Breaking into the event world and making a name for yourself in NYC can be challenging. As one of the biggest markets for event planners, New York City offers both unlimited potential for growth and serious competition. So, what can you do to stand out from the crowd? Try these five proven event strategies to build your event planning brand.
1. Find Your Event Niche and Perfect Fit
You’re most likely to excel as an event planner if you find where you fit in the industry and focus on your strengths. Think about which types of events have been most successful for you and who your target audience is. Then, create customer personas to help you get to know your ideal clients on a granular level. The more you are able to hone in on your strengths as an event planner and identify the audience that resonates with them, the easier it will be to build your event planning brand.
Just starting out and unsure where you fit? Take some time to see what other event planners are doing and what you think you would enjoy. It’s also a good idea to partner with other event planners so you can experience different types of events. Then, you’ll have a better understanding of where you want your event planning brand to fit within the industry.
2. Create a Signature Style
One of the most essential strategies to build your event planning brand is creating a signature style. After all, you want your brand to be recognizable. This can be done through specific logos, unique elements in your events, commitment to values that shine through, and more.
What’s most important is that you create an authentic voice and image for your event planning brand. Don’t be tempted to jump on bandwagons or be gimmicky in your approach. Instead, think about what truly differentiates your brand from the competition, then show that through your signature style. Whether you are known for awe-inspiring entertainment, being at the cutting-edge of technology, immersive events, romantic decor, or your streamlined logos that reflect your similarly streamlined events, creating a signature style helps everyone recognize your brand.
3. Create a Strong Online Presence
A strong online event presence is essential to build your event planning brand. This should begin, first and foremost, with creating an appealing, easy-to-navigate event website. Your website should showcase a portfolio of past events so potential clients can see examples of your work and get an idea of your style.
Beyond your website, it’s wise to take advantage of social media to engage with clients and promote your brand. If it’s too much to have a presence on every social media channel, choose two or three that you feel comfortable with and promote your brand and NYC events there.
4. Strive for Client Satisfaction
When planning your clients’ events, you’ll obviously focus on creating memorable and exciting guest experiences. However, it’s equally important to make your client’s event planning experience great, too. Think about what it’s like to work with you as an event professional, and look for ways to improve client satisfaction with your process. This might involve extra communication steps before, during, and after the event. And lean into solving your client’s pain points with event planning. This level of client engagement will reinforce your brand as the go-to solution.
Word of mouth is still powerful, even in NYC, and you want your clients to sing your praises. Additionally, online reviews also carry a lot of weight. In many cases, online reviews make the difference between booking new clients and losing them to the competition, so put in the effort to host incredible events and ensure your clients are pleased with the work you’ve done.
5. Network With Other Professionals
Forging good relationships with other professionals in the industry is as important as client satisfaction when it comes to strategies to build your event planning brand. NYC is always buzzing with incredible events, meaning opportunities for unique planning partnerships.
Similarly, having good relationships with vendors, entertainers, and contacts for venues goes a long way when building your event planning brand. If everyone in the industry knows you, they may recommend you to potential clients. Plus, you’ll have the contacts you need when clients request a specific venue, the latest catering trend, or the most in-demand entertainers.
If you need to grow your professional network, attending industry networking events is one of the best ways to meet other pros. And there’s no better event to attend than The Event Planner Expo. Each year, The Expo offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with more than 2,500 other event professionals. It’s the premier conference for event planners in NYC. You might have missed out on this year’s Expo, but plans are underway already for The Event Planner Expo 2025. Reserve your booth for next October and don’t miss out on this amazing conference opportunity to showcase your brand and business!
