo booths allow attendees to take photos, videos and even create GIFs. They can share those photos on their social media accounts. However, the stuff they share will be branded. And guess whose brand that will be?

Modernise everything

In the world of marketing, it’s all about standing out from the rest. One way to stand out is to do things differently than the competition. Forget the old ways and invest in event software. There is specialised software nowadays that will not only make life easier for you but it will also amaze your attendees. There are apps that provide you with most of the dull work such as sending out invites, messages and even providing analytics. You will look more professional and your attendees will see something they never saw before. In turn, that will make them want to see more. It combines beautiful and useful.

Comparison wall

By introducing comparison wall at your events, you will find out what your attendees deem to be important. These walls can be used for anything and everything. They can be used for your attendees to have fun so this could also count as a corporate event entertainment idea but you can also be a bit sly and elicit important info from the attendees. Say that you want to figure out what their event must-haves are. Just put messaging style clouds and start each one with ‘My ideal event must have…’ This is a great way to find out what your event lacks and what you might have even overlooked.

Campfire

Would you be open to the idea of starting a campfire at your event? Don’t worry, it’s not literally a campfire. Look, the times of speakers and rooms full of people listening to one person all the time have passed. You have to invest in new speaking formats to spice things up. For example, a campfire session is a good idea. These are led by a facilitator who runs the discussion with one or more experts. Each session should last somewhere around 30 minutes. These sessions feel more real and they are more engaging.

Live performance

Playing people’s favourite tunes over the speakers is okay. However, having a band fire things up brings your event to a whole another level. These live performances provide your attendees with a chance to jive to the music and enjoy the atmosphere. With live performances, the atmosphere is always great and more authentic. Especially when compared to YouTube over speakers and ads constantly interrupting playlists. When you get your attendees immersed in a throwback to their favourite songs, their energy will stay high and you will keep them engaged for longer periods of time.

Fun contests

People are competitive by nature. So, a little bit of friendly competition can light up the atmosphere quickly. Your event will be electrified if you introduce fun competitions like scavenger hunts or pub quizzes. Make the competition about your event’s theme. However, you have to make sure it isn’t boring. It isn’t all strictly business. Contest should be fun but you should also remember that the aim here is to promote your brand. On top of that, there are awesome apps out there that let attendees answer questions from their smart devices and they also get to see their answers on screen in real time. Impressive, right?

Conclusion

 You have to keep things fresh if you want to be better than the rest. Always look for innovative ways to boost your events. Remember that your rivals won’t sleep on all the novelties in the world of event marketing. Make sure that you don’t fall asleep too. So, go over these ideas once again and give them a go as soon as an opportunity arises. You won’t regret it and your attendees will appreciate your effort.