How to do effective audience planning at events?

For an event to be successful, having the right audience plays a big role. Very often we see that event planners and organisers overlook the critical role that audiences play to make the event not just successful but impactful too.

The event goals greatly impact the kind of audience at your event. The real task for the event planners is to make sure that they reach-out to the correct audiences.

No matter how powerful the event is, it will have no effect if you don’t attract the right target audience. Make sure the things your event offers are correctly aligned with what your attendees actually need.

Utilizing a CRM system or taking advantage of personalized email marketing will significantly help to promote your event. Currently, over 75% of marketers use email to promote their event, while 47% still use email invites.

If we look closely, the availability of media platforms can help you segment your audience according to the event needs and target them efficiently.

Nowadays, there are various types of event management softwares available that event organizers use for the purpose of audience acquisition. By utilizing a personalized marketing software, email campaigns can be scheduled and event reminders can be automatically sent out – allowing you to achieve maximum turnout rate.

The reason why audience targeting is essential is that you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time. If there is a mismatch between what the event has to offer and the potential attendees it is reaching out to, chances are that the event won’t have the desired impact.

Speaking about the importance of having the right audience for an event, Dipti Shah, Founder, Head of Events & Alliances, White Salt Entertainments, said “A clear understanding of your attendees combined with a strategic event format holds the key to audience engagement. While the journey ‘to engage’ begins much before an event goes live, I would say the real challenge lies around the ‘30-40% into the event’ mark. Here is when you see heads moving, restless chatter and an eager wait for a tea-break. Well, I would say this ‘break’ should be made into a ‘strategic slot’. The benefits of unplanned introductions & interaction are plenty. It not only leaves attendees in good company for the rest of the event but also enhances post event recall value. Like I always say content is King and engagement is Key.” 

In any kind of event, there is no way to control or guarantee how many people will turn up. Therefore, in order to accurately gauge your expected turnout, you should assume that 10-15% would not come. Over-inviting is a good way to ensure good attendance.

Also it is important to underline that, if the number of people engaging with your event is higher than the number of people you were expecting to attend, make sure you adjust your plans accordingly.

Sharing his thoughts about the key role played by the audience in making or breaking an event, Himanshu Shah, Chief Mentor, Live Marketing and Events said  “Events are media tools for communication and present engaging experiences. Because of this event agencies need to have marketing knowledge competencies. Planning of content, communication & experiences is the starting point to an effective audience planning.It is important to give smooth experience to the audience right from entering to their leaving the venue. Crowd flow management till the designated seat needs minute calculation for entry and at the time of exit.  In today’s world it is all about the experience taken back by the audience. WOW experience can be delivered through content, technology and engaging experiences. Audience planning is like cooking a meal where all ingredients are equally important. One ingredient is less and the cooked item takes a beating. Same goes for an event.”

With marketers shifting their focus to experiential, curating targeted events will finally be defined by the audiences attending it, hence for any event to be called successful the importance of having the right audience cannot be overlooked.