As a small business, if you can organise and put on a good, engaging event then it can lead to positive lead generation, networking and a growing client base. Taking your area of expertise and turning it into an opportunity to educate and learn from others can be a really useful exercise and one way to do this is with a seminar-style event.
If you’ve not put on an event before, we’ve put together some tips to help you successfully launch your first seminar.
Pick a Sensible Date
When you’re planning ahead and trying to decide the best time to hold your seminar, try to look at other industry events in the calendar or locally and avoid a clashing seminar. It can be a good idea to try and plan your event for a time when there aren’t many other local or industry events, so your seminar can easily stand out.
Pick a date early, so you can book your venue and organise everything you need. You’ll also have more time to advertise your event and invite guests and speakers.
Advertise, advertise, advertise
Getting the word out about your seminar is obviously super important, especially if you’re making it a paid event. Make sure you’ve got a link to a sign-up page on your website and create some good content to drive traffic towards it.
Use your email list to send out details to contacts and follow-up with interested contacts. Start advertising your event across social media platforms and use Twitter business hours, hashtags and Facebook ads to increase your reach.
Book the Best Venue
At Hyde Park House, when you use our Virtual Office, E-Office or Serviced Office capabilities, you’re also welcome to use our range of facilities, including our fully equipped meeting and conference suites with discounted rates for internal clients. This gives you the perfect, professional environment to hold an event or seminar and create a brilliant environment for learning and networking.
Our meeting rooms are priced by the hour, half day or full day – depending on your requirements. We’ve got state-of-the-art presentation technology and our team are around to help you put on a fantastic seminar. We can cater for boardroom style seating, theatre style seating and complimentary refreshments when our rooms are booked for a half or full day.
Reminders
Once you start receiving interest for your event, set up touchpoints, so that guests will receive info when they first book and will then get sent reminders along the way too. Obviously you’ll need to remember to include all the essential info people will need to get to the venue, timings, parking info, refreshments etc.
Host with the Most
With enough advanced planning, you can create a really effective seminar. Create a seminar with a mixture of formats and exercises to keep people interested. Don’t rely on technology too much and try to prompt conversation and discussion. Create name tags for people so it’s easier to chat and network. Print out slides and guest info for people so they can follow-up afterwards. Try and be a friendly, welcoming and engaging host.
For more information about our facilities, get in touch with our experienced team today.