Meeting Planner Careers

When you get out into the world, you may be handed an assignment to plan an event outside your city. For the sake of illustration, your boss or client may say, “We need to hold a meeting, but we want it to be in Las Vegas so we can have some fun, too.”

TARP notwithstanding, you imagine yourself trying to coordinate everything from your small office in New York city, destined to work from 1:00 a.m. until midnight every day for the next two months. However, it will not be that way because you will have a destination management company on the other end.

Destination management companies specialize in organizing meetings on the other end. You will be calling on this company to help you work out the logistics of travel, accommodations, conference centers, and other details long before the event’s doors open.

Destination management can be one of your best friends as a planner, especially if you are just starting your career. If you have been in it awhile and have just been handed your first off-shore assignment, they will be even more important–you have to deal with travel restrictions, alerts, possible language and culture barriers, and unanticipated passport/visa entry restrictions.

Sometimes a good way to find your perfect best friend is to ask around. Get some references and word-of-mouth advertising, which is something we all rely on to help us get the word out.

Regardless of the career path you choose as a meeting planner, one thing is certain: the Internet can be your best friend when it comes to marketing. More specifically, social media can often be the tipping point from a publicized meeting to a well-publicized event. Here is how you can make social media work for you.

Using Your Own Page

If you do not have a professional social media page already, you need to create one–yesterday! Your friends lists will become your contact list for bulletins about upcoming events. Let’s say you are scheduling a convention for administrative professionals, and almost all your friends have such employees. Once you send out a bulletin about the event, you may get some signing up from your list. You will help boost your attendance from one or two notices sent globally–and all for free. Read more…