Corporate dinners, luxury picnics, masterclasses, pool parties, and the likes. Amid numerous types of exclusive gatherings, narrowing down on your preferred niche as an event host is a starting point for career exploration. If you’ve done that already, great!

🤔 But now, how do you create experiences that resonate and capture your guests so you can turn them into loyal attendees?

🤔 How do you impact them enough to receive genuine reviews that would help you establish trust in your sector?

🤔 In fact, how and when can you evolve when you’re not attracting your target customers at all? 

We get it. Don’t panic.

Your main problem may be summed up in two words: poor branding.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, can be fixed! 

All it takes is a little distinguishing and perhaps some note taking. Truly, it’s not as big a shift as you think it is. Your primary opponent is yourself. So put your boxing gloves, step onto the ring, and let the branding game begin.🥊

Round 1: Know thyself

When it comes to branding yourself as a private event host, the first thing you will want to look at is who you are when you are both visible and invisible to your clientele and guests. 

Your personality IS in fact your brand when you are a private event host. 

Start by asking yourself:

☑️ What are my personal values?

☑️ How can I highlight these values in the event space?

☑️ How can I “walk the walk” where my values meet my hosting style?

At The Future of Events, we want to help you leverage your uniqueness in the event space. So read on for helpful guidance and tips on the subject!

Personal identity vs brand identity

As an exclusive event planner, your personal identity is part of your brand identity. Once you uncover who you are as a person (your vibe, likes, dislikes, purpose, strengths, weaknesses, skillset, uniqueness, and more), that’s where the fun really begins!

This is a huge part of your brand which can easily be translated via the way you portray yourself in photos, reels, or written posts on social media. Basically, curating your personal identity is certainly not to be neglected.

But what does this actually mean or look like in the event space? 

For example, let’s say you’re an event host who has a passion for eye-catching colors and aesthetic themes. You might find yourself to be “The Life of the Party” at your visually stunning events. 

Suppose that’s the case, you will also want to ask yourself what your social style is as an individual and build on this identity even further. So, if you are a visually-inclined and high energy person (let’s say), your events will want to reflect that on every level. 

Meaning, through things like:

📢 The tone of your oral and written communication.

🧨 The “POW!” effect of your invite design. 

🌈 The colorful decor at your events!

Expressing your brand through these channels will build a huge amount of brand consistency. You will also be able to simply be yourself and highlight your talents without even trying! 

Once you have given your hosting personality a solid identity, your brand strategy will flow more intuitively. You will want to ask yourself the following question:

What are the best elements of your event host personality that you want to make visible on social media and in promotional materials?

Your promotional channels: A game of choice and not chance

As a private event host, you’re most likely no stranger to being picky! The same rules of discernment apply when picking your promotional channels. What are the popular social media platforms for your audience? 

For each event, research where your clients and guests “live” and where they tend to be the most responsive. Essentially, there’s no point in putting your promotional efforts into a platform where your audience won’t see what you’re up to! 

(Sorry, but, you may as well be waving flyers to uninterested passengers in the streets.🤷) 

Round 2: Choosing tech you can trust 

Once you’re equipped with results from your target audience research, you can practically become an invincible exclusive events promoter.

Time to start wearing a superhero cape! 

The next step in your promo process is figuring out the best technology for your promotional style and setup:

For small-to-medium exclusive events, there are a set of niche needs that a host will have. One of those is an added layer of security to ensure maximum safety for your guests. 

The minimum you can do, as the most responsible person on site, is to ensure that no-one sneaks into your gathering uninvited. Time-sensitive QR code check-ins like that offered by ticketing app Pay2Stay can help.

What do fast and secure check-ins do for your exclusive in-person events brand?

1. They prove that your guests’ safety comes first: You’ve handpicked like-minded attendees on an invite-only basis to create the safest space possible for your gathering.  

2. This form of check-ins also shows your guests that you value their time. Fact: The queue moves very quickly when you use Pay2Stay for your ticketing. 

3. The time-sensitive nature of the QR code plays a key role: It lets your guests know that you care about their security. Sneaking in isn’t just prohibited. It’s rendered impossible.

4. We could probably list more advantages for Pay2Stay’s check-in system but will stop here.

In a nutshell, always choose technology that supports your offerings and brand values. If you’re all about safety, security, speed, and transparency with your customers, pick an event ticketing app that can help you exhibit those high standards.

Download Pay2Stay for iOS.

Download Pay2Stay for Android.

Round 3: Redefining “luxurious experiences”

First of all, the term “experience” gets thrown around a lot in the private event space, does it not? 

In addition to building your events’ experiences upon your own identity, you want to tailor it to the wants and needs of your target guests. Let each one of them feel individually catered for. Give them that luxury. They deserve it.

But what's luxury, actually? Well, here’s what it’s NOT: 

“Luxury is not a plethora of clients,” or again, “it's not about overfeeding guests”, Global Event Planner Kathy Romero educates in one of her Instagram Live sessions.  

According to the Certified Coach and Brand Strategist, you can immediately elevate your private event brand by shifting your beliefs around what luxury should look like. 

Is the experience you’re offering actually luxurious? Or are you trying to fit into a limited idea of what this actually means? 

Are you paying attention to your guests’ definition of luxury and their experiential needs?

Romero goes on to say: 

“People-pleasing does not equal ‘white glove’ service.” 

Wow. This phrase hits hard, doesn’t it?

Offering great customer service is so much more than bending over backwards. So what is it, really?

Quite simply, it is (again) about letting your personality shine in the event space and giving your guests much of yourself – your attention, your warmth, your reassurance, your heart! 

Round 4: Fine-tuning your vision

Another recommendation from Romero for swift brand elevation is actually believing that you can make this type of shift! She calls it “catapulting”, which means you elevate your brand at record speed as a true visionary. 

Getting this type of clarity will allow you, as an exclusive event host, to catapult your brand through a clear vision of the types of experiences you want to provide. 

Brand awareness just got personal 

Before coming across this blog post, you perhaps did not know that branding, as a private event host, had much to do with who you are as an individual. By now, we hope you realize that your unique personality and genuine generosity are what will help you carve a special place in the hearts and minds of your attendees. 

That is why it is so important not to sleep on the qualities that set you apart from other hosts. 

Remember, it’s not one and done. Treat every event like it’s your first and last one. Continue to give much of yourself to your guests and grow in charisma as your customer base and testimonials grow too.