YPF Event at LaFabrika – A Networking Masterpiece
Exactly one week from now, I attended a networking event organised by the Young Professionals Forum (YPF). It was carried out very well, it had an idea behind the execution and generally went very well. Simply stated, it was a highlight of my day. The effortless execution of the networking night left me thinking about what makes a successful event. Since event management is an important part of PR, let me share my thoughts on it with you.
Social objects
A highly successful event revolves around one or more social objects. Since I’ve written about them earlier, you already know what they are and what they do.
In our case, the social object was a 3M pocket data projector. It helped me to start many conversations and thus leave with a few more business cards and stronger ties to other young professionals.
Message to the event managers: Never stop building the YPF networking gatherings around social objects! Otherwise the networking nights would end because the people will have no medium to help them connect with each other. So far, you’ve done a good job, Brendan.
Location
Not only real estate agents should go by the mantra “location, location, location”. Choosing the venue that would fit into the overall theme of the event is important, since it can evoke pleasant feelings and make the participants remember the experience after some time has passed.
Since the devil is in the details, even a seemingly insignificant element, like the surroundings, can make a real difference on the outcome of the event. Don’t underestimate the little things.
People
The second ingredient to a great event are its guests. People were super interested in technology and new trends, especially new media and online marketing and PR. That made conversation flow very smoothly because most of us were on the same page.
As an event organizer, try to make sure you invite people who will have something to say to each other and not only to you. That way the event will leave a better impression on the guests’.
Overall, I was very satisfied with the networking night and I am hoping that the next one would be just as good as this one was.
