So what do you think is the magic number for a perfect social event? Is there one best way to go about planning a party or event for small or long lines? This article offers some quick tips on social distancing for walk-in registrants.
You’ve decided to go with online registrants. Good for you – that’s the smart way to do things. As a social event organizer, I’ve often had to deal with long and small lines. The key here is to organize accordingly – but what if you’re not sure how to do that? Here are some quick tips for your party planning for small or long lines.
Use Online Registration: Using an online registration system can be a great social distancing tactic for very small or long lines. One of the best things about online registration is that it eliminates lines by moving people through the process at their pace. As long as the system for online registration matches the number of people signing up with the number of seats available, no matter how many lines you’re dealing with, your guests will get in on the fun before any others do. Plus, when you’re dealing with long and small lines, it’s important to plan your event’s flow from the start. That makes things easier down the line for everyone.
Line Up by Location: If you’ve got a long line, try sending your attendees a map of your location. Not only does this give them a visual guide to where they need to be, it also forces them to become more mobile. Wherever your guests are, send out a sign-up sheet that includes where they should be at that moment, and get your guests set to walking in as soon as possible. This type of social distancing strategy works better for groups since you can then send out separate sign-ups for each separate group. For larger groups, it can be helpful to have a single location for your online registrants, so that no one feels forced to move from their spot on the line.
Pick a Time Slot: When choosing your time slot for online registration, make sure to allow plenty of time for questions and answers. Depending on how long your event is, there could be a long line of people waiting to enter your space, even if you’ve chosen a very popular time slot. The best way to handle this? Let your attendees pick their own time slots. It might seem like an odd suggestion, but the more options you give them, the more likely they will enjoy the process.
Walk-In: Perhaps the most common method of social distancing is to allow your attendees to pick their own hours of operation. You can set a start time and end time, or even have them wait until they hit the designated starting time. Some companies have also found it helpful to require attendees to sign up for admission before the start time of the event. Either way, you can set up an online sign-up sheet for your attendees to fill out. They can then pick their hours of operation. Of course, this might not be practical if you expect hundreds or thousands of people to come to your event!
Mixing Social Media With Online Registration: Another great option for social media integration is to use the social networks your company maintains to run your online registration. For example, you can create a Facebook event page and invite guests to RSVP with a simple push of a button. You can then track sign-ups and related stats from within your admin panel. Your event page can also be used to post specific information, such as event timings or RSVP information. This is particularly useful for larger events, where it can be difficult to predict how many attendees you’ll actually have at a given time.
Paying With PayPal Is Best: Finally, when incorporating webinars into your small or long event registration, you should always consider paying with PayPal. PayPal’s webinar platform makes it easy to set up a webinar on their site. As a result, they are often one of the most commonly used venues for hosting online registration. Additionally, the service doesn’t require a monthly fee, so it’s often well worth your while to pay the small fee to secure a reliable payment gateway for your online registration. PayPal makes accepting payments so easy that it’s likely your small or long event registration will convert quickly!