Virtual events are becoming all the more important, especially during a global pandemic, and there are some key advantages. Costs are lower, both for setup and attendee admission. People can interact from all across the globe without spending ludicrous amounts on hotels or flights. You may even be able to hire high demand speakers that don’t have the time to commit to an in-person event, and people that won’t be able to make in-person events can attend from their own homes.

Perhaps you’ve heard all about this but are not sure how to host one of your own? Fortunately, we’ve consolidated the most helpful tips on how to plan a successful virtual event. Let’s take a look!

1. Understanding your target audience

Before you begin planning, you will need to know your target audience like the back of your hand. Just like any marketing plan, the backbone lies with an understanding of your ideal customer. These are the sorts of questions that you need to ask yourself:

• How familiar are your audience with social media?
• What subject in your industry are your audience most interested in?
• What incentives do not respond to the best (e.g. sweepstakes, discount codes, competitions)?

Test the water and send out surveys to your audience, facilitating a discussion to acquire the data you need to plan. Don’t begin planning until you have a full grasp of your target audience.

2. Defining your format

Much like a conference, there are many flavors to virtual events. They can take the form of a single person presenting, or they could be more like a workshop or tradeshow. Whatever form your event will take, the key is to make it unique and something that stands out from your competitors.

Be crystal clear about what the audience will see, setting clear expectations about your event from the get-go. Will your audience be able to interact and ask live questions? Try to make use of this functionality as it will boost engagement. Are there cameras going to be on? If so, they will need to know this in advance. Will the event be high-level or tactical? Set the stage to make sure that the people registering, know exactly what they will get. By having a strong sense of purpose, you can also leverage the ‘why’ in promotional emails that remind those who are marked as attending as to why they signed up in the first place. Reminding a registrant will be valuable, refreshing their memory and increasing the likelihood that they will turn up.

3. Choose your platform

With all the live streaming services out there, which do you choose? There is no right answer to this question - it depends on your needs. In general, we’d recommend looking into services such as Facebook Livestream, Zoom, Periscope, and YouTube live. Most of these services offer free trials way can perform dry runs. To make use of these before your event - you should become familiar with the basic functionalities of your platform, and have the timeline down to a T.

4. Choosing a host

Special consideration needs to be placed on who will host the event. If you think of yourself as a prominent public speaker, you can take the lead. It’s not uncommon for many companies to hire a professional speaker, or choose in-house members of staff who have had presentation experience - the kind that can respond at the spur of the moment to unexpected events. After all, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with live streaming such as poor connectivity or technical issues.

Whoever will be hosting the event, should speak clearly and respond to queries through social media and any relevant tech channels. The audience needs to feel a personal connection with direct eye contact, so get them comfortable looking directly into the camera. Anybody can spot script reading from a mile away!

5. Marketing your event

Your marketing plan shouldn’t differ from that of any face-to-face event. We recommend using social media to get the hype out well in advance of the event. Make use of all the channels to provide information, entice people to register, and create engaging content that can be shared amongst people. Perhaps you can make use of channels such as Snapchat or Instagram to show viewers where the event will take place? You could link to the biography of the speaker, a tutorial video on how to access the event on the day, or even use this as an opportunity to share content that will complement the event’s topic such as an e-book or infographic. Make use of all the tools available to build brand recognition.

6. Choose your venue

You may be thinking what this means considering virtual events are online - “can’t I just host it from my bedroom with a background screen?”. While this is certainly an option for a budget event, you should make a virtual event look just how an in-person event would. People want to feel like they’re in a real-life space and feel a personal connection. Consider hiring a space that you can fill with basics such as audiovisual equipment and a podium. Your camera should be zooming in and out, giving your audience a good view of your background. If you’re a bit strapped for cash, at least decorate your room as best you can to fit the theme of the event, avoiding the need to hide in front of a cheesy and cheap-looking background screen.

7. Choosing a date and time

One great thing about virtual events is that geographical concerns are a non-issue. However, people can become complacent and not turn up because nothing is constraining them to attend. The best times to host are generally the weekends and early evenings, but it is an inexact science.

Time zones are critical and more relevant than ever, so research your target audience and think about where they are located. How many overseas followers do have? If the majority are overseas, in what time zone? Are you looking to conquer a particular market? Which one, and what time zone represents it? Gather information from your audience to suggest when people are most available. You could send out surveys or emails to collect data. If you are contacting people in a time zone that would not suit them, ask them how likely they would be considering certain times. As a last resort, suggest that you can always upload a recording of the event on a channel such as YouTube.

Virtual events are different because people can log off at any time at their convenience. Attendees are also more likely to get bored or notice “dead time”, given that they are most likely watching from their own home. The event itself should be kept as short as possible to focus your audience’s attention. Practice makes perfect - get everything down to an efficient format and make sure everything runs smoothly.

Conclusion

Now that you read our article, we hope that you can host a successful virtual event that engages and connects your audience to your company. Be sure to boost engagement by offering a range of interactive elements, responding quickly to queries, offering excellent speakers, and having everything run smoothly. Once you’ve got a great plan in place, round it all off with a tech-savvy social media campaign that gets the word out. Last but not least, practice until perfect. Good luck and all the best!