3 Benefits of Hosting Your Next Conference Event in a Non-Traditional Venue

Are you currently organizing your next conference? Having trouble coming up with original ideas and visualizing the end result? Take a breather, give yourself five minutes, and imagine your product launch, scavenger hunt, or happy hour is packed with people. In fact, the event is approaching capacity, and instead of worrying about attracting more attendees, you're worried about having to turn people away!

Everyone in the room is beaming, expressing delight and surprise at the event's unique and unexpected offerings, which include drinks, decor, souvenirs, and engaging presentations. Attendees are taking tons of photos and bragging to their friends about being at your exclusive event on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Does it sound too good to be true? Perhaps, if you stick to the standard conference ballroom or boardroom setup, with its harsh lighting and generic furniture. After all, the location of your event can completely determine how well it is received by attendees.

However, if you choose a high-quality and non-traditional venue like Georgia historical museum — that is, spaces with plenty of natural light, exposed brick, stylish decor, outdoor space with fresh air, features such as open kitchens, and other unexpected touches — you will be well on your way to hosting a memorable conference event.

1. Raising brand awareness on social media

To put it as simply as possible, unique venues are the ones that get shared on social media. And this will greatly increase general brand awareness. If any of your attendees has a large number of followers, a single tweet could generate hundreds or thousands of likes in a matter of hours. The significance of social media appeal cannot be overstated. It's organic free advertising generated by the unusual appeal of your specific event.

A cooking class or tasting in a large-scale kitchen, for example, is bound to generate a lot of Instagram posts. After all, whether it's a simple avocado toast or an impressive platter of Kobe beef, nothing makes people happier on Instagram than photos of delicious, visually appealing food.

This universal tendency to share not only food but any unexpected location or activity on social media can help you raise brand awareness. It's also useful if you're hosting multiple events, as increasing your social media shares will draw people to your subsequent gatherings throughout the conference.

2. Cultivating a comfortable atmosphere

To begin, when it comes to creating a relaxing environment, seating is extremely important. Rows of rigid, uncomfortable chairs will have your event's attendees looking at their watches and twiddling their thumbs as they wait to leave.

You want your visitors to sit back and relax in comfortable, ergonomic seating. Then there's the issue of lighting. Harsh, fluorescent lighting can cause headaches and depression, which is why natural light, as well as soft, custom lighting options, can be essential to creating a relaxing environment. Non-traditional venues are much more likely to have both — comfortable, appealing seating and appealing lighting. And these are just the physical fundamentals.

Taking people out of stiff conference environments helps them relax and enjoy what's in front of them, and it allows for more open and casual interaction among attendees. Consider this: any event held in a cozy villa with clusters of beautiful, well-made armchairs and couches, rows of bookcases, plants, and art on the walls — all bathed in natural light — is inherently more relaxing than an endless sea of identical sets of tables and chairs.

That is why a non-traditional venue is an excellent choice for assisting guests in unwinding and de-stressing at your event.

3. Setting yourself apart from the competition

You may not be the only one organizing an event, especially during large conferences. So, if you want to beat the competition, you must stand out from the crowd of gatherings vying for the attention of guests. Will people's attention be drawn to yet another event in historic artefacts Atlanta museum as they peruse the offerings? Will a hosted dinner at a historic mansion or a sponsored event on a chic rooftop terrace pique their interest?

And, if you're hosting multiple events, it gets even better: after attending one of your out-of-the-box events with engaging activities, your guests will be eager to attend the ones that follow. (It's essentially a feedback loop.) Another advantage of non-traditional events is that you can draw inspiration from the setting itself if you hold your event in a unique location.

For example, if you're planning to hold your next event at a vineyard or winery, you can include a wine tasting as part of the festivities, which is sure to draw a large crowd. In either case, a distinct venue means your brand will stand out in the minds of attendees, which is invaluable when it comes to making a name for yourself.

When planning your next conference event, take the road less traveled and consider a non-traditional venue.

When you host your conference event in a non-traditional venue, you have your pick of the most impressive, visually stunning spaces in any metropolis.