Personalization is a key strategy for exciting and engaging attendees—but without the right approach, your efforts can fall flat.

The first step in a solid personalization strategy is understanding how personalization aligns with overall meeting objectives. “For example, if your objective is to increase sales, is there a particular audience segment that is underperforming and could be significantly impacted by a personalized event experience?” writes the Eventsforce team on its blog.

Next, dive into the data. “Start the process by identifying what data you already hold on attendees, how you’re going to segregate audiences, and what information you want to collect from them,” the team writes.

Be sure to focus on the right metrics. Going back to the earlier example, data about an overperforming group won’t be of much help. To personalize effectively, you’ll want as much information as you can get from the underperforming group instead.

But be careful: Asking for too much information can seem like an invasion of privacy. So, let attendees know why you’re gathering the  data and how it will be used to personalize their experience. The explanation will help ease their minds and hopefully get you the information you need.

Who’s Winning Your Association Awards?

Do your chapter awards spark joy? (by @billhighway) https://t.co/IQVEXzItY4 #assnchat pic.twitter.com/JNJqmbwsgU

— Deirdre Reid, CAE (@DeirdreReid) June 3, 2019

Is your chapter awards program still meaningful? If almost every chapter is winning awards, the answer is probably no. To ensure that chapters and their members feel valued, Sarah Garrity from the BillHighway blog suggests limiting award categories.

“To ensure your awards program attracts plenty of interest, don’t go overboard on achievement awards,” she says. “Your awards (and their winners) will attract more attention when only a handful of chapters are in the spotlight.”

Other Links of Note

ICYMI: Here’s everything Apple announced at its 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference, from Fast Company.

When in the event cycle are you likely to sell more tickets? The Eventbrite blog offers one way to find out.

Making your association news stand out starts with a good hook. Nonprofit Marketing Guide gives five strategies for nailing the right news angle.

(cnythzl/iStock/Getty Images Plus)