Event Recap

A super cool event and everyone was there. But not everyone can present themselves as an expert in the field. But if your article appears at the top of Google, you can. Because that’s how you get your name associated with the topic and position yourself as an expert. Along the way, you’ll also get all those backlinks from sites that mention the event but don’t cover it themselves.

Post-event wrap-ups are most useful in the days following the event, preferably within 48 hours after the event. The summary report should be released no more than two weeks after the event. To avoid the news being stale, do your best to aim for less than 48 hours after the event.

Take Notes

In order to write a decent event recap, you need to collect data during the event. Make sure to take a few moments to jot down some notes about whatever stood out to you during the gathering. Do not rely on your memory so you can nail down what impressed you, and write down as many highlights of the event as you can.

Overview

Provide an overview of the event, which you can get from the blog post announcing the event or from the “About” page on the event’s website or from Lanyrd, Meetup.com, etc. No need to use the organizer’s description, but it’s usually a good starting point.

Location

Where the event took place, including a thank you to those who provided their space for the event.

Number of Participants

Some people like to record the number of attendees for specific groups based on the goals of the particular community hosting the event, e.g., “The organizers are pleased that 25% of our attendees were newcomers.”

Event Type

Briefly state what type of event this was. When and where did it take place? Who was it aimed at? Will this event be held again soon?

Your Role

Make it clear in what role you participated in the event, as a blogger. Were you there as a member of the audience? Did you speak at the event yourself? Were you invited by the organizer to report on the event in exchange for financial remuneration? Information like this should be addressed right at the beginning of your blog article so that your readers understand the perspective from which you are writing the text.

Your Personal View of the Event

Tell the reader what it was like to hear, see, experience or learn something new at the event. Being comprehensive is not necessarily the goal in this context; your readers are primarily interested in your personal opinion. What do you think was particularly interesting and for what reason? Are there any criticisms you would like to express about the event? These could be content-related issues (thematic focus, speakers, etc.), but also concerns regarding the course of events or other organizational matters.

Questionnaire

Check out our strategic questionnaire for reporting on an event:

1. When and where was it held?
2. Title / name of the event?
3. Speakers? (Name, job title, short description such as specialist in XY, helped develop xyz, etc.) In case of a trade show: Mention important exhibitors.
4. Which staff members participated?
5. Target group: For whom this event was intended?
6. Agenda: What was the agenda? Which topics were discussed and / or shown / demonstrated ?
7. On which topics did the participants ask a lot of questions?
8. What are the benefits for your customers?

If you can think of anything additional to include in your report – go ahead. But these questions here should be answered in any case already and form the basis for your report.