How to successfully manage a crowd at your next event

Hosting an event, especially one that is large in scale, can be extremely beneficial for your business.

Not only do you gather your target market in one place, but you can promote your brand, product, or service while entertaining people and giving them a positive experience.

Whether you’re hosting a sporting event, industry conference, educational workshop, or music festival, there are precautions you must take to successfully manage the crowd. With so many people moving around one space, it’s essential to have a concise, straightforward plan to make your event organized and enjoyable.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the steps you’ll have to take to successfully manage a crowd at your next event.

Know Your Attendees

Who is coming to your event? Why are they coming?

It’s important to know who your attendees are and how they will act while attending your event. If it’s a sporting event or concert, you may experience a more enthusiastic crowd that has the potential to get a little rowdy. Or maybe you’re hosting an industry conference or workshop where the attendees are there to network and learn and might cluster in smaller, more intimate batches.

Either way, it’s important to plan your crowd management around how you predict your attendees to act. It will have a huge impact on these strategies.

Map Out the Traffic

Your crowd’s traffic should be routed and mapped out. You’ll want to direct people to where they need to be in an orderly fashion. This means having clear signs telling people where to go and where certain facilities are, such as restrooms, ticketing, and emergency services.

The best way to do this is with barriers, especially at the entrance of the event when people need to check-in and in parking lots. These barriers can be rented or purchased through specific companies such as OTW Safety for your event.

Have an Emergency Plan

Plan for the worst and hope for the best when planning out your event and crowd control. You want everything to run as smoothly as possible, but some things may happen that can turn into an emergency. This can include dangerous weather, fires, or medical emergencies.

Make a list of everything that can possibly go wrong and make a plan for each of these occurrences. While we don’t want to imagine bad things happening, it’s a mistake not to have a plan ready just in case.

Hire a Security Team

One of the best things you can do is hire a third-party security team to manage the crowd and keep everyone safe. These trained individuals will be responsible for breaking up arguments or fights within the crowd, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity, and screening people before they enter the event.

Before you hire a security team, though, it’s essential to have a plan for them to follow. It’s a good idea to consult with the head of security to help you map out your crowd management strategy and know where to station your security team as well as the best ways they can help.