Using mind-mapping software to plan events

Posted by writer

The power of mind maps. Ever wondered how our mind segments thoughts in little pockets and somehow manages to form links and relationships with them in real time? Ever wondered how multi-dimensional relationships spark up and roll like a movie in our minds every time a thought is triggered. It’s amazing, and yet next to impossible to physically capture all of that information.

Mind-mapping software options: Although its impossible to capture everything, people have tried to come up with softwares that can help us organize our thoughts in a more structured way. A few notable ones are; Mind42, imindmap , mymind (for mac users), Brainmine (for MS Windows), Mind Meister, Wise Mapping, and FreeMind. You can see a more detail list here and here.

Benefits of mind-maps: Being event marketers and planners we’re always juggling thousands of elements or thoughts in our minds at all times. We also manage to train ourselves to multi-task without making it feel like a burden. So, having useful softwares to plan and launch events is actually something I recommend to most of my friends. A few benefits off the top of my head are;

Its great for your entire team or clients to get together and brainstorm in one place
It ensures all stakeholders of the event are on the same page
It is a great way to map out ideas and find possible alternative options for different things, e.g. venue backup plans, etc
It give a complete picture of the event and makes clients understand the dynamics of the plan
It gives you a good reference guide while implementing the plans
It is easy to come back to it after the event to see what things worked best and what didn’t. For example, if you’re marketing your services online, you’ll be able to see which of the social marketing tools helped in building more pre-launch hype.
It makes us marketers feel important and intelligent when we look at the complex structures formed after weeks of brainstorming