Virtual events are increasingly replacing physical events due to global restrictions, but also because of certain advantages. By virtualizing events, organizations can grow their reach and do more with smaller budgets. Yet organizing a virtual event is a tricky process, one that relies heavily on data, promotion and technological tools. Here are five tips for organizing a great event, and becoming an effective virtual planner with one foot in the future.
1) Explore All The Virtual Meeting Platforms
Whilst there’s a certain age group who consider any virtual meeting a “Skype” call, in reality the number of virtual platforms for hosting events has proliferated over the years. Zoom exploded in popularity in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, but Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and WebEx are all offering alternative platforms with a variety of features.
Before you consider organizing your virtual event, explore all the virtual platforms to see what each has to offer, and which one is optimized for the event you’re running. There are lots of accessories out there which will allow you to run a successful event – Event Smart can help you to manage your online registration process for your virtual events. Event Smart is a free hosted platform [with available upgrades for more features], so you don’t have to have your own website to use it. If you do have a website and want to embed your event registration options or calendar into a Wix, Squarespace, or other types of popular web platforms you do have options to help with that. However, if you have a WordPress site, you can use the company’s other product Event Espresso, which is built specifically for WordPress websites.
2) Lights, Camera, Stream
Getting to know the ingredients of a high-quality livestream event can make or break your event. Once you’ve chosen your perfect platform for hosting your event, you need to optimize all the variables that make a livestream both visually stunning and audibly acceptable for your audience. It’s easy to overlook lighting, ambient noise and the necessary hardware and end up leaving your viewers squinting at a poorly lit stream that nobody can make sense of.
Experiment with staging your livestream until you have the perfect image and sound output. Ensure that any speakers are clued in with the technology and, if you have people calling in from home offices as part of a remote event, make sure you workshop their own set up.
3) Coordinated Strategy
Just like a physical event, your virtual event needs to be fluid and dynamic to get the best engagement out of your audience and, when running an event online, you have even more opportunity to get creative. “Host a multifaceted event which features multiple webinars, social media interaction and forums for group discussion,” says Christian Chan, a blogger at Draft beyond and Research papers UK. “By having multiple elements running in tandem, with a flexible schedule, you’ll delight your audience and encourage more interaction.”
Promoting your event is an essential part of virtual event strategy so, in the run up to your big day (or days) ensure you have a coordinated promotional strategy running across multiple social channels.
4) Gather Data And Know Your Metrics
Physical events have a certain level of energy to them and, when running successfully, you can see the packed out conference halls and lively discussion sessions in person. Virtual events don’t offer a physical demonstration of success so you’ll need to identify the key metrics you need to judge the success of your event and gather the data to measure those metrics.
“Understanding the client’s expectations of a return on investment is important from the outset,” says Charlotte Hill, an event manager at Writinity and Last minute writing. “Beginning with some baseline engagement data from your clients social channels, for example, will demonstrate the surge in interest after your event, revealing the impact you’ve had.”
5) The Price Is Right
Pricing your virtual event is an important way to set expectations for your audience. Although often virtual events are cheaper to run – there’s no renting of expensive conference halls and other physical spaces – if you pass too much of this discount onto your attendees they’ll have low expectations for event quality.
To accept online payments you can use the payment method upgrade options in Event Smart to integrate with your PayPal, Stripe, or other online payment providers. Event Smart allows you to seamlessly connect to your preferred payment gateway so that your attendees can pay for their registration at the same time they sign up so the whole registration process is completed by the end user from entering their data into a custom registration form, then selecting event options and finalizing their registration with a payment.
It’s also important not to underestimate the costs of running a virtual event – you’ll still need to pay for speaker fees, promotion and many other related costs. The work involved in organizing virtual events is significant so don’t sell yourself short when it comes to setting budgets for your client.
Wrapping Up
Adapting to a virtual age means grappling with new technology and variables in event planning. Key metrics become more important to allow you to measure the success of your event and setting prices becomes additionally challenging. Draw on all the virtual tools to plan a successful event.
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Ashley Halsey is a professional writer at Luckyassignments Liverpool and Gum essays. She is a freelance marketing consultant and helps brands reach wider audiences, boost engagement and find greater success in dynamic and competitive marketplaces.
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