People attend events to learn and grow, but great events give them more! If you think event hosting is all about booking training room rental and hiring a celebrity speaker, think again.

What sets a great event apart from an ordinary one isn’t the knowledge exchange. It isn’t the quality of your food catering or classroom rental either. If you want people to wait for your event, aim for building a community. Here are some tips on how to build your event community.

1. Have a powerful vision

Think of your event as a tool to reach a bigger goal. You should have a vision powerful enough to encourage hundreds and thousands. It should make them feel like they are going to be a part of something bigger.

2. Plan informal get-togethers

When a group of people go on a tour or participate in outdoor activities, they feel more connected. Use this idea to build your event community. For instance, invite your guests a few days before the event date and take them on a guided tour. Or if most of your guests are local people, you can arrange a casual clambake days before the event just to make the guests familiar with each other. That way, you can foster a sense of community among your invitees even before they join the event. Similarly, it would be a good idea to organize post-event get-togethers to help strengthen the bonding.

3. Reward proactive participants

Not all your guests are equally enthusiastic about your event. Or maybe not everyone is good at showing off their excitement, even when they want to. Some of your guests could be more active than others. As a host, your job is to reward the proactive participants. That way, you’re giving a message that you prefer active participation. Eventually, it will inspire more people to open up and shout for your cause.