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08/07/2019

Daily Buzz: What Attendees Want From Meetings

Every attendee has her own set of priorities and expectations

Just as every meeting has its own set of priorities and expectations, so does every attendee. Claire Hoffman from BizBash outlines the elements that rise to the top of guests’ wish lists:

Instagrammable moments. Attendees want to show off their event experience, which means planners need to design interactive, decorative setups worth capturing. “All photo ops should clearly display the official hashtag and company handles,” Hoffman says. “Attendees want to use these because it also increases ‘likes’ for them, but don’t want to go searching for the right information to include.”

Thoughtful decor. Pretty meeting design will please the eyes, but effective event decor should stimulate all of the senses, even evoking an emotional connection to guests’ surroundings. Get creative, and work with your tech partners as well. “When people can interact with their environment and the event design, that activates their five senses—which makes for a memorable moment and, of course, a desire to share photos and videos,” Hoffman says.

New, unexpected experiences. Offering the same, or very similar, agenda year to year will set a conference up for failure before it even starts. Guests want variety. For annual meetings in particular, the focus should be on “What can we do differently this year?” rather than “This is the way we’ve always done it.” Look to attendee feedback from last year’s event for inspiration on where to improve.

Please select this link to read the original article from Associations Now.

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