Many organisations are planning and selling commercial events, also known as seminars, offering information/tuition by experts in their field on a subject such as sales training, professional development, property investing, internet marketing etc. Seminars generally involve bringing together a small group of people where all attendees have the opportunity to actively participate. There is no doubting the benefits of face-to-face seminars to both the organiser and attendees; however a number of disadvantages also exist. 

Cost - The organiser and all participants must absorb the costs associated with travelling to the seminar location.

Time – Seminars require both the organiser and participants to spend a considerable amount of time away from their day-to-day business activities resulting in scheduling problems.

The above factors may influence a prospects decision as to whether he/she will attend your seminar or not. It is becoming increasingly popular to conduct seminars via the web. This is known as a webinar (web-based seminar).

Why Webinars?

The biggest advantage that webinars have over seminars is that rather than having to be somewhere in person, you can deliver your material from the comfort of your own office over the internet using software such as GoToWebinar. Using this software still allows your participants to engage and interact with the organiser by viewing the content material, listening to the audio and typing in their questions. Three key advantages are listed below:

1. Cost effective – No travel expenses for organiser or participants

2. Efficient – No time wasted by organiser or participant (prospects more likely to attend).

3. Scalable – An increased number of sessions can be organised in a shorter period of time.

Once you have your content prepared, the only thing missing is to promote and sell tickets to your webinar.

Sell Tickets to Your Webinars

Once you have your schedule of webinars organised in your webinar software, the trick is to make it easy for delegates to register, and ensure that people who haven’t paid cannot get access to them.  That’s where we can help you.

Symphony’s online registration and delegate management software gives you all the tools you need to take automated online booking for any webinar. Setup your webinar schedule; choose your maximum audience numbers per session, and let the system do all the work for you.

How it works

1. Use the web-page builder to create a website and registration page to promote your webinars

2. Our marketing tools allow you to create customised invitations and invite your prospects to attend

3. They can register online and make an automate online payment directly into your account

4. Send out auto-emails confirming your attendee's booking, notifying them of payment success and provide the access details to their chosen webinar using out emaling modules

5. Sit back, relax and watch the booking roll in!

6. After the webinar has taken place, record and report on attendance levels, and gather feedback with a post event email campaign.

If you would like to learn more about how to sell ticket for webinars, give our experts a call on +44 (0) 114 279 4990 or email info@symphonyem.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help.

Images - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

David Castillo Dominici

Jon Curtis, Managing Director of www.myhrtoolkit.com sets out some thoughts on HR administration software.

It’s not just the field of events management where online software is changing the way we work. In the area of people management – human resources – online software packages are taking a sizeable chunk of the market, particularly where small and medium-sized businesses want easy-to-use solutions rather than complex, function-rich software.

Online software – software as a service – lends itself to HR, just as it does to event management. Multiple users can log in from multiple locations: workspaces, home, travel and so on. There is no longer the traditional resistance to posting employee data online with trusted partners. Such tools are becoming commonplace whereas even five years ago eyebrows may have been raised at the thought of employee data being online.

Managing employee holidays is one area that is easily dealt with online. The holiday chart is available to all, and requests and permissions lend themselves to email. The beauty is the full accountability that comes with such a system, no more arguments about who requested what first!

Other areas that work well online are: documents management (full audit trail of who read what and when); sickness absence (for instance staying in touch with the long term unemployed); task delegation; and appraisal management.

One of the real benefits of online software is that maintenance remains the problem of the provider, rather than your problem.

Online HR software is here to stay and as integration with other modules such as payroll, time and attendance, and recruitment increases the use of software as a service for SMEs will increase too.

For more information about HR software generally or myhrtoolkit itself, call Jon Curtis on 0114 2721903 or visit the website at www.myhrtoolkit.com

Alternatively, you can watch a short demo film at http://www.myhrtoolkit.com/video/

The most important thing for any successful event is, of course, selling tickets! When you send out your event invitations using Symphony’s Campaign Email Management System, it’s essential that the design and content is high quality and effective at achieving a good response rate or any desired outcome. 

There are many elements which can affect the response rate of an email marketing campaign including copy text, images, design colours, banners and call to actions. As there is no definitive right or wrong way to determine the best structure for your email, it is vital to put them to the test with your own database. This will allow you to find out how your target market responds to variations in these elements of your campaign. This can be done by A/B Split Testing.

What is A/B Split Testing?

A/B Split Testing is a method marketers use to analyse the effectiveness of changes made to the elements mentioned above and involves creating two versions of the marketing material. Usually, version “A” is the original (commonly referred to as the champion) and version “B” is the alternate (commonly referred to as the challenger). Your database is then split to create two sample distribution lists of the same size. Version “A” is sent to one sample and version “B” is sent to the other sample. If the challenger proves more effective at achieving the desired outcome of the campaign, then the challenger replaces the champion and becomes the new champion to be tested.

When conducting A/B Split Testing it's important to only choose one element for testing in each split test. This will give you one specific reason for any difference in results. For example, an event management company wants to test the effectiveness of an alternate “call to action” on a banner created for an event invite. The purpose of the “call to action” is to entice people to make a booking onto an event using a discount code provided. The original (champion) call to action states “Limited Time Offer: Use Code: SYM1”. The alternate (Challenger) call to action states “Offer Ends 31st January: Use Code SYM2”. All other elements of the email remain the same. The company then splits their targeted contacts database and sends version “A” to 2000 people and version “B” to 2000 people. When the discount code has expired, the company analyses the results and finds that 3% of the recipients used code SYM1 and booked onto the event (60 of the 2000 recipients) and 5% used code SYM2 (100 of the 2000 recipients). The challenger was proven the most effective “call to action”.

It's important to have a clear purpose or desired outcome of the element you are testing before A/B Split Testing any of your marketing material. In the example above, the purpose was for recipients to book onto the event using the discount code. However, if the purpose was to test which call to action would generate the most website visits, then the results could have been different. For example, the original version may have achieved a higher click through rate but, with no expiry date placed on the discount, did not entice people make a booking at that moment in time.

Many companies are using A/B Split Testing as a base for their marketing decisions. Companies with a large database can test more than two versions of an element in the same test by doing an A/B/C Split Test and including two alternate versions.

How Can I A/B Split Test My Email Invites Sent From Symphony?

Symphony’s powerful Campaign Email Management tools allow you to create invitation, follow up and post event emails. Once you have designed your email and customised it with your chosen banners, logos, images and text content. 

1. Export your contacts list from the central contacts database within your Symphony account, separate them into two samples of equal number and save as CSV files to your files area.

2. Attach the first sample to your original (champion) email which will now be ready and waiting to be sent.

3. Go back to the Campaign Email overview screen, click the “create new invite” button and select “copy from a previous campaign”.

4. Select the original campaign and make alterations to the element to be tested.

5. You can then go on to upload the second sample of contacts, send both versions of the invitation and wait for the delivery report to come in to analyse the results.

6. You have now completed an A/B Split Test using Symphony’s Campaign Email Management System!

If you would like to know more about getting the maximum possible attendees to your events then contact our Digital Marketing experts who can provide you with advice on A/B Split Testing and much more! 0114 279 4990

Christmas Day is getting closer and closer and we‘re running out of time to find the perfect gifts for our family, friends and colleagues. We know it’s hard to think up useful gift ideas for any Event Managers so myself and the Symphony team thought we would help. We have been brainstorming Christmas gift ideas to help you choose the present that an Event Manager will really use and appreciate. We have managed to narrow them down into our top four choices:

4. Stress Ball

When it comes to choosing a career in event management, you need to have a certain temperament and possess a certain set of abilities in order to be successful. Event Managers are required to work under constant pressure in terms of meeting deadlines, being able to manage time efficiently, negotiating with suppliers, and keeping their clients satisfied which can be a full time job in itself.  And that is only before the day the event takes place, not mentioning all the eventualities that can, and do, crop up during the event implementation. 

It’s safe to say that a day in the life of an event manager is quite stressful and any gift that can help alleviate that stress would be useful. Number four on our list of useful Christmas gifts for Event Managers is the Stress Ball which is a small toy used to exercise the muscles of the hand and relieve stress and muscle tension. A few squeezes of the stress ball can leave the Event Manager feeling cool calm and collected ready to take on their week.

3. Hangover Kit

As well as being one of the most demanding career choices, event management is also one of the most rewarding. There’s nothing like the feeling of being involved in organising a fantastic event and seeing hundreds of happy faces on the day. After all the stress comes a well deserved celebratory night on the town. It’s important for an Event Manager to be well prepared for the eventuality of a big hangover the next morning so why not buy them a Hangover Kit to make sure they have everything they need right there.

A Hangover Kit is filled with useful hangover remedies, information and hygiene products which will help an Event Manager recover from the after event party. Here are a few items you could include in a Hangover Kit:

• Vitamin Multipack
• Sports Drink
• Bananas
• Toothpaste and toothbrush
• Painkillers

2. Spa Day

After an Event Manager has pushed through and delivered a successful event, some luxury spa treatment may be just what the Doctor ordered. Here’s an example of a spa day package which may help an Event Manger relax and unwind:

• 

  Face and Body Sensation 
• Deep Tissue Back Massage
• Modern Skin Facial
• Light lunch

1. An Online Demo of Symphony's Web-based Event Management Software

Most of the gift ideas we would normally think of for Event Managers are based around managing their stress levels and relaxing after a lot of very hard work. But what if you could forget about a cure and just go straight to prevention and buy them a gift that will let them relax and unwind right from the start?

Well, guess what, you can! Why not book them in for an online demo of Symphony’s event management software and let them see everything they need to manage their events online and streamline their event management process. And the best thing about this gift is that it won’t cost you a penny because our online demos are absolutely FREE!

What will an Event Manager learn in an online demo?

An Event Manager will learn how to:

• Quickly create personalised initiation, reminder and follow up emails
• Configure an event’s micro-website and online registration page in minutes
• Save time and money by taking secure automated online payments
• Setup automated confirmation emails 
• Stay firmly in control of the team allocating tasks, setting reminders and managing them all in one place.
• Instantly report on real time event information and make life easy
• And, much more!

Click Here and request a demo now! Or call us on 0114 279 4990

Images - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

David Castillo Dominic  jscreationzs  Jeroen van Oostrom  photostock

The latest hot topic in the IT industry is the Cloud. Put simply, the Cloud is the delivery of shared resources, software and information over the Internet. It is a relatively new model, but provides users with a cost effective way to deploy software solutions and manage IT platforms.

The Cloud has many benefits to different industries, particularly the management of events. Some benefits include:

Cost

Cost can be greatly reduced since capital expenditure is converted to operational expenditure, lowering the barriers to entry. 

Local Independence 

Users can access systems using a web browser, regardless of their location or device they are using. 

Peak Load Capacity

Using software on the cloud means that companies can manage peaks in demand with ease. 

Reliability

Reliability is improved making it a safer option with regards to disaster recovery. 

Maintenance

Maintenance is easier on cloud computing since the software is not installed on the user’s computer; meaning that support and upgrades are managed and taken on by the provider themselves.

Event managers are able to take advantage of cloud computing and use it to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of their events. Event management companies can use the Cloud as a management solution; it offers the opportunity to manage event teams and service delegate and booker requests, from any location at any time. Additionally, event promotions, bookings, cancellations and updated can also be undertaken using the Internet as the key delivery vehicle. 

Companies offering event management services utilise event software to help organise and manage their events.  The software includes features such as: 

• Website integration
• Online registration & Online payment processing
• Invitation management
• Email marketing
• Resource management
• Integrated reporting and analysis
• Event surveys

Using event management software on the Cloud will take care of high volumes of outbound transactions such as emails and newsletters, and inbound transactions including event bookings and cancellations. This will save time and money, whilst providing a smoother experience. 

It enables you to be in real time control of all the events activities such as, giving event managers an accurate view of the active event, assessing what stage event marketing campaigns are at and obtaining feedback received on your on-going events programme. Third party partners such as speakers or sponsors can also be granted easy access, should they need it. 

If you are new to organising events, then it is usually best to hire a company offering event management services. They can take care of the entire event planning process, including the software used, to ensure your event runs smoothly. 

As previously outlined in our recent blog post ‘Mobile Technology and Events’, the progression and development of Smartphone applications is affecting how event organisers manage their events. As more and more people are using their mobile phones to browse the internet, send emails and shop online, there is even more potential for digital communication in the events industry.

The development of the QR code reader had provided event organisers with another method in which to communicate with their delegates.

Quick Response (QR) Code Creator and Reader

QR codes are two dimensional barcodes that can contain any type of alphanumeric text and commonly contain URLs directing people back to an organisation’s website. You may have seen QR codes on billboards, in magazines, shops and even on t-shirts. They are designed to be read quickly by mobile phones and require a QR reader application to be installed on a Smartphone.

So, as an Event Manager - How Can I Use QR Codes?

No matter how large or small an event may be, event managers can use QR codes in a variety of ways to communicate with delegates and direct them to any desired information, website or online registration page. Why not use them on any printed or electronic advertising material:

• Business Cards – Include a QR code on your business card directing people to your website’s ‘about us’ or ‘meet the team’ page.
• Event Invitations – Include QR codes on your advertisement material directing people to a special offer page, downloadable coupon or discount code. 
• Event Posters – Direct attendees to your register now page when they scan a QR code on your event poster. 
• Merchandise – Reduce costs by letting attendees purchase merchandise via their mobile phone by scanning a QR code and buying online.
• Event Registration – Why not send your delegates directly to your Symphony event registration page?

If you would like to find out more about how you could use QR codes with online registration, scan the barcode above with your Smartphone's QR reader, or give us a call on 0114 279 4990. 

We are delighted to welcome Nicola Sykes, Marketing Manager for Banks Sadler, as a guest blogger on the Symphony website. Nicola has kindly offered to share her knowledge regarding the impact of mobile technology on the live event industry.

The Impact of Mobile Technology on the Live Event Industry

by Nicola Sykes

Mobile technology is affecting all walks of life and the corporate events management sector is no exception. Increasingly the general meetings management functions such as delegate registrations, travel management; scheduling and events web sites are embracing mobile technology and the associated applications. 

Event organisers have dedicated applications to allow them to project manage events from anywhere and keep them updated with real time information of the progress of the event they are running. Event specific apps also provide a great way to engage with delegates and gain feedback via surveys on their opinion of the event. 

The overriding benefits for event organisers adopting mobile technology include giving 24/7 accessibility from anywhere in the world, on multiple platforms which limits the amount of IT support is needed, so lowering the total cost of ownership. 

Conference apps bring together a wealth of information that historically has been distributed as exhibition guides and costs organisers thousands of pounds in design and print. The apps allow you to organise schedules for delegates wishing to see certain speakers at certain times of the day, access any relevant information, leave messages and provide details on the best way to travel to the venue. The conference application also gives sponsors a great chance to communicate and market directly to delegates. 

To ensure that the full benefits of the applications are gained, the systems must be backed up with relevant Wi-Fi hotspots at the venues as error messages “No Connection” will not help your delegates. However historically, conference venues have capitalised on this knowledge that delegates require Wi-Fi access for their various gadgets, so they have generally charged people to connect to their networks. But in a move to stop conference venue monopolising this service the  ABPCO are running a campaign, the Conference Cloud, which is campaigning for free Wi-Fi for delegates. If they succeed this will be quite a big change as this is a high profit area for venues, and they will have to ultimately look for other ways to yield such a return.

Online meetings products have been around for a while, hosting thousands of events, enabling companies to save time and money and reduce their impact on the environment through travel. Again with advances in mobile technology has enable such companies to offer more to business wishing to organise and plan meetings and events remotely.  Mobile applications have increased massively in recent years and we are seeing more and more event specific apps for conferences which showcase event highlights as well as provide the rudimentary functionality of bringing people together.

Associated services to conferences and events, such as travel management and accommodation, are adopting mobile technology to make planning and booking available at the touch of the button. Eurostar are taking full advantage of the speed and ease of apps by recently launching an app that allows passengers to book tickets on the go and receive tickets direct to their phones.

The more and more we adopt mobile technologies in to our everyday lives will lead to further enhancements in the capabilities of events and conferences to enrich their end-user experience and engagement.

The most important thing for any successful event is, of course, selling tickets! Here are the remaining 5 tips for how to sell more tickets:

Tip #6: Engaging Website Content

By following a recent discussion on ‘what makes the perfect event website’ within the Event Planning & Event Management LinkedIn group, I have picked up a number of useful tips regarding the essential elements that must be included.  The discussion has had over 100 comments so far from leading event professionals and I have organised them into five key areas.

1. Basic Details - Important information including, the event date, time, location, ticket price and who to contact if they have any questions should be available at first glance at the webpage. 

2. Programme & Attendee List - The subject of the event programmes being the most important factor in a person’s final decision on whether to attend the event or not, was frequently mentioned.

3. Location – Include details of leisure facilities and attractions in the surrounding area.

4. Online Registration - Incorporate online event registration and also accommodation reservations within the same page.

5. Pre Event & Post Event - The event website should not stop at the pre-event information. It should also include content for during and post event as well. 

Using the website builder within Symphony, you can create a website for your event and include all the information above to engage your target market and increase their desire for your event.

Tip #7: Pre Event Video

A popular belief with event managers at the moment is that pre event videos are becoming an essential tool for interacting and engaging with potential attendees. A short event video can include information covering the purpose and benefits of the event along with some testimonials from previous events of a similar nature. This can further increase desire for your event and result in greater ticket sales!

Why not create a YouTube video for your event and embed it into your event’s very own website built with Symphony?

Tip #8: Directions to the Event Venue

It’s common knowledge that a large amount of pre-event anxiety is caused by planning travel arrangements and locating secure parking facilities close to the venue. This can be avoided by including something like Google or Bing maps in the event website along with directions to the venue form all the city’s major access points. This can reduce any doubts someone may have about attending an event and allow them to look forward to the event without any unwanted hassle!

Symphony’s event website creator automatically inserts the venue location map when creating a venue page.

Tip #9: Reduced Ticket Prices for Group Bookings

Why not offer a discount to large groups who register for your event? This will provide an incentive for people to encourage their friends/colleagues to attend the event in order to get the reduced rate.

Symphony can help you do this. Using the simple and easy to use discount function, you can create a ‘Group Bookings’ offer on the tickets of your choice and set a value of ‘greater than’ or ‘equal to’ the group size you specify. Attendees will automatically be given this discount at the end of the booking process if they are eligible, without you having to do a thing!

Tip #10: Evaluate Your Events

Post-event content can also be added to the website including testimonials, pictures, videos and feedback functions. Why not embed a survey or poll into your event’s website for your attendees to leave you their feedback about the event? This will provide you with useful evaluation data and also be used for the promotion of future events. Let your previous events sell your future events!

If you still implement a manual event management process, why not get in touch and find out how you can benefit from using Symphony Event Management Software?

The most important thing for any successful event is, of cause, selling tickets! However, selling out is becoming increasingly more difficult due to increased competition and the amount of free events. I have put together 10 quick and easy tips for increasing your attendance level at your next event. Here are the first 5:

Tip #1: Personalized Event Invitations

Send out customized event invitation emails personally to your contacts. The more attractive and personalized the email, the higher the chance of success!

Symphony’s campaign email management function allows you to customize one of our attractive HTML templates, upload your own banner and loge, create links to downloadable documents and create links to your event’s online registration page. 

Once you have uploaded your distribution list, you can schedule your invite to be sent at a specific time and date, or send instantly with a few simple clicks. You can track the success rate of the delivery including bounces, opens, unopened emails and hits on any links you have inserted. 

But it doesn’t end there – Why not send a follow up email to all your contacts that haven’t made a reservation from their invite? With a few simple steps, you can create a follow up email which will be sent to the same distribution list as the initial invite. But don’t worry; no one will be receiving any unwanted junk mail after they have booked. Symphony automatically recognises the email addresses which have been used in reservations and excludes them from the follow up. 

Tip #2: Online Registration

Why not remove the work involved with ordering event tickets? Many customers may get put off by having to contact event providers by telephone to make a reservation. By providing an online registration option to potential attendees, you can remove the workload and ‘hassle’ associated with buying tickets.

Symphony’s online attendee registration function, booking form & website builder will provide you with all the tools you need to give your attendees a more pleasant booking process with greater ease, while making you more efficient and reducing your costs. 

Tip #3: Reduced Prices for Booking Early

Why not offer a discount to attendees who register for your event early? This will increase the level of urgency of potential attendees encouraging them to book before the price goes up.

Symphony can help you do this too. Using the simple and easy to use discount function, you can create an Early Bird offer on the tickets of your choice and set an expiration date for this discount. Attendees will automatically be given this discount at the end of the booking process if they are eligible, without you having to do a thing!

By following a recent discussion on ‘what makes the perfect event website’ within the Event Planning & Event Management LinkedIn group, I have picked up a number of useful tips regarding the essential elements that must be included. The discussion has had over 100 comments so far from leading event professionals and I have organised them into five key areas.

1. Basic Details

A number of people commented on how frustrating it can be for attendees when the basic details of the event are buried somewhere within the website and not easily accessible. Important information including, the event date, time, location, ticket price and who to contact if they have any questions should be available at first glance at the webpage. 

2. Programme & Attendee List

The subject of the event programmes being the most important factor in a person’s final decision on whether to attend the event or not, was frequently mentioned. This was followed by the event attendee list. Many professionals revealed that besides the great food and fancy venues – the event programme is the reason they attend! They need to be inspired by the speakers/workshops/sessions and know what benefits they will gain. They also need to believe that the value gained will outweigh the costs associated with the event. Therefore, it is essential for a websites content to provide a clear programme of events outlining the benefits to the target audience and make it accessible at first glance. 

3. Venue Location & The Surrounding Area

It’s common knowledge that a large amount of pre-event anxiety is caused by planning travel arrangements and locating secure parking facilities close to the venue. This can be avoided by including something like Google or Bing maps in the event website along with directions to the venue form all the city’s major access points. This will allow people to relax and look forward to the event without any unwanted hassle!

Symphony’s event website creator automatically inserts the venue location map when creating a venue page.

Another useful tip I picked up from the discussion, was including some information about the local leisure attractions within the area. After reading about the event programme, often the factors which give the people who are sitting on the fence that final push to the registration page, are the other things they can do while they’re at the event. What leisure attractions are there nearby? Can they bring their partners and children? A useful element to include on an event website is a local tourism page.

4. Online registration

Another important part of an event website is the facility to incorporate online event registration and also accommodation reservations within the same page. This allows the attendee to calculate the total cost of the booking with greater ease. Online registration provides customers with the most efficient process in signing up for the event. 

Symphony Event Management Software enables you to provide your attendees with a simple registration process inclusive of accommodation reservations.

5. Pre Event, Event & Post Event

The event website should not stop at the pre-event information. It should also include content for during and post event as well. 

Pre-event videos seem to be a popular topic for event websites at the moment. Video is seen as a key tool for interaction. A short event video can include information covering the purpose and benefits of the event along with some testimonials from previous events of a similar nature. 

Social media platforms can be utilised during the event by way of tweeting and updating Facebook statuses throughout. Interaction amongst attendees and non-attendees can be stimulated through the event website.

Post-event content can also be added to the website including testimonials, pictures, videos and feedback functions. This will provide you with useful evaluation data and also be used for the promotion of future events. Let your previous events sell your future events!

Why not learn how to build your website and manage your event registrations in Symphony with greater ease and efficiency by requesting a demo. Or call me for more information on 0114 279 4990.