Hi, I’m Emilie, and I’m launching this newsletter, Connection Engine, to discuss reflections and actionable lessons on community building in a digital world. If you’re a community builder or just curious about community work, you can join the fun by subscribing below!
It’s hard to forget a really great event. Whether a small dinner party or a huge conference, good events stay with us — a brief few hours ingrained in our minds for many years after. That’s because events transport us. For however brief a time, to go to an event is to travel from the mundane everyday hum of daily life to an entirely new world. Going to an event makes us feel alive. It reunites us with our purpose and opens us up to new possibilities.
I love going to events. But even more than that I love throwing events. Event planning is how I transitioned into community work because events are a very important part of community design.
Of course the pandemic changed how a lot of us think about events, but I’ll get into both in-person and virtual events and how creating a magical experience is still possible in our new normal.
In-person events
Once upon a time in a land circa 2019, in-person events were key to thriving communities. Feeding directly off other people’s energy is important and often hard to replicate. It creates bonds, understanding, and empathy that is much harder to translate from behind a screen.
Event planning was something that always energized me. I love being in the weeds of the schedules, the budgets, the details, the assets. There was something so special about the 5:00 a.m. feeling of setting up for a morning event that I loved — it was quiet and still and yet rich with potential. Would friendships, relationships, business partnerships come out of this space? Maybe.
The logistics and checklists made my heart sing in a way that made me want to pursue it full time. So I ditched law school and threw myself full time into the wonderful, hectic, stressful, magical world of event planning in Washington, D.C. And then covid hit. Dreams crushed.
But in-person events and conferences are coming back — and they’re exciting. A lot of people miss being with other people and throwing on something besides leggings or sweatpants. So events are making a major comeback, and I’m thrilled about it.
As a community manager, events will probably take up a good chunk of your engagement strategy. If you have no prior experience with in-person event planning, it can be overwhelming knowing where to start.
Some basics you’ll have to think about (of course taking into account the size and occasion):
Venue
Food and drinks
Tables and seating
Speakers
Guest lists
Invitations
Ticketing
Advertising
Seating charts
Tech and production
Theme and decor
Agenda and activities
Entertainment
Promotional materials
Coat check
Other vendors as needed (photographer, videographer, etc.)
Magical events don’t come from last-minute planning. Great events can (and should) take months to plan. Every single detail should come together to create an inimitable experience. If you’re at a really great event you hardly notice how the details come together — a job well done for the event organizer.
You don’t want people noticing the missing details: asking for a coat check when there is none, asking for vegetarian options when there are none, looking for seats or confused about place cards. Your job is to make every single person feel like you planned that event with their needs in mind. And if you’re doing your job well, you are.
If you want a more detailed schedule on how you should be thinking about your event, email me!
So what do events do for community building?
Foster relationship building between your members
Energize your community around a shared cause
Provide networking or mentorship opportunities
Show appreciation for your community by providing a space to build connections:
Covid changed a lot in the event space, and many events are still being held online. With new experiences come new learnings. While different from in-person events, virtual events, when done right, can still be a great way to engage your community and build relationships between your members.
Virtual events
What a comeback for Zoom. Two and a half years into more Zoom meetings than any of us planned on, Zoom fatigue is real. After spending most of the day glued to our screens the last thing most people want is more screen time. Virtual events are tough. You’re competing for your members’ attention, fighting tech issues, and trying to create an intimate experience through a screen.
But with our changing times, virtual events are here to stay and if done well, they can actually be pretty fun. A great pro of virtual events is that anyone can join from anywhere in the world which creates a special opportunity to easily expand your network and grow your community.
Planning a virtual event will of course depend on the type of event. Are you hosting a guest speaker? A small networking meeting? A speed-round coffee chat? The context is important since you’ll need to choose the right tools and platform depending on your goals. As with many things in community building, personalization is key.
With most virtual events, a lot of your focus shifts to 1) the content of your event and 2) the tech and production details behind your platform. If either of these fall through, you have no event. Schedule speakers, back ups to speakers, and back ups to those. Familiarize yourself with whatever app you’re using and learn to use it really well. If there is a technical glitch, it usually falls on you to figure it out. If you’re livestreaming, run rehearsals with your tech team to smooth out any kinks. It matters.
In my experience, the most important thing with community virtual events is to replicate the intimacy of in-person events in a digital space. When you go to an event, people don’t stand in a circle and talk one at a time like they do in a typical Zoom meeting. They break off into smaller groups, float around meeting people in 1:1 conversations, and build relationships upon the intimacy of these interactions. More of a cozy coffee shop vibe, less DMV-let’s-get-this-over-with mood.
So how do you recreate this space online?
There are tons of platforms to foster smaller group conversations and relationships in virtual spaces. Some of my favorites:
Here’s a great piece by Christoph Janz on bringing that cocktail feeling to virtual events which stresses the important takeaway that “there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for human interactions.”
I also love these lessons on running virtual events:
“If you deliver niche content, warm leads are possible because attendees who tune in are genuinely interested.
You can avoid Zoom fatigue by adopting a conservative event cadence and making each one valuable to a subset of your community. When you try to create content that is generic and is trying to be everything to everybody it usually ends up as nothing to anybody.” - Jonathan Weiner
It all goes back to scalable intimacy. Find a way to grow your community without sacrificing the quality and depth of interaction — especially during virtual events.
Creating a plan for a plan
It may seem like event planning is a full time job in itself — and a lot of times, it is. That’s why planning and organizing things way ahead of any planned event is key to its success. Here are some lessons I’ve learned about event planning in the last few years:
1. Start planning early.
This is probably the most important one. Create a detailed schedule with deliverable due dates you can use to hold yourself accountable. You’ll be surprised how quickly the time passes leading up to your event, especially if you’re working on other things.
2. Prepare for the unexpected.
Always have a backup plan in place. As an event organizer, you should adopt what I like to call “cheerful pessimism.” Plan for things to go wrong — and still have a killer event even if they do.
3. Adapt quickly.
There is a high chance there’ll be a hiccup leading up to or during your event. Embrace the shifts and adapt quickly. Dwelling on a vision in your mind and being upset you’re unable to deliver exactly on that vision will only slow you down.
4. Ask for help.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your community. Let your most dedicated members help you plan and host virtual and in-person events. You’d be surprised at how many are willing (and want to) help. More on this from Jenny Weigle:
“You, as the community professional, don’t need to always be the one planning and executing events on behalf of the brand. That’s a benefit that can be bestowed upon specific community members to keep momentum going. It benefits the community member who can show off their expertise, AND it benefits the community to show a variety of different events being hosted by different people. Perhaps most important of all, it gives the community professional/team time back to focus on other initiatives.” - Jenny Weigle
Event planning gets easier as you go. Things that seem like a big deal during your first event will eventually become seamless for you. With each event, you’ll learn what energizes your community and can focus your efforts on making each one better than the last.
Planning events can be stressful — and the behind-the-scenes is often much less glamorous than the finished product. I have lots of stories I can laugh about now, but it was much much less funny when I was sprawled on a tiled floor in a skirt steaming a tablecloth or perched on the top of a chair in my heels finalizing a display or putting together gift bags at 3:00 a.m. on an office couch. These moments suck. There’s no way around it.
But when this happens, come back to why you’re doing it all in the first place. Picture the finished product, the laughter and traveling chatter of human stories, the magic of human connection, and that makes it all worth it.
In next week’s issue: why communities fail. Until then, thanks for being a part of Connection Engine!
About me
I’m Emilie. Why am I doing this? To share my learnings on community work, to learn more myself, and to make new internet frens :)
Want to read more? Follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my newsletter here.
Have a community question for a future issue or interested in working together? Email me at ekormienko@gmail.com.