Methods and steps for planning and executing an event

Having worked in operations for several years, I have been exposed to various types of activities, and I have also managed many large and small activities myself.

For myself, event planning is a standard for those engaged in operations and an important factor in considering operational skills.

Organizing an event will greatly improve your planning ability, cross-departmental coordination ability, project control ability, execution ability, and adaptability.

For companies, activities are a very important means to quickly attract new and active users. If an event is successful, the impact it brings will be immeasurable.

Below I share the methods and steps from planning to execution of an event. These are purely my personal opinions, so please don’t criticize me if you don’t agree with them.

1. Activity Planning

As an excellent operator, you must understand structured thinking and work in a planned manner. Organizing an event is something that is closely related to "festivals", so you must plan and prepare in advance.

My suggestion is to make an event calendar in advance for each quarter and list every important holiday node. Make a general plan first. There are three important reasons for doing this:

1. Be able to prepare in advance and carry out a series of subsequent operations in an orderly manner.
2. The relevant departments will have a general idea of ​​your operating rhythm and will take it into consideration when arranging work.
3. Report to your supervisor. (I know you are a good young man with plans and ideas.)

The following is a rough calendar of activities for your reference:

Event Calendar

2. Activity Planning Period

With a plan for the entire quarter, we can start planning a specific activity in advance according to the schedule. There are several steps:

1. Determination of activity objectives

The first and most important issue in planning an event is to determine the purpose and objectives of the event:

That is, what can be achieved through this activity. For example: bringing XX orders, XX transaction flows, etc.

Of course, the purpose of determining the big goal is to more clearly quantify each small data indicator.

like:

• The goal is XX orders, which requires XX daily active users to convert .
• If XX daily active users are needed, XX PVs are needed for conversion, etc. (Determined according to the conversion rate of its own platform)

Based on this idea, you can quantify the indicators for consideration, and then adjust the activities based on the data feedback of the indicators. I won’t go into details here.

2. Activity creative communication

“An excellent operator should be able to master many “leverage points” to better create short-term value for users and thereby leverage more long-term value. Some of these leverage points are internal cultivation and work habits, while others are external skills and methods.”

The form of the activity is a point to attract users and thereby encourage them to participate. This point is also the core of this event.

Whether an activity is successful or not is sometimes just a matter of “point”.

Generally speaking, the activity department will hold a brainstorming session to brainstorm on the form of the activity. There are many different forms of activities in the industry at present, each with its own merits.

But the essence remains the same, which can be summarized into the following 8 forms:

Event Creativity Tips

3. Determine the plan and formulate SOP

After the internal communication and confirmation of the event, the final plan will be output and reported to the departments and leaders involved in the event.

Generally speaking, an event planning proposal should include the following parts:

1. The purpose and objectives of the activity;
2. Event time and theme;
3. The form and logic of the activity (you can draw a rough flowchart);
4. Promotion plan for the event;
5. Customer service information:
6. Activity costs and outputs.

The plans may differ for different types of activities, but it’s fine as long as the main core points can be brought out. (Tell others what to do and tell leaders what can be achieved)

Of course, when making a plan, you must select 1-2 alternative plans to prevent unexpected situations.

After the plan is confirmed and output, it is recommended to hold a meeting with relevant staff (design, development, customer service, marketing, etc.) to determine the overall feasibility and scheduling of the plan.

A corresponding SOP table must be established for the activity to facilitate the control of each link and to follow up on key nodes in a timely manner.

The following is an example of a sop table template:

sop table case reference

I would like to add one more thing here. After the plan is confirmed, it is necessary to focus on communicating with the promotion department. Because some promotional resources are external and need to be coordinated in advance.

3. Preparation before launching the activity

After the activity is developed, it needs to be tested and verified on a small scale before it can be officially launched for promotion to prevent errors.

1. Activity function test

The overall testing of the event will generally be checked by colleagues from the testing department, but please remember: due to different focuses, testers generally only conduct white-box testing and some functional testing, and generally will not delve into the event page and event details.

Operators need to conduct detailed verification themselves to ensure that there are no errors.

Please create a functional verification table, list all the key points that need to be tested, and verify them one by one to prevent errors and omissions.

The following is an example of a functional verification list:

Functional verification list

2. Small-scale online testing

Small-scale testing is intended to lay the foundation for full launch and omni -channel promotion . By launching the campaign on a single channel or targeting only a certain group of users, you can test whether there are any problems with the campaign in the formal environment. Even if problems occur, the risks can be minimized.

4. Activity online period

Remember: Don’t think that everything will be fine once the activity is online.

The real problems are often exposed by real users.

Therefore, please always monitor and analyze the data in real time. Do a good job in risk control and crisis management!

Now you can monitor the various quantitative data indicators you just created. Please analyze the data at each stage based on the key time points of each promotion, such as: changes in page PV and UV, changes in the overall number of orders, changes in conversion rate, retention rate , and bounce rate, etc.

Identify weak points and adjust activities in a timely manner. like:

• The pv is very low. Is it because the activity is not exposed enough or there is a problem with the promotion resources?
• The activity has a high bounce rate. Is the page not attractive enough? Are there any problems with the activity process?
• The orders were not significantly affected. Is the activity less intense? Is there a problem with the order guidance process?

(I won’t go into details about how to analyze activity data. I will discuss this in a separate article later.)

Here is a brief introduction to the promotion issues:

Generally, promotions will have corresponding promotion costs, so it is necessary to choose the correct promotion channels and methods, make rational use of limited funds, and improve ROI conversion.

The promotion department may provide a series of promotion plans and resources based on the form of the activity.

However, when you have little experience, A/B testing can be a good verification method.

Through A/B testing, we can quickly screen out suitable channels and resources, and make resource-oriented operations so that good resources can be used where they are needed most.

5. Activity review summary

The ancients said: Review the past to learn new things.

The improvement of a person's ability is not determined by what he has experienced, but by his subsequent thinking and summary.

The post-event review of an event is often more meaningful than the event itself.

It is the foundation for the success of our future activities. For us, it is also a valuable lesson and accumulation of important experience.

It is equivalent to your boss spending money to provide you with a platform and users to exercise your abilities.

The following are the general parts that need to be considered in the activity review that I have compiled. You can add or subtract based on the specific situation.

Of course, your summary report plan can also be output in this form.

Activity review analysis

When operating an event , please remember the word "sense of rhythm " and do it in an orderly and rhythmic manner.

Early planning, creation of project sop tables, creation of function lists, etc., are all to ensure that everything is under control, proceed at your own pace, and avoid missing out on key things.

Sometimes, an activity may have little effect. This is normal, so please don't be discouraged. Do a good job of reviewing and summarizing, try and adjust slowly, and there will always be a day when you will explode.

An event involves various departments and is the business of the entire team, not just your personal business.

Therefore, you should learn to handle the relationship with colleagues in various departments well in your daily life.

The above may have many shortcomings and is for reference only!