Do Yourself A Favour, Love Your Event Attendees

EVENTS are hard work. They take a lot of planning, organization, time, money and focus. Sometimes we get so lost in the details that we forget about the people. They become numbers on a spreadsheet or name badges at a registration table. Yet, ultimately what is most rewarding about planning events is seeing the effect they have on the people who attend.

Everyone has had an experience of being at an event where they felt like an outsider. If you treat your attendees as ‘just another name badge’ they will leave your event feeling deeply unsatisfied and unlikely to return next year.
Whether you are planning a conference, a wedding, a golf tournament, a seminar or a music festival, it really helps if you allow yourself to care about and, yes, even fall in love with the people who are coming.

Love Me Do

If you want your attendees to love your events then you need to love them first. Professor Arthur Aaron, an expert in the psychology of love, says that we fall in love with people who demonstrate that they are attracted to us. Mutual attraction creates connection and when we feel this connection we feel better about ourselves.
At the best events, we have the experience of being amongst friends. Each person is welcomed as an individual and appreciated for the unique attributes that they bring to the table. These types of events are personal, friendly, intimate and engaging. These are the kinds of events that we want to go back to time and time again.

You’re The One That I Want

Your starting point is to create a profile of your ideal attendee. This profile will include aspects like their age range, gender, what they are interested in, what websites they visit and where they like to hang out.
The more detailed your attendee profile the better as this will allow you to design an event that is the perfect fit for them and will help you target your marketing and social media outreach.
I Just Called to Say I Love You
One of the biggest influencing factors for falling in love is repeated interactions. Repeated exposure creates desire. Which means that the more times someone comes across your event or brand the more likely they are to be attracted to it.
Find as many ways as possible to connect with and send love notes to your attendees. How you express your love to your attendees is to give them content and information that is valuable to them. Thoughtfulness in your communications will go a long way to creating a strong relationship.

You Can’t Hurry Love

Building a relationship with your attendees takes time. Most people will not be hurrying to register for your event on your first announcement. You need to court your attendees to earn their love and attention.
To woo your attendees, give them consistent attention over time. Social media posts are the pheromones of your event and you can use social media to create desire. Your posts should be regular and consistent.
Keep in mind that being over-attentive can come across as needy, so don’t post too often. Also, don’t spend all of your time on social media talking about yourself, as that is the fastest way to turn someone off.

Love the One You’re with

It’s the day of your event. You’ve been up since the crack of dawn getting everything ready to welcome your guests. Then, the worst thing happens: only a handful of people show up.
Sometimes the turn-out for your event is not what you hoped or planned for. Perhaps it is so bad that you are going to lose money or you might be worried that you will lose face. These kinds of concerns can get in the way of providing a great experience for your attendees.

When your attendance is low, make sure your attention is on the people who are there – not the ones who didn’t show up. Put all your focus on making sure they get value and that they all leave raving about how great your event was.

You’ve lost that Lovin’ Feeling

As busy meeting professionals it is easy to get caught up in the doing of events. We are so busy chasing deadlines, putting out fires and multi-tasking that we can lose our love and passion for what we are doing. We may become burnt out, tired, stressed or can end up just going-through-the-motions.

If you find that you have lost that lovin’ feeling, it may be time to pause and make sure that you are giving some love and attention to yourself. Or, you may need someone to remind you of why you are planning this event in the first place.
In Conclusion: The Power of Love

Love creates being attentive, generous, kind and thoughtful. Love makes it natural to pay attention to the details and to spend a little extra time taking care of someone.

Most event professionals bring great passion and love to their jobs and yet there is always room for more love in the world. Be sure to always bring more love to your events and let your attendees see that you really care about them. Be committed to giving them quality service.

Culled from www.eventmanagerblog.com

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