Looking to organize a conference for your small business but don’t know where to start? Relax! This guide will walk you through the basics of putting together a successful event. From finding a venue to attracting attendees, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get started!
How to Organize Conference for a Small Business
1 Choose the Topic
For a start, you will need to have some key topics you would like to present to your business. You might be proposing some new ideas about marketing, for example, and you will need to make sure that your points carry weight.
To get things over in the right way if you are discussing marketing, you will need to make sure that you have a particular focal point, such as a specialist digital marketing company like clickintelligence.co.uk – which is able to help you promote your business using modern techniques applied in this industry.
During the conference, you could concentrate on their services and how they can add to your bottom line (always popular with managers and investors), and convey this in the meeting to add value and explain why the topic of marketing should be a core business focus.
Featuring proven statistics of the success of these digital marketing strategies in your presentation will also help convince conference attendees that what you’re saying benefits the company.
#2 Structure
Once you have chosen your topics, you are going to need to think about the structure. You need to make sure that you have all of the information you want to present in a way that is both concise and easy to follow.
Not everyone at the conference will be versed in your area of expertise; for instance, they might be from a completely different department or work in another sector entirely, so they may not be familiar with the topics that you wish to discuss at the meeting.
As such, you need to make the information you present understandable and digestible for all. You are also going to want to make sure that you don’t stray too far from your core subject and that you are tying things up with a conclusion.
When using visuals to add value to any presentation or topics you discuss, you will also need to ensure they are simple to look at and comprehend.
For example, if you use charts or graphs, use basic colors and designs without any overly complex designs that are difficult to view and take in. Otherwise, your presentation and the information you relay won’t have the desired effect.
In addition, you’ll also need to be aware of the time, leaving room for questions and discussion at the end while avoiding rambling on about your topic for too long, which is guaranteed to make listeners lose interest and put them to sleep.
#3 Visuals
As mentioned, visuals are important; however, this doesn’t have to be an old-fashioned PowerPoint – as this is likely to raise a collective groan from all of those present or some serious eye-rolling.
You can get simple and creative; for example, you could build a mood board of what topics and information you want to showcase, or you can simply bring a whole report to work your way through – but one with lots of visuals, such as images, easy-to-understand charts, and even videos if you want to impress those who are listening and watching.
Whatever the case, a successful conference has visuals, whether it is easily readable statistics in the form of pie charts or bar graphs. You will find that this can help your subjects understand and make things stand out, as this will help discussion and questions about your presentation flow more easily.
#4 Online or In-Office
If you have members of your team present in the office and you have those who are too distant to attend, you will have to do a little bit of extra work to ensure the conference still flows.
Setting up a camera or a zoom chat can be a good way to bring everyone together, and instead of having everyone either present or over a screen, it might just be easier if you hold everything digitally.
Wrap Up
There is almost no end to the factors to think about when setting up a conference – but luckily, you only need to concentrate on a few key areas. It would be best if you thought about the subject and how you will structure it while leaving time for discussion at the end.
Your presentation will also benefit from having plenty of accompanying visuals to help immersion. Last but not least, it is crucial to figure out how to cater to those who cannot be in the workplace or the conference’s physical location – and that’s where facilitating an online space where remote attendees can watch presentations and discuss them afterward is key.