Organising a conference is a brilliant way to network, to raise issues within your business and to advertise you and your company. Conferences can be strictly between you and fellow business-folk or involve a public audience. Either way, you’ll be putting your hosting skills to the test. Amongst the many things to organise, one of the most important factors to consider is the cost. Here are some of the main things you should budget for (as well as few hints and tricks to help you cut costs!).
Marketing
Getting people to attend your conference involves marketing. Much of this you may be able to do for free.
Social media is a great place to start. If your conference is public, create an event on Facebook and start inviting people to it. Create a hashtag for your conference on Twitter and keep posting about it months in advance until you’ve hammered into people’s heads. You may wish to pay to run ads.
For private conferences, you can go through LinkedIn, or simply invite via email. Alternatively you may want to pay to post invites to make it more personalised.
Other tactics you could use are leafleting, internet ads and media ads. Depending on how many people you want to come, marketing costs will vary.
Venue
The venue has to be right for the occasion. For private functions, hotels usually do the best jobs. This cuts out the need for guests to find their own accommodation and travel to the conference if they’ve already travelled a long way to be there.
For a public function you’ll want to find somewhere that’s central and easily accessible with enough space. Town halls, community centres and lecture theatres are all affordable options. If you are using Wi-fi you will need to account for this, as well as paying to set up any special technology such as mics and speakers (lecture theatres will usually already provide these).
Special guests
Inviting a special guest along may spur others to come along, however this may involve paying for the special guest’s time, especially if they are going to have a lead part in proceedings such as giving a talk or joining a debate. Don’t stretch yourself and only pay guests that you can reasonably afford.
Security
For some conferences it may be worth investing in security guards, either to guard the door or escort and look after a special guest. If your event is ticketed this will be especially needed in order only the right people attend. Some venues may already have security that they can offer you. If not you’ll need to find a suitable security company yourself.
Catering
For private and public functions, having some form of food and drink before proceedings can help to make you more hospitable. The type of catering you choose will depend on the type of guests that are attending. A table for getting tea and coffee may be enough for most events. If it is a formal conference for select guests you want to impress however, something more lavish may be in order such as a champagne reception.
