Meeting Planner Careers

In the past, the only type of participation available to meeting attendees was live participation. If individuals were unable to make it to the meeting in person, they simply missed out on the information being presented as well as the opportunity to network. Today, live participation is not required for individuals to be 100 percent involved in a meeting or event. Individuals can be a part of the event or meeting through virtual participation. Events in which both live and virtual participation are offered are called hybrid meetings. Virtual participants can use social media to interact with other meeting participants, both live and virtual.

Hybrid events are ideal in some situations for a variety of reasons. Businesses that have restricted budgets may not have the luxury of traveling in a tight economy. A hybrid meeting would allow these businesses to participate without the added expense of travel, accommodations, and food. Hybrid events can open meetings up to a more diverse audience and provide more exposure within the marketplace. By opening meetings up to a larger audience, businesses have the opportunity to expand their networking capabilities and make new connections. There are many reasons why hybrid meetings are valuable and should be considered when planning an important event.

Want to get the most media attention and spotlight for your business?  Then the first place to start is with a GREAT press release.  Now I can almost see half of you leaving now, dreading the thought of having to write one of these.  But wait!!  I’m going to show you easy methods to make your press release work for you and get the attention it deserves.  Ready?  Let’s go.

We’ll briefly go over the basics because of their importance. Editors want to see things done the RIGHT way.  I would bet that a lot of good releases simply get tossed out just because they aren’t set up properly.  To a busy editor, that all too familiar “10 second glance” says a lot for you and your business; it let’s them know if you’ve done your research enough to warrant that release to be placed in their newspaper or magazine.

Here are your essentials:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" on the top left of the page.

Your contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and website follows.

Headline is next, normally in bold and centered on the page.  Summarize what the release is about and capture their attention.  Spend almost as much time on your headline as you do writing the release.  It’s that important.

The press release body starts with the location of the release and the date (Margate, Florida, May 5, 2005.)

Most press releases are between 200-500 words, and no more than a page. The first paragraph has the most important information.  Don’t save the best for last, it won’t get read.  In this paragraph answer the questions, who, what, when, where and why?

It is recommended that you write press releases in the 3rd person and use short sentences and paragraphs. Do not go over board, trying to dazzle the editor, it won’t work.

Target your release.  You will be sending your release to a specific audience so make sure that in your release you keep to what would appeal to that audience.  What don’t they know that you can add?  Nothing works better than getting an “AAH HAA” when an editor is reviewing your release.
  
Provide statistics.  Do some research and find some relevant information that applies.  You can easily do this through Google.  Once you find your quote, do a Google search or Yahoo quote on that particular topic.   However, don’t stop on the first Google link and take that for gospel.  Research it a bit further.  Have it come from a respectable company or magazine.
 
Include relevant quotes from experts in your field that will reinforce what you are saying.   Approach authors, leaders in your Industry, and other experts that back up the facts you are stating in your release.  They will normally appreciate the added publicity and you get the quote you’re looking for.  For example, as an author I’ll often get asked to provide a quote for an article on home-based businesses or the virtual assistant industry.  I welcome the opportunity as it provides me more publicity.
 
Also, if you have a satisfied client that you feel will add credibility to your Release, add a quote from them as well.  The first time you mention the expert, write out their full name.  Then list them by last name or Mr. and Mrs. Smith only.  I normally prefer the last name.
 
The last paragraph should be your call to action.  You’ve talked the whole release about your business or product, now tell them what to do with the knowledge they just acquired.

At the bottom of the release include ### to indicate you are done, followed by a short bio. Make sure if you include your website that you include http:// in front of it for search engine recognition.
Your bio should include your information, any books authored, etc.   Double check this for accuracy.  At this point, you’re tired and done with the Release.  But if it goes out to the world with the wrong web address, the valuable time spent even writing the Release has been wasted.

That’s it!  The basics for writing a press release.  Now one other thing I’d like to add in, they work!  They truly work.

Reader’s Digest brought many light hearted moments to their readers with it’s popular Laughter: The Best Medicine section. How can an event planner use humor to her advantage?

One of the best ways is to find a motivational speaker who has a message and keeps a sense of humor. Why not include some lighthearted stories in a presentation? Everyone enjoys a few jokes, especially ones they can share with friends and family once they have returned home and the conference is over. A relaxed audience is a more attentive one. Life is too short to forget to smile.

Humor raises morale, which is a key element for a motivational speaker. Some psychologists say that people are motivated by the push of pain or the pull of hope. A good speaker will draw his audience in with a strong message that change is possible. Looking on the bright side literally changes someone’s physical make up. Humor relaxes muscle tension, lowers blood pressure, and allows all the body’s functions to proceed at a more healthy rate.

Laughter inspires confidence and makes the imagination shore. Many times one funny story leads to another in a domino effect. A good motivational speaker builds on that and leaves his audience ready to put forth a greater effort and take on the world.

One of the best things about the event planning industry is the fact that corporate groups seem to always want to meet face to face. Even in the age of electronic media, video conference calls and the like, meetings have the advantage of human interaction that will never feel outdated.

As members of a society, individuals feel the need to get together and discuss different issues- be it business, politics or entertainment. This implies that an event planner can be assured of a constant flow of work.

However although the culture of meetings will always stay, meeting planners need to spruce up their act and keep in touch with the latest developments in the meeting industry. Be it technological or soft skills, the event planning industry is surely growing fast, and event planners need to keep pace making sure that they pull off a good show. Read more…

The event planning industry has achieved unprecedented levels of success, with increasing profits soaring in. This lucrative meeting and event planning  industry is a great place to build a fantastic career.  Before plunging into the world of event planning, let’s have a look at what exactly is “event planning.”

Firstly, an event is an occasion that marks something important, such as a birthday, anniversary, farewell, etc. It could also be corporate event such as annual meeting day or induction events for newly recruits. The list of events is just endless, and all the better for those thousands of aspirants eager to put up a good show.

Secondly, what does an event planner really do? An event planner has a host of things to do, and multi-tasking is the key point here. If you are one of those who hate to multi-task and prefer working on a single project at a time, this robust event planning industry is definitely not for you. An event planner, at all given points of work time, needs to multi-task and ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Here is a list things that event planners are expected to do: Read more…