How to Prepare for a Live Event

After spending a lot of time faffing around I finally signed up for a live event on 23rd November 2017, Your Year in PR with Janet Murray. It was quite a big investment in terms of time and money and I wanted to make sure it was right for me and that I could plan how I would make the most of the event itself.

In terms of the event itself, Janet is very good at answering questions on live events and making sure the right people attend her events rather than trying to fill a room, it makes sense, as it would impact negatively on her brand if people attending thinking it was about something it wasn’t and being clear and explicit about the content this is avoided.

So, I am happy with the content, the speakers, free copy of Janet’s media diary for 2018, venue, date and time and so having paid my money I can sit back and relax, right?

Wrong! The key to this is the prior preparation and planning, including some things that may seem obvious, to optimise my investment. Here are some of the things you might want to consider when attending a live event;

1. Travel

Get your travel booked in advance, I needed to travel into London for this event and saved a fortune by setting up the alert for advance train tickets. I also booked a train that allows me to arrive in plenty of time to get to the venue on the Tube and even leaves a bit of time for a short delay to my train. Likewise, if you are driving make sure you leave lots of time and have planned your route and investigated parking at the venue or nearby. Have lots of change in case you can't pay by card. There is nothing worse than rushing or arriving late all flustered.

2. Location

Make sure you know where you are going, I have made this mistake early in my career when I was going to the Chartered Insurance Institute in London and I thought I knew where I was going and got horribly lost, went the wrong way and arrived late and all of a fluster! Not the impression you want to create.

Research the directions, parking, tube station, nearby points of interest you can look out for or use Google street view to familiarise yourself with the location before you set off.

3. Background Reading

Have any of the speakers written articles, books or blog posts you should read in advance?

Is there any material that you have sent in advance to read before the event? Schedule in time to read this rather than doing it on the bus on the way to the event.

Is there a social media fed for the event i.e.#YYIPR17 or a Facebook Group/Page

Has someone who has attended the same event written about it online?

4. Marketing Material

Make sure you take plenty of up to date business cards as well as any relevant brochures or sales materials that may be useful if you end up talking to a potential connection or client. It is always wise to check in advance if it is ok to hand them out as some industry events have different tickets for people wanting to promote services who are not exhibiting.

5. Outfit

Sounds odd but really do take time to consider what is both appropriate for the event but also be comfortable. If you have to walk a fair distance then consider taking a change of shoes. Also wear layers, I always recommend this as room temperature can vary throughout the day.

6. Food & Drink

I am naughty and often skip breakfast, but if you know you are going to be on the go all day make sure you have a good breakfast and I would always advise taking a bottle of water and a cereal bar or flapjack for a quick energy boost. Most events are well catered and drinks are provided but I would always prefer not to be remembered for the noise from my empty tummy.

7. Objectives

Why are you attending the event? What do you hope to achieve from it? Is there someone there you want to meet? People you know who you want to catch up with? Depending on the size of the event you might want to contact people in advance to arrange a meeting or let them know you are attending and are looking forward to seeing them.

My objectives for Your Year in PR 2017

· To create a content plan for 2018 including building ideas for themed months, how to launch products and services across different social media platforms.

· To meet other small business entrepreneurs.

· To meet other members of Janet Murray's Soulful PR Studio

8. Follow up strategy

So, having attended and achieved my objectives what do I do next? My plan is to write up a follow up blog post on the train home, something engaging and entertaining – what else! Sharing this across your social media platforms can increase engagement and offer useful help and advice to other people looking to optimise the live events they attend.

My strategy will include;

· Connecting with anyone I met on other social media platforms

· Arranging any follow up meetings or activities

· Writing up my blog post following the event

· Creating any material to support the blog post and sharing this across my social media

· Provide any feedback to the organiser or speakers

· Putting everything I have learnt to good use, ensuring the return on the investment pays dividends now and long into the future.

9. Blog

This sounds obvious, but you can create a number of different blog posts for live event, yo are reading one here! And here are some other blog titles or ideas that might help you:

Why you should attend live events

How to prepare for a live event

5 takeaways from Your Year in PR 2017

7 reasons to attend Your Year in PR 2017

10 ways you should be preparing for live events/ conferences/ workshops