Get the most out of your event

A guide to creating a meaningful Victorian Law Week event.
A person in a community setting,  delivering information to a group of Law Week event attendees

Have a clear idea

Find important information about setting your event’s purpose, target audience and format.

If you can clearly define these elements, then you’re well on your way to creating a meaningful event that will benefit your community. 

Defining your purpose 

Why are you running your event?

It sounds like a simple question, but it can take some serious thought. When you’re identifying your purpose, your focus should be on your attendees – what will they get out of it?

The effort you put in during the planning stage will pay off at the other end when you hold a successful event.

It is important to be specific, as the purpose of your event should be factored into all elements of your event planning and delivery.

It might be helpful to consider: 

  • Is your event being held to meet a specific legal need that has been identified? 
  • Is your event being held to educate people about a new development? 
  • What do you want attendees to learn at your event? 
  • What do you want attendees to be able to do after your event?

Setting your target audience 

Identifying your target audience

Your event will be more effective if it is targeted to a specific group, as you will be delivering the right information to the right people in the right way.

Ideally, Victorian Law Week events should aim to provide legal information directly to the groups that need it most.  

Who do you want to talk to? Who needs to know the information you are sharing? Who will be interested in attending your event? Be specific.

It might be helpful to consider:

  • Is your event designed for people in a particular geographic location? Age bracket? Occupation? Education level?
  • Is your event designed for people at a particular life stage (for example, university students, young parents, empty nesters, retirees)?
  • Is your event designed for people who are joined-up with other services? If so, would it be more effective to target your event at the service providers rather than the individuals?

Common traps

Your first thought might be that your target audience is everyone who has a particular legal issue.

This may not be specific enough, as different groups will have different needs. For example, you might want to run an event about future planning for anyone without a will. But the information needs, mode of delivery, and even the most convenient location and time for your event will differ greatly between groups such as young parents and retirees.

Your target audience should not be the general public. Why? In order to communicate effectively with your audience, you need to speak to them in a manner that is appropriate, relevant and useful – and you cannot speak to everyone effectively in the same manner. If you try to speak to everyone, you’ll end up speaking to almost no-one.

Considerations

When planning your event, you should think about your hook.

  • Why will your target audience want to attend your event?
  • Why would they take time out of their day to attend your event over anything else they might want to do?

Keep in mind that not everyone is able to recognise that there is a legal dimension to their problems and/or seek appropriate help.

Your target audience should dictate:

  • The language you use and how you focus your messaging
  • The format of your event
  • Event location, date, time and duration
  • How you market your event

When identifying your target audience, it is also important to consider if you have a way to reach that audience to let them know about your event.

Deciding your format

When deciding on your event format, it’s always essential to consider your target audience’s needs and capabilities.

Choosing a format that works for your audience

Your target audience is the most important factor to consider when choosing an event format. What type of event is the most suitable for them? It might be helpful to consider:

  • How does your target audience like to receive information?
  • What is an appropriate setting or location for them?
  • Are they comfortable attending online events?
  • What type of event works with their daily lives (location, time, duration)?

Here is some information about different specific event formats to help you make your decision.

In-person events

In-person events will be more likely to attract your target audience if held at locations that the target audience frequents (such as libraries, neighbourhood centres, community groups) – go to where your audience is, rather than expecting them to come to you.

If you would like to run an in-person event, it might be helpful to consider:

  • Will your event be held at a location that is convenient for your target audience?
  • Will your target audience feel comfortable gathering in a group?
  • Is the venue accessible? Are there any additional measures you can put in place to increase accessibility?
  • Are there public transport links and parking?

Make sure you have a back-up plan in place, in case the rules about public gatherings change and your event cannot proceed in-person.

Live online events

Live online events can be a cost-effective way to reach a wide audience. You may want to consider running an event online to take advantage of the benefits.

It’s important to consider the limitations of online events and whether a live online event meets the needs of your target audience

Benefits

Icon: Check box - ticked

Protect the privacy of your audience

If your event deals with a sensitive topic, privacy may be very important to your target audience. Online events allow you to control privacy settings, so that attendees are not publicly visible.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Easily record your event for lasting impact‍

Most platforms allow you to easily record your online event, and you can share the recording to extend its reach.

Icon: Check box - ticked

It’s easy to collaborate‍

Online events allow you to use multiple speakers in different locations. This is a great opportunity to collaborate with other organisations, incorporating speakers with different expertise or perspectives.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Make use of accessibility features‍

Some online platforms have accessibility features such as captioning and audio description. Are you making a recording of your event available? This will enable people to view the event at their own pace and will allow you to provide further accessibility measures, such as transcripts. Always let people know in advance about the accessibility measures you are providing.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Get detailed data about your event

Analysing viewing and engagement data will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your event. This data is easy to access for online events.

Limitations

Icon: Check box - ticked

‍Technological challenges

Online technology has made life easier in recent times, but it’s not without its challenges. It is a good idea to have a dedicated person who is not participating in the event to manage the streaming technology and brief your speakers.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Less interaction

There is no getting around the fact that online events are less interactive than in-person events. Consider using live chat, live Q&A and polls to engage with your audience.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Distractions

One advantage of a live event is that, once people are at the venue, they are focussed on the event. When people attend an online event from home, they often have other things competing for their attention.

Icon: Check box - ticked

Accessibility

Online events are not accessible for everyone. Is your target audience computer literate? Do they have access to the internet? Are there specific login requirements that might be difficult for some people to navigate? If you are relying on attendees reading supporting materials, are they accessible?

For more information about running a live online event watch our webinar.

Pre-recorded online content

In general, live online events attract larger audiences because they create a sense of urgency or timeliness. It can be easy for people to put off watching on-demand content if it’s accessible at any time.

However, pre-recorded online content can be appropriate in some instances. We are open to reviewing pre-recorded content to see whether it is suitable to include in our Law Week program.

We encourage you to consider a hybrid approach: running a live event and uploading the recording to the Victorian Law Week website afterwards to extend the reach of your event.

Need more help?

If you have an idea for an event, get in touch today! No idea is too big or small. Let us know how you would like to get involved, and we can help you bring your idea to life.

Contact us

Checklist – Key considerations

Icon: Check box - ticked

Audience 

Who is your target audience? This will influence your topic and the ‘voice’ you use to address that audience.  

Icon: Check box - ticked

Purpose

Why are you running the event? What do you want attendees to get out of it?

Icon: Check box - ticked

Topic

Does your event meet a specific legal need of your target audience?  How has that need been identified? 

Icon: Check box - ticked

Content 

How will your event educate people about an existing or emerging legal issue?   

Icon: Check box - ticked

Presenter

Does your presenter have the skills to engage your target audience?  

Icon: Check box - ticked

Format

Does the event format you are considering suit your target audience’s lifestyle and the way they prefer to receive information?  

Icon: Check box - ticked

Reach

Do you have a way to let your target audience know about the event? Will they be interested in attending?

Icon: Check box - ticked

Evaluation 

How will you assess if your session achieved some or all of its purpose? How will you collect feedback from participants to find out what they thought and to inform your planning for next time? 

A toolkit for event success

We have guides, templates and support that can help you plan your event and bring it to life.

Event Organiser support