Tips For Creating A Successful Virtual Event
The new normality unleashed by the COVID 19 pandemic in the world has made companies and brands migrate to the virtual environment to hold events and conferences.
Virtual events can reach a large number of attendees, thanks to the fact that their distribution through the Internet facilitates their access to a larger audience. However, these should not be considered a minor task compared to their physical counterparts. These require the same care and planning to develop successfully. Today we will present some tips to make your next virtual event a resounding success in online conference.
Planning
This stage is key to any event. From here, everything will develop according to our ideas. That is why you should think very carefully about what you want your event to cover. You must be very clear about the goal and the concept that you will handle around it. Once the objectives are established, you should think as such in the development of the event.
Lectures can be live or pre-recorded. Using an attendee registry will help you collect valuable information about those interested in your events. You also have to plan how the content will be distributed over the web. You have to promote the event and keep your audience informed of everything that is coming. Finally, establish metrics that help you measure the impact of your virtual conference.
Time and date
Part of a successful event is being able to plan a date and time that accommodates the needs of the majority of your attendees. Take into account trade fair days and check with your IT team what are the hours of greatest traffic on your portal. If you plan a global event, take into account the time zones of your clients. In the same way, create offline content for those who could not attend live. You can even send a pre-registration survey to better understand your scheduling needs.
Promote
The event may be created, but you need everyone to know. Use email strategies to attract users. Focus on your best content and your most outstanding speakers. Use your social networks to communicate it to the 4 winds.
Lean on tools like LinkedIn, which can be more accurate when choosing an audience than just a post on networks? The design tools company Adobe shares that registrations usually have a peak between 2 to 3 weeks prior to the start of the event. This frame of reference can help you focus your Marketing efforts on this key period. Another useful strategy is to create countdowns in your networks, letting users know that the big event is getting closer and closer.
Technical Problems
Keep in mind that these problems may appear at the time of your presentations. Prepare yourself in the best way to face them. Make sure your speakers have internet access. Do pre-event rehearsals. Prepare backup content in case the presentation doesn't work on the presenter's PC. Have a series of user guides ready and support them as much as you can to connect.
Be Inclusive
As with physical events, consider options for everyone to take advantage of the event. Good size and contrast text, audio materials, narration and subtitles where possible. Offer transcripts of talks and translations for global users. Make sure your panel of speakers also includes people from different ethnicities, industry lines, ages, and experience levels. If your presenters are all the same, you will be alienating different groups within your attendees.
Engagement
Provide participation tools for your users before, during and after the event. Making them part of the organization with questions and surveys is an excellent engagement strategy. Attendees generally find these opportunities amusing; since they can see their opinions reflected within the development of the same event.