Gigga-Guide: How to organise a networking event in 2022

The event management industry took a HUGE hit in 2020.

Networking events were being cancelled left right and centre. If your event management company wasn’t ready to adapt to the changing landscape caused by covid, you could kiss it goodbye. However, with the world reacclimatising, networking events are back in full force. Today, you’ll find out exactly how to organise a networking event in 2022. 

Let’s get started! 

What is a Networking Event? 

As you may have guessed, a networking event is an event that gives attendees the chance to connect with each other. Networking events can come in many types. Whether that’s a corporate conference, party event, or IT event. 

As long as the focus of the event is that of attendees connecting, it qualifies as a networking event. 

How to Organise a Networking Event 

Networking events can take place as live events, virtual events, or hybrid events. Here is a reminder of what each event type actually is…

• Live Event: An event that takes place in person, with a live audience and speakers.
• Virtual Event: An event that takes place online. Usually through a virtual event platform.
• Hybrid Event: A live event combined with online elements.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to organise a networking event.

1. Decide on your event type

If you’re looking to create an event setting which wow your attendees, a live event may be the event you’re looking for. Click here to find out more about live events.

However, virtual events have come a long way in recent years. What was once just a glorified Zoom call is now a seamless event experience. You’d be amazed at the kind of venues that can be created!

Click here to find out more about virtual events. They are also a perfect solution for those who may not feel comfortable attending an in-person, live event.

Or, a hybrid event could be the perfect solution if you want to cater your event to a live and virtual audience. Click here to find out more about hybrid events.

2. Decide on a theme/tone

Below are the different event themes and how each one could apply to your networking event.

• Corporate events: Events held by a large company for its employees. These are perfect for creating relationships between employees. This is because it allows them to connect with one another and find out more about each other. Ultimately, this will benefit overall productivity at work. As it will create a positive mindset in employees, allowing them to feel excited to come to work.
• Party Events: Social events held to celebrate something. These events are perfect for increasing morale between friends, work colleagues, or business partners. They can be held to celebrate a particular achievement or for no reason at all. Who needs a reason to hold a party?
• Experiential Events: Events held to immerse your attendees in an experience. The goal of experiential events is to conjure up emotion in your attendees. Leaving a lasting memory in their mind of the event. Often, these events are visual feasts. Perfect for showcasing a new product release or a brand change.

Ultimately, experiential events allow your attendees to connect over a shared moment.

3. What is your event budget?

The question no one wants to ask. But one that is perhaps the most important.

Your budget will play a huge role in the overall quality of your event. It will determine the size and features of your venue. It will also determine the technical production aspects.

For example, the camera quality, audio quality, or technological quality (if it’s a virtual event) will be dependent on the budget.

4. Choose a venue/hire an event management company

There are two ways to approach this step. You can either do the heavy lifting yourself (literally) or hire an event production company to do the work for you. Hiring an experienced event management company will give you the peace of mind that your event will be delivered without a hitch.

Click here to discover why hiring an event management company is so important. As a specialist event production company, we at Giggabox have produced over 200 successful events.

Click here to see our work! When choosing a venue, it needs to represent the theme and tone of your event. It also needs to accommodate the logistical requirements. For example, the number of attendees, location etc.

5. Create your event content

The purpose of a networking event is social interaction. However, most professional networking events have a structure which allows the event to flow.

This structure could include a short presentation, giving an outline of what the event is about. This will also allow the guests to feel more comfortable with each other. Ultimately leading to more interactions and enjoyment.

6. Promote your event

Promoting your event is just as important as producing your event. Think about it, you can put hours of work into finding a venue and filling it. But if you haven’t promoted it successfully, you’ll have no attendees. Which would make networking quite difficult! Event production companies promote their events in different ways. However, we at Giggabox use a process which incorporates these factors:

• Social media: We create campaigns which expose the event to a highly targeted audience. Across multiple social media channels.
• Website page creation: We create website pages based on SEO. These pages are designed to draw in as many eyes as possible.

In this guide, we outlined the steps to plan and execute a successful networking event in 2022. From choosing the right event type and theme to setting a budget and promoting the event, every aspect of event planning was covered. Click here to find out how we can produce your networking event!

If you’re planning a networking event in 2022, don’t leave anything to chance.

Read more Gigga-Guides here.

Contact Giggabox today and let our experienced event management team handle all the details. We specialise in producing high-quality networking events that deliver in every aspect.

Contact us now to learn more.