Picking a Venue for an Event

When you are planning an event, no matter the kind, there is one thing that you know you will need: a Venue. Selecting the right venue for your event can be very difficult and take a lot of time, but once you find that perfect venue it is totally worth the effort it took to find it.

There are two major things to first consider when you begin the hunt for the venue of your dreams: the amount of money you can spend on the venue and the size of your guest list. Some people will put more emphasis on one of the above issues, but they really do offer equal importance. Finding a venue that you love that is out of your price range, way to big, or way to small will only put a damper (and waste time) on the venue selection process. The next important thing to consider is the location of the venue. We are assuming that you already had some idea of where the location would be (such as the city) and now it is about really figuring out where to have the event. Is a downtown location better for guests or something in a suburb? Does the event occur after something and should it be in walking distance from the first portion? This is just one more thing that can help cut down the list of places to look into.

Now that you know the budget, size, and location preferences for the venue it is time to start your search. Online review sites and event posting sites such as, you guessed it Social Betty, are a great place to start; you can often see pictures of the venue and read reviews from other people who have used it. Looking at these different sites can also cover other important areas that need to be considered such as food, beverages, parking, decor, and other amenities. Anything that can help cull out options that don't work and highlight ones that might without having to go to a million different places is key.

Towards the end of the online research it is best to create a list of the 3-7 top places to actually go look at. Contact the location, set-up an appointment, and head their way. Now you simply have to decide which venue feels like the right one you and your guests. Hopefully these tips will help save you some time and find the venue that will make your event as amazing as possible.

Happy Planning

Social Betty

Tips for Picking Music for Your Event

Everyone knows that the music often makes the party; in the same token the music can ruin the party. There is nothing worse than an empty dance floor when it clearly is meant for some grooving. Picking the music for your event is a crucial piece for any event planner. There are so many different options and it seems virtually impossible to know which one will be the most successful. However, Social Betty has some tips to help make the impossible, possible:

1. Always start with what type of music supplier you want. Figure out if you want a live band, a DJ, a karaoke machine, or Uncle Phil mixing on the iPod. Once this is figured out you have cut your list of possible people down to a fourth of what it originally was.
2. Get references from friends, family, coworkers, online reviewers, and the venue. People love to give advice on services that they have previously used, so use that in your favor. It saves time and heartache of wondering about the final outcome.
3. If you go with a band or a DJ make sure to ask questions. See if they take requests, do they know how to play (or have) specific songs that you will be looking for, will they be the actual people there, will they want to eat, are there extra fees for time overage, what will they wear to the event, have they done similar events, and so on are all acceptable questions to ask.
4. Ask your guests for requests before the event. On the invitations simply include instructions for people to include 2-3 songs on their RSVP (best for DJ and iPods). This takes out a bunch of the guess work and insures that everyone will hear a little bit of music they like.
5. Make sure the music provider has an event schedule with times. It is important to make sure the music is playing (and not playing) at the proper times. Providing the schedule should alleviate “Baby Got Back” coming on in the middle of the first toast.
6. If there are songs you DO NOT want played make sure to speak up. If you don’t like the Chicken Dance, you don’t like the Chicken Dance.
7. Ask the venue questions about sounds systems and the dance floor. You always want to make sure they have what you need and that the music provider knows what they are walking into.

Have fun and bust a move!

Social Betty

Guest Post, Kareem Ahmed: Utilizing Social Media to Promote Events

Social Betty knows that the best information often comes from experts and people who deal with specific things on a daily basis. Since this is the case (and we can't be experts at it all), we will be having a variety of Guest Bloggers sharing insights on our blog. These Guest Bloggers will be from a range of professions, but they will all apply back to (you guessed it) events and event planning.

Our First Guest Blog post is from Kareem Ahmed. Kareem is an Interactive Marketing Specialist with 2 years of direct Social Media Marketing experience. Kareem uses his talents to help companies build their online brands and engage with their consumers in the online space. Enjoy Kareem's take on using Social Media to Promote Events:

In this day in age, it is essential to have an online presence to any event planned: People’s lives are synced through their gadgets. During a time when emails come to phones and phone calls come to computers (Skype) it may seem confusing but have no fear, social media is here! Events must have an online presence and social media is a very affordable, effective, and easy way to promote them.

Facebook allows you to do a multitude of things with your event. First off, using Facebook to promote the event through status updates as well as creating an event page is very simple. Not only does using Facebook events allow you invite guests to your event with the option of making it public or private but you can also send a message to all members of an event with reminders, new information, and announcements. Perhaps the best thing about Facebook events is that if you RSVP to them, there is a small notice of the event on the bottom right hand corner of event goers’ personal accounts until the event occurs. This is a great way to keep your event on the tips of people’s tongues and tops of people’s minds.

Twitter is another great way to promote your event via social media. Members of the Twitter community pass events along to one another because it adds value to the conversation, and as most will testify, social media is all about conversation, interaction, and adding value. It is extremely easy to set up an Eventbrite (or Evite) page for your event to serve as a “landing page” as well as a way to collect RSVPs. This is a great alternative and I have seen it used for many events that I have personally attended, all with great attendance.

A great example of social media being used to promote an event is Glamorama 2009, which is a large Minneapolis based fashion event. I had never heard about this event until I stumbled upon someone having a conversation with them on their Glamorama 09 Twitter. I took this as my cue to do some investigating and checked out their Twitter feed as which led me to their Facebook Fan Page. Not until after I saw these 2 social media presences did I finally go to the Glamorama 2009 website and see that tickets were very expensive. I decided I would hold out on buying them when I learned that they were holding contests to win events through their Twitter account. I participated in all of the contests that they held and I happened to win the last 2 tickets to the show!

Social Media is a great tool for promoting events online, not only because it is so easy to share and interact with the event but because social media is a part of many peoples daily lives.

If you have any questions for Kareem feel free to contact him at youcanreachkareem@gmail.com or @Kareemy on Twitter

7 Ways to Save Money While Planning your Next Event

Over at Social Betty we know that the economy has hit everyone pretty hard, but we also know that a limited budget should not rain on your event planning parade. There are a million different ways to save money and cut corners on your event without sacrificing the final outcome (or your sanity). Below you will find seven fun and easy ways to save money while planning your next event:

1. If you have the ability to schedule at any time of the year, shoot for off-peak seasons (keep in mind what off-peak means for the area you are considering). Certain venues will give huge discounts for filling up space during times when there are less visitors. This savings is often also passed along to your guests if the event requires hotel rentals.

2. Along the same token, if you have flexibility on days go for less busy days. Venues will charge considerably less for weekdays or even a Friday versus a Saturday.

3. Consider different times of the day for your event. Turn a birthday dinner into a birthday brunch since a sit down dinner is always going to be most expensive. Who says a candle in an eggs benedict isn't just as good as a candle in a cake?

4. Look into buffet style dining versus plated service. This saves on server fees and guests often prefer being able to choose what they want and their portion size.

5. If you are planning to serve alcoholic beverages at the event ask if you can cut down from a full bar to simply beer and wine. Another fun tip here is to create a signature cocktail as a third option, which looks chic and still keeps the cost low.

6. Ask the venue what is included with the rental fee (if there is one). Often times certain linens, chairs, and decor will be included. If it is not, ask if they will throw it in or if you can bring your own.

7. If there is a cake involved in the event, ask the venue if there is a cake service fee which usually applies due to the extra mess and dishes a cake creates. If there is a fee, consider cupcakes as an option and try to negotiate the fee since there will be less mess.

We hope some of these tips will help you (or jog your mind) on saving money at your next event.

Happy Planning!

Social Betty