Top 9 things you should remember when planning a virtual event

Planning a virtual event might be hard but by keeping these 9 things in mind when planning, your next virtual event will surely be successful.

Virtual events have quickly risen to prominence in the past few years so being able to plan them effectively is a significant advantage. With virtual events, not only can you save on venue costs, but you can also host them from anywhere in the world and have people join from all over the world. Virtual events are also an easy way of generating leads and connecting with your customers. Even though virtual events are different from in-person events, many of the underlying principles when it comes to planning still apply, here are the top 9 things you should remember when planning a virtual event:

1. Understand your audience

People only sign up for an event when they think they’ll learn or gain something from it, you need to choose a topic that’s specific and hasn’t been talked about too much to intrigue audiences and pull them in. Because of this you need to do lots of research, focus on a topic you know people are going to be interested in, then dive into the small details and see which parts are relatively unknown. 

Still not sure if your topic is good enough? EventX provides detailed post-event data such as event attendance reports and event conversion funnel reports so that you can create an even better topic for your next event.

2. Choose the right type of event

You also need to choose the correct type of virtual event for your exact purposes:

• Webinars
• Virtual Exhibitions
• Hybrid Events

Your choice depends on what the goal of your event is. Webinars allow a relatively large amount of people to listen in on speakers from the comfort of their own homes. Hybrid events combine both in-person events with virtual events and give attendees a more hands-on experience if they choose to do so and virtual exhibitions allow vendors to create unique stores to sell their products to attendees.

Unsure which type of event is the right fit for you? EventX provides a product demo page on their website so that you can get a brief overview of all the different features they provide.

3. Choose the right platform

Having the right platform is paramount when it comes to a virtual event. Having poor video quality, sound quality or technical issues will leave attendees with a bad impression. EventX provides 1080p video quality and stable infrastructure, and they also give you the ability to record your webinars so that people who couldn’t attend them can view them after the end of the event. You also need to choose a platform that can handle the number of people you’re hoping to attract. EventX can handle events with up to 1000 attendees and has support for events that can last up to 72 hours.

EventX is currently doing a promotion until March 2022 where your first webinar with them will be free of charge, register and try out all the different features and see if they are the right fit for you.

4. Include networking opportunities

Learning something new may be one of the reasons why people join virtual events but the main reason they join is to network with other people. Because everyone is sitting behind screens and you can’t see the face of the person you’re talking to, networking during virtual events is fairly hard. However, EventX provides the ability to create breakout rooms, schedule 1-on-1 meetings with each other, or talk to people in groups with networking lounges so that attendees can have quick networking opportunities during webinars.

5. Engage with your attendees

Even though attendees are here to learn something new, they’re not here to sit through hours upon hours of lectures. You need to plan activities that involve the audience and engage in conversation. EventX provides polls to gain instant feedback from the audience to increase interactivity between the speaker and the audience. EventX also provides break-out rooms for the audience to talk amongst themselves about the topic at hand, making the event feel more interactive and livelier. You can also do Q&As with a panel of experts so that the audience’s questions can be answered, further increasing engagement.

6. Promote your event

Your event won’t be successful if no one knows about it, being able to put your event out there and have people attend is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when it comes to virtual events. EventX allows its customers to create landing pages to get attendees excited about what the event is all about.

With the ever-growing popularity of social media, getting your event advertised there is the easiest way to reach a large number of people. You can also create blog posts about some of the topics of your event and talk about how it’s relevant to your audience and what they’ll gain from joining. As is the norm with social media, remember to include hashtags and create some of your own so that you can increase your audience engagement and social media metrics while promoting your event.

An email list is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach your existing customer base. EventX allows you to create customized templates and send them out to your attendees pre-event, reminding them and thanking them for joining the event; and post-event, following up on attendees to see how their experience was and if you managed to generate a lead.

7. Consider monetizing your event

Not all events can and should be monetized but it wouldn’t hurt your ROI if you did monetize them. Even small things such as sponsorships, special tickets, networking add-ons, and merchandise go a long way in helping you recoup the cost of your event. EventX gives you the ability to create tiered tickets for attendees, allowing for people who pay more to receive extra goodies and allows you to collect more data to use for follow-ups and improve engagement with your attendees.

8. Do a trial run

Once you feel that you’ve planned out a large majority of your event remember to try doing a trial run to see how everything fits, ideas that look good on paper may not translate well in real life. You can also use this trial to familiarize yourself and your team with all the different equipment, how long it takes to transition from one speaker to another and whether you need to add more soundproofing to prevent background noise from disrupting your event.

9. Prepare a Plan B

Even with a meticulously calculated plan, nothing ever goes 100% according to plan. You should always have contingencies set up for these special circumstances. Because the event is virtual, always be prepared for technical difficulties and glitches. Remember to communicate across the team clear on what they should do whenever something does go wrong so that the event continues smoothly and successfully.

Conclusion

In conclusion, planning a virtual event is hard but if done well it can be incredibly rewarding. By keeping a close eye on the 9 things mentioned above you will surely be able to create a successful event. Contact us at EventX today to see how we can help you with your next event!

Q & A

What's the skillset you need to prepare for a virtual event? 

Choosing the right platform is important for a virtual event. Poor video quality, sound quality, and technical issues can leave participants with a bad impression. A platform provides high-quality videos and audio and allows users to record webinars so that people who couldn't attend them can view them later. Additionally, you need to choose a platform that can handle the number of people you're hoping to attract. EventX can accommodate events with up to 1000 attendees and has support for events that last up to 72 hours.

Getting your event advertised on social media is the easiest way to reach a large number of people. You can also create blog posts about some of the topics of your event and talk about how it’s relevant to your audience and what they’ll gain from joining. Additionally, remember to include hashtags and create some of your own so that you can increase your audience engagement and social media metrics while promoting your event.

What are the alternatives available for a virtual event? 

Even with a well-planned event, things can sometimes go wrong. Always have contingencies in place for when this happens so that the event runs smoothly and successfully.  set up, and any potential problems that could crop up.

Make sure to plan out your event well in advance, but also try doing a trial run to see how everything will work before the actual event takes place. This way you can familiarize yourself with all of the equipment and know what to expect when setting it all up. If there are any problems that may occur during the event, you'll be able to deal with them beforehand.