Do not use more than two relevant hashtags per tweet
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 7:02 am
The world of event planning is exciting but also hectic. If you are planning your first major event, you are sure to face a number of challenges.
Everything has to be well thought out, whether you are putting together a planning team of colleagues for an event or starting your own event agency: Which event management software is the right one? How do you find a good caterer? And what do you actually plan first?
We want to help you create your very own event planning checklist and make your event a complete success from the very first planning step. With these tips, tricks and software recommendations, you can organize your planning and ensure that everything is finished on time.
Plan the perfect event in 10 steps
1. Develop a vision for the event
Planning an event
Your vision is the foundation of the event. In it, you define what the event should look like, what results you hope to achieve and what should go into it. Speakers, sales, participants, conference languages and possible media coverage should also be considered at this point.
You can only begin once you know where you want to go. You can find out by asking yourself the following three questions:
What is your ultimate goal for the event?
This goal is the reason you (or your client) want to plan the event in the first place. Is it primarily about raising money for a specific cause? Is it about launching a product? Is it about increasing brand awareness? Or is it a combination of several smaller goals? Think about what you want to achieve and why the event is the right way to do it.
How many participants do you want to reach?
If the event is annual, aim for an increase in attendance each year. If this is your first time planning an event of this kind, it's even more important to set a target attendance so you can measure success (and budget, but more on that later). Research attendance numbers from similar events that have taken place in recent years so you have a rough idea of what to expect.
What revenue do you hope to generate from the event?
As with the number of participants, you should aim for annual growth here. The answer to the revenue question will help you set the budget and decide how to proceed to recoup expenses.
Often, the first ideas that come to mind when planning an event are themes, design, and branding, but these aspects (which are undoubtedly some of the more fun parts) come later.
Stay focused from the start and explain exactly why the event is worthwhile. Write everything down, preferably neatly organized in your preferred project management software .
2. Assemble the team
event planning team
Once you have your vision, you need the right team to make it happen. Of course, this isn't just about finding a few volunteers to put up posters and greet guests.
As an event manager, you are responsible for finding the right team members for all tasks, especially when special skills are needed. Depending on the event, you may need people responsible for the following tasks:
event management
program coordination
organization of the venue
organization and transport of equipment
Promoting the event and media planning
Coordination of speakers, juries, etc.
sponsorship planning
catering
Sales and Merchandise
Branding and visual design including outfits for volunteers
It's best to make a note of who should do which tasks or create a small table. Then everyone will always have everything in view and know who they can contact about which topic.
Of course, how big your team will ultimately be depends entirely on what kind of event you want to plan.
Once you have your team together, you need to select the appropriate communication channels for successful collaboration. Chat software like
Slack , task management software for teams like Wrike or the good old Google Hangouts are good options.
Of course, it is not enough to implement a new communication system and hope that the team works well together. As a team leader, you should strengthen team cohesion with appropriate team building measures .
3. Plan the event budget
Event planning - budget allocation
Maybe finances are the most exciting part of event planning for you, or maybe the most boring. But the fact is: they are probably the most important part of all.
After all, without money there is no event.
Whether you want to develop a business case for an upcoming event, plan a future event for a client or create a financial plan for an event that has already been planned, the basis for all of this is a well-thought-out budget.
The most important expenses include the following areas:
Venue (room rental(s), deposit, parking)
Technology (projectors, Internet/Wi-Fi, speakers, microphones, cameras, interpreting booths if necessary)
Catering (bartenders, waiters, food, drinks, tablecloths, table decorations)
Marketing ( social media marketing software , print materials and design, registration software )
Entertainment (musicians/DJs, speaker fees, accommodation and transport costs)
Miscellaneous (e.g. venue decoration, seating, additional event staff, taxes and fees)
4. Choose time and place
Location and time selection for event planning
Once the budget is set, the next step is to find the right venue.
First, make a list of the most important criteria. These criteria arise from your vision for the event. Use this list consistently as a decision-making aid during your search.
The following questions can be helpful for an initial brainstorming session:
How should the journey be made? What means of transport should be available, how many parking spaces are needed?
Do you need your own technical equipment or will it be provided at the venue?
Does the venue offer Wi-Fi and/or good mobile reception?
How much space or floor space do you need?
Do you need a large open space or separate rooms? (If the latter, how many?)
How far in advance can you book a venue? Is it available in the time slot you need?
What are the deposit, security deposit and refund policies?
5. Find partners and sponsors
business partner in event planning
To increase your budget and reach, sponsors and partners are the means of choice.
This way, you can not only reduce some of the costs, but also use additional advertising opportunities, provide smaller events with a broader financial base, increase the chances of success and use venues that might otherwise be inaccessible. The more sponsors you have, the smaller the financial risk for your company or event company.
When you're ready to approach sponsors and partners, follow these four tips:
Understand their marketing goals. Are your potential sponsors/partners looking for a way to improve their public image? Do they want exclusive advertising? When looking for sponsors, you should know the answers to these questions before you approach them, so you won't be caught off guard when sponsors or partners ask for advertising space or event inclusion in return.
Identify the real decision makers. Make sure you know who you want to talk to so you don't have to repeat your pitch over and over or rely on someone who didn't have the authority to do so. In some companies, the decision rests with the marketing team, in others, you have to ask your way up to the executive level.
Make sure that the company fits your vision. If you are planning an event on animal rights, a large slaughterhouse is not exactly the ideal partner. Look for sponsors whose company vision fits your event vision so that everyone enjoys working together and the external image is right. This way you can also avoid alienating potential customers through an unfortunate choice of sponsor and the resulting contradictory messages.
Ask at the right time. Most companies plan their major sponsorships before the start of the next fiscal year, so make requests early so companies have you in mind when the time comes.
6. Design the event branding
logo
Goals, budget and team are there. Now it's time for the creative part.
What should your event be called?
What is your topic?
Is there a logo?
What overall visual impression are you aiming for and what should the color scheme look like?
Most of these questions are the responsibility of your advertising coordinators, although the rest of the team should also have a say.
Even with a small budget (especially for online marketing), you can create attractive, branded advertising materials if you use the right tools. Graphic design tools such as
Canva , Piktochart , Pixlr and GIMP offer many (and sometimes all) features for free. Some also offer ready-made templates that make things even easier for you.
Optimize your custom graphics and other marketing materials for each marketing channel. Social networks, for example, use different image sizes, and if you use the same image for all of them, it may be cut off at the sides or not displayed correctly due to size restrictions.
The following image sizes are currently recommended for social media posts (this may change):
Facebook: 1200 x 630 px
Twitter: 440 x 220 px
Instagram: 1080 x 1080 px
Pinterest: 222 x 150 px
7. Develop and roll out the event marketing campaign
spread the campaign online
The basics of your event have been decided. Now you just need participants.
There are countless ways to promote events, and what works best for your event depends entirely on who you're trying to reach. Traditional offline marketing methods are more likely to reach an older audience, while younger people prefer to be reached online.
Digital Marketing in Social Media
Digital marketing undoubtedly has potential: almost everyone has a smartphone (to be precise, eight out of ten people in Germany ) and about one in two is active on social networks . Event planners should not let these opportunities go to waste.
The following tips summarize which age groups you can best reach in the respective social networks and how you can best go about doing so.
Facebook
Best reach in the age group: 18 to 49 years
Best Practices:
Join groups related to your topic (such as politics, environme cambodia telegram data , entrepreneurship or technology) and share the event there.
Use attractively designed images and videos for all posts.
Post to your Facebook page once or twice a day to maximize engagement.
Since the Facebook algorithm changes, it's not easy for business pages to achieve organic reach, so be sure to learn how to use Facebook ads and promote your posts .
Twitter
Best reach in the age group: 18 to mid-20s
Best Practices:
Use hashtag analysis tools like Keyhole and Hashtagify.me to find the right hashtags.
Do not post more than four to six tweets per day.
Add attractive images to your posts.
Instagram
Best reach in the age group: 14 to approx. 30 years
Everything has to be well thought out, whether you are putting together a planning team of colleagues for an event or starting your own event agency: Which event management software is the right one? How do you find a good caterer? And what do you actually plan first?
We want to help you create your very own event planning checklist and make your event a complete success from the very first planning step. With these tips, tricks and software recommendations, you can organize your planning and ensure that everything is finished on time.
Plan the perfect event in 10 steps
1. Develop a vision for the event
Planning an event
Your vision is the foundation of the event. In it, you define what the event should look like, what results you hope to achieve and what should go into it. Speakers, sales, participants, conference languages and possible media coverage should also be considered at this point.
You can only begin once you know where you want to go. You can find out by asking yourself the following three questions:
What is your ultimate goal for the event?
This goal is the reason you (or your client) want to plan the event in the first place. Is it primarily about raising money for a specific cause? Is it about launching a product? Is it about increasing brand awareness? Or is it a combination of several smaller goals? Think about what you want to achieve and why the event is the right way to do it.
How many participants do you want to reach?
If the event is annual, aim for an increase in attendance each year. If this is your first time planning an event of this kind, it's even more important to set a target attendance so you can measure success (and budget, but more on that later). Research attendance numbers from similar events that have taken place in recent years so you have a rough idea of what to expect.
What revenue do you hope to generate from the event?
As with the number of participants, you should aim for annual growth here. The answer to the revenue question will help you set the budget and decide how to proceed to recoup expenses.
Often, the first ideas that come to mind when planning an event are themes, design, and branding, but these aspects (which are undoubtedly some of the more fun parts) come later.
Stay focused from the start and explain exactly why the event is worthwhile. Write everything down, preferably neatly organized in your preferred project management software .
2. Assemble the team
event planning team
Once you have your vision, you need the right team to make it happen. Of course, this isn't just about finding a few volunteers to put up posters and greet guests.
As an event manager, you are responsible for finding the right team members for all tasks, especially when special skills are needed. Depending on the event, you may need people responsible for the following tasks:
event management
program coordination
organization of the venue
organization and transport of equipment
Promoting the event and media planning
Coordination of speakers, juries, etc.
sponsorship planning
catering
Sales and Merchandise
Branding and visual design including outfits for volunteers
It's best to make a note of who should do which tasks or create a small table. Then everyone will always have everything in view and know who they can contact about which topic.
Of course, how big your team will ultimately be depends entirely on what kind of event you want to plan.
Once you have your team together, you need to select the appropriate communication channels for successful collaboration. Chat software like
Slack , task management software for teams like Wrike or the good old Google Hangouts are good options.
Of course, it is not enough to implement a new communication system and hope that the team works well together. As a team leader, you should strengthen team cohesion with appropriate team building measures .
3. Plan the event budget
Event planning - budget allocation
Maybe finances are the most exciting part of event planning for you, or maybe the most boring. But the fact is: they are probably the most important part of all.
After all, without money there is no event.
Whether you want to develop a business case for an upcoming event, plan a future event for a client or create a financial plan for an event that has already been planned, the basis for all of this is a well-thought-out budget.
The most important expenses include the following areas:
Venue (room rental(s), deposit, parking)
Technology (projectors, Internet/Wi-Fi, speakers, microphones, cameras, interpreting booths if necessary)
Catering (bartenders, waiters, food, drinks, tablecloths, table decorations)
Marketing ( social media marketing software , print materials and design, registration software )
Entertainment (musicians/DJs, speaker fees, accommodation and transport costs)
Miscellaneous (e.g. venue decoration, seating, additional event staff, taxes and fees)
4. Choose time and place
Location and time selection for event planning
Once the budget is set, the next step is to find the right venue.
First, make a list of the most important criteria. These criteria arise from your vision for the event. Use this list consistently as a decision-making aid during your search.
The following questions can be helpful for an initial brainstorming session:
How should the journey be made? What means of transport should be available, how many parking spaces are needed?
Do you need your own technical equipment or will it be provided at the venue?
Does the venue offer Wi-Fi and/or good mobile reception?
How much space or floor space do you need?
Do you need a large open space or separate rooms? (If the latter, how many?)
How far in advance can you book a venue? Is it available in the time slot you need?
What are the deposit, security deposit and refund policies?
5. Find partners and sponsors
business partner in event planning
To increase your budget and reach, sponsors and partners are the means of choice.
This way, you can not only reduce some of the costs, but also use additional advertising opportunities, provide smaller events with a broader financial base, increase the chances of success and use venues that might otherwise be inaccessible. The more sponsors you have, the smaller the financial risk for your company or event company.
When you're ready to approach sponsors and partners, follow these four tips:
Understand their marketing goals. Are your potential sponsors/partners looking for a way to improve their public image? Do they want exclusive advertising? When looking for sponsors, you should know the answers to these questions before you approach them, so you won't be caught off guard when sponsors or partners ask for advertising space or event inclusion in return.
Identify the real decision makers. Make sure you know who you want to talk to so you don't have to repeat your pitch over and over or rely on someone who didn't have the authority to do so. In some companies, the decision rests with the marketing team, in others, you have to ask your way up to the executive level.
Make sure that the company fits your vision. If you are planning an event on animal rights, a large slaughterhouse is not exactly the ideal partner. Look for sponsors whose company vision fits your event vision so that everyone enjoys working together and the external image is right. This way you can also avoid alienating potential customers through an unfortunate choice of sponsor and the resulting contradictory messages.
Ask at the right time. Most companies plan their major sponsorships before the start of the next fiscal year, so make requests early so companies have you in mind when the time comes.
6. Design the event branding
logo
Goals, budget and team are there. Now it's time for the creative part.
What should your event be called?
What is your topic?
Is there a logo?
What overall visual impression are you aiming for and what should the color scheme look like?
Most of these questions are the responsibility of your advertising coordinators, although the rest of the team should also have a say.
Even with a small budget (especially for online marketing), you can create attractive, branded advertising materials if you use the right tools. Graphic design tools such as
Canva , Piktochart , Pixlr and GIMP offer many (and sometimes all) features for free. Some also offer ready-made templates that make things even easier for you.
Optimize your custom graphics and other marketing materials for each marketing channel. Social networks, for example, use different image sizes, and if you use the same image for all of them, it may be cut off at the sides or not displayed correctly due to size restrictions.
The following image sizes are currently recommended for social media posts (this may change):
Facebook: 1200 x 630 px
Twitter: 440 x 220 px
Instagram: 1080 x 1080 px
Pinterest: 222 x 150 px
7. Develop and roll out the event marketing campaign
spread the campaign online
The basics of your event have been decided. Now you just need participants.
There are countless ways to promote events, and what works best for your event depends entirely on who you're trying to reach. Traditional offline marketing methods are more likely to reach an older audience, while younger people prefer to be reached online.
Digital Marketing in Social Media
Digital marketing undoubtedly has potential: almost everyone has a smartphone (to be precise, eight out of ten people in Germany ) and about one in two is active on social networks . Event planners should not let these opportunities go to waste.
The following tips summarize which age groups you can best reach in the respective social networks and how you can best go about doing so.
Best reach in the age group: 18 to 49 years
Best Practices:
Join groups related to your topic (such as politics, environme cambodia telegram data , entrepreneurship or technology) and share the event there.
Use attractively designed images and videos for all posts.
Post to your Facebook page once or twice a day to maximize engagement.
Since the Facebook algorithm changes, it's not easy for business pages to achieve organic reach, so be sure to learn how to use Facebook ads and promote your posts .
Best reach in the age group: 18 to mid-20s
Best Practices:
Use hashtag analysis tools like Keyhole and Hashtagify.me to find the right hashtags.
Do not post more than four to six tweets per day.
Add attractive images to your posts.
Best reach in the age group: 14 to approx. 30 years