How can you create a must-attend conference program?

1 Define your purpose and goals

Before you start planning your conference program, you need to have a clear vision of why you are organizing the event and what you want to achieve. What is the main theme or topic of your conference? Who is your target audience and what are their pain points, interests, and goals? How do you want to position yourself and your organization as a leader and a resource in your field? What are the specific and measurable outcomes that you want to accomplish with your conference? Having a clear purpose and goals will help you shape your conference program and align it with your mission and values.

2 Research and select your speakers

One of the most important elements of your conference program is the speakers. They are the ones who will deliver the content, insights, and inspiration that your attendees are looking for. Therefore, you need to research and select your speakers carefully, based on their expertise, reputation, relevance, and presentation skills. You also need to consider the diversity and representation of your speakers, as well as the balance between internal and external speakers, keynote and breakout sessions, and different formats and styles. You want to offer your attendees a variety of perspectives, experiences, and voices that will enrich their learning and networking opportunities.

3 Structure and schedule your sessions

Once you have chosen your speakers, you need to structure and schedule your sessions in a way that creates a logical and engaging flow for your conference program. You need to consider the length, timing, and frequency of your sessions, as well as the breaks, transitions, and networking opportunities. You also need to think about how to group and categorize your sessions, based on the topics, themes, tracks, or levels of difficulty. You want to create a conference program that is easy to navigate, flexible, and adaptable to different preferences and needs of your attendees.

4 Incorporate interactivity and feedback

A must-attend conference program is not only informative, but also interactive and engaging. You need to incorporate elements that encourage participation, collaboration, and feedback from your attendees, speakers, and sponsors. For example, you can use polls, surveys, quizzes, Q&A sessions, live chats, breakout rooms, gamification, or social media to create a two-way communication and a sense of community among your conference participants. You can also use these tools to collect feedback and data that will help you evaluate and improve your conference program.

5 Promote and market your program

Creating a must-attend conference program is not enough if you don't promote and market it effectively. You need to communicate the value proposition, benefits, and highlights of your conference program to your potential attendees, speakers, sponsors, and partners. You need to use different channels and strategies, such as email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, or word-of-mouth marketing, to reach and attract your target audience. You also need to create a compelling and consistent brand identity and message for your conference program, as well as a clear and easy registration and ticketing process.

6 Adapt and optimize your program

Finally, you need to be ready to adapt and optimize your conference program, based on the feedback, data, and changes that may occur before, during, and after your event. You need to monitor and measure the performance and impact of your conference program, using metrics such as attendance, satisfaction, engagement, retention, conversion, or ROI. You also need to be flexible and responsive to the needs and expectations of your attendees, speakers, sponsors, and partners, as well as the external factors and challenges that may affect your conference program. You want to create a conference program that is not only must-attend, but also must-repeat.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?