Virtual events are one pandemic legacy that has persisted over the past two years as we’ve had to adapt to a new way of life. Even though we were compelled to move in-person events online to comply with social distancing rules, it turned out to be advantageous for everyone involved. Businesses discovered they could put together compelling events for a fraction of the cost and reach a wider audience, and participants could still benefit from socialization and networking from the comfort of their homes. To host dynamic and interesting virtual events, the majority of event planners use virtual event services.
Beyond health and safety considerations, there are several advantages to holding a virtual event, therefore it’s critical to strategically prepare your event to ensure its success. We’ve included key advice for hosting a virtual event that will stand out among the thousands of other virtual events down below
Best Tips to Host a Virtual Event
Understand the objectives of your virtual event
Consider your audience’s desires and needs and how you can meet them in an online setting before getting too deep into the details of a virtual event. Make your virtual event pertinent by posing inquiries like;
- What does a participant hope to get out of coming to your event?
- What difficulties or issues do they have?
- What ratio of networking and content is best for your audience?
- Are your audience members engaged speakers or merely listeners?
Additionally, you must take into account how your event fits into the larger community, business, and market.
Understand the content of your virtual event
It will be simpler to focus on the content you want to cover once you are aware of the goals of your event. A certain area of expertise or subject should be your starting point. You must choose which format will provide your audience with the best experience based on the goals of your event: keynote speeches, live expert Q&A, a panel, breakout rooms, or other means of content delivery.
You can create the greatest event for your audience by developing an outline and identifying your end objective. This is an opportunity for potential customers, buyers, and prospects, so you want to ensure your brand succeeds.
Choose a virtual event platform
Which platform you choose for your event will depend on its size, the level of audience participation you desire, if you need ticketing, social media interaction, and other event-specific criteria. Selecting the best virtual event solution may be your best option if you need to sell tickets and keep track of attendees for live streaming.
Include hosts
Even though you have taken into consideration all the possibilities, challenges, issues, etc. yet there’s a still chance of confusion, complications, and unclarity. So having a virtual host be it a real person or a chatbot can help in guiding attendees to the right paths and deliver necessary information that might just help in overcoming challenges & issues that could lead to event failure.
Increase audience engagement
For any event, whether it is online or offline, audience engagement is recognized as the most important performance statistic. Therefore, you must guarantee suitable and fruitful audience participation at all times. Include components that promote audience participation, such as a chat feed, Q&A sessions, knowledge-sharing forums, the ability to upload photographs and videos, and requests for user feedback.
You can also draw attention to the crucial components, value-added advantages, prizes, etc. that audiences might get dependent on their degrees of interaction. This will aid in gaining the most attention and interaction. Gamification techniques or multi-purpose social media integration solutions that enhance the capabilities of your event can be used to promote engagement.
Offer networking opportunities
The ability for participants to speak directly with speakers, organizers, performers, etc. in person was one of the best aspects of offline, in-person events.
Will attendees be able to participate in your virtual event? If so, it is generally agreed that the best method to get individuals to engage in networking online is to try to replicate it in a real-world situation. Several distinct approaches provided by the virtual meeting platform are listed below;
- 1:1 discussions, whether private or public
- Group discussions that are led or spontaneous
- Sessions for collaboration and problem solving
- Electronic business cards
- Meeting software integration for post-event meetings, such as calendly
To preserve the spirit and caliber of the event, it is crucial to incorporate that component into your virtual event. You can hire people or hold meetings to communicate with everyone. You can make small groups for events with large crowds because this might be difficult for them. More engaging and engaging events will result from personalized communication.
Showcase your sponsors
Don’t forget about the sponsors when planning the event! It is crucial that your event sponsors feel appreciated and recognized at all times. Consider including a logo or overlay identifying the event’s sponsors, or consider showcasing them during the intervals between speakers and material. Adding time for a speaker to actively promote a sponsor or hosting an interactive game or contest are other options. Keep in mind that highlighting your sponsor brings them leads, clients, revenue, etc., makes them happy, and increases the likelihood that they will collaborate with you again. You can use a virtual expo platform to remove geographic barriers and bring your sponsors and audiences together.
Use post-event analytics
After the event, it’s critical to evaluate what went well, what didn’t, where you need to improve, and where you should concentrate your resources the following time. Post-event surveys, the split between attendees who RSVPed and those who did not, webinar engagement scores, event ROI, ticket sales, and leads for sponsors are a few things to keep an eye on. This will enable you to assess the success of your event and apply what you learn to your future attempts.
Analytical tools are available in software like virtual summit platforms, virtual expo platforms, and other virtual event platforms in order to measure various attributes. You can enhance your forthcoming virtual event by comprehending the features such as attendance, engagement rates, feedback, and more.
Record and broadcast your virtual event to different channels
Since this is your first time hosting a virtual event, it is crucial that you keep advertising it even after it has ended because this will help you with future virtual events. You can highlight audience participation and feedback while distributing the video of your virtual event. On your website, social media, and other platforms, you can share it. Additionally, this will give those who couldn’t attend your physical event access to your virtual one.
