by Ryan McGeary on
Want great booth ideas, speakers or activities that people will actually enjoy at your next event? There is one free, fool-proof way to get all the ideas you need without a focus group. Here is how you can plan the perfect event using an unusual brainstorming technique.
Go to the People
The number one best way to get killer ideas for your event is to go to the people that will be attending it and ask them, point blank, what they want. There’s no need to go door to door or to send out surveys, though.
If you have a Facebook page or Twitter account for your business, you already have people ready and willing to give you their opinion. Recently, a fundraising event planner decided to expand their Zombie Walk into an all-day festival, but they needed ideas for events that people would actually want to attend to fill the day’s itinerary. So, he went to their Facebook page with a few ideas and pitched them to the page’s followers. Within a few hours, the event planner had hundreds of opinions and many new ideas. With just a few minutes worth of time, he was able to ascertain which ideas where hits, which ones needed some work, and he also had a list of new ideas. That’s a clear win.
The Anti-Social Media Alternative
What if you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter following that is big enough to offer any value? Well, there are plenty of places online where you can reap opinions from very passionate people. The best places to go are forums that target the people that will be coming to your event.
For example, if you are having a small conference for work at home mothers, and you wanted to know what kind of classes or speakers work at home mothers would find interesting and valuable, hit the WAHM forums and ask them. People are on forums because they want to share. You may be surprised at how many replies you get.
Remember, though. Be friendly and be courteous when visiting a forum for the first time. Of course, it is always best to approach forums in which you are a long-time member for the best results.
If you don’t have money for focus groups and don’t have time to send out surveys, these methods are ideal for finding great event planning ideas that will please your attendees.
