Basketball games, play performances, theme days, etc. These are just some of the most remarkable school events that often stay in our memories. What is it that makes them so remarkable? The short answer is that they bring learners together in one place, at a single moment, to commemorate a particular event.
School events develop a strong bond that allows not only learners but also teachers and parents to feel like they’re involved in one thing in particular. However, successfully planning and promoting such events can be tricky, and this is why you should learn about the strategic ways that guarantee maximum attendance at your school events below!
1. Know the Objectives
You must first create a checklist for yourself that includes all of the goals you want your school event to accomplish. A school event can serve different purposes, such as strengthening the bonds between students or improving their skills. Whatever your goal is, it is best that you ensure that your objectives are detailed and quantifiable.
2. Listen to Your Audience
So now that you have all of your event objectives laid out, do you think you will stimulate the appetite of those involved? Hold on. One channel works better than another for reaching some stakeholders, such as parents. However, if time and other resources allow, spread the word about your school event widely and loudly.
3. Set Up the Budget
The budget will have a big influence on the event’s overall scope, so the next thing you should do is figure out how much money you need. For a rough approximation, you can review your past events. Remember to account for costs like venue rental, transportation, and all the other items on your budget list.
4. Confirm Your Venue and Date
Once the above steps are done, you can move on with verifying the venue and date. You may pick the time and location of your event by taking into account the purpose of the event and the academic calendar of your school. If you need a tool to help you with the planning process, you can use an event schedule template like this one.
5. Promote Your Event
Next, know that promoting the event should also be your priority. You will never reach a full attendance rate without carefully planned promotional strategies. When students are looking for information about school-related activities, they frequently go to school websites first, so write posts about your event there with attention-grabbing headlines.
6. Contact The Vendors
Without a doubt, in order to make sure your school event runs well, you will need to collaborate with a number of vendors. It’s advisable to get in touch with them three months or more prior to the event. You must also bring in the volunteers at least a month before the big day. At this point, you can also begin contacting the speakers.
7. Distribute Your Resources
To make sure nothing goes wrong during the event, you can provide vendors and volunteers with managerial resources. You have to, at least, provide them with a site map, which will make it easy to get around everything during the planning process. Being as organized as possible from the beginning is often the best approach to planning a school event.
8. Double-Check Everything
With all of that, you should double-check many important details of the event. Examine the weather if the event is held outside. Next, look at the equipment that each vendor is bringing, and don’t be afraid to voice your concerns if you think something is off. And, if you have promotional gifts, you should put them right in their place.
9. Enjoy The School Event
Here comes the big day! All you should do right now is keep track of the event’s progress and ensure that all participants—volunteers and vendors alike—work at the right pace. Yes, you might occasionally need to call for adjustments, but as long as everything is planned and executed appropriately, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
10. Listen to Your Audience, Again
If you want to make your next event even better, you must evaluate the entire thing. This leads to keeping both you and the attendees happy as you try to further enhance the experience for everybody involved. To do this, a survey is an excellent tool. The results of the survey, whether it is online or paper-based, will show how satisfied the participants are.
The Takeaway
It’s likely that you have put a lot of effort into organizing the fantastic school event of your dreams. You chose an excellent venue with plenty of space, published a stellar lineup of speakers, and you have taken care of all the little things—food, entertainment, sound systems, as well as other necessities.
You are now hoping to achieve a record-breaking attendance for your event. Attendance, though, is not the result of great thinking alone! You can take certain steps to boost attendance at your school events, and you can make the planning and promotion process easier by following the above advice.