Pre-COVID, virtual events were the outlier. You only went virtual if geography, time, or budget prevented that high impact, in-person event. Not anymore. Everything’s changed. It’s a brave new world. Today, virtual events are the norm – even preferred by hyper-busy people you want to influence. But expectations are higher than ever. You can't just slap some clip-art and a few slogans on a dozen Google slides hosted on your Zoom account and expect success. Attendees will only trade their valuable time for engaging, relevant content produced with images, video, sound, and of course, words. Scary, even overwhelming, right? Not if you have the right tools and a dozen vital tips at your disposal. Read on to learn how to transform your biggest nightmare into the success formula for your next virtual event.
1. Know why you are having the event, who the audience is, and what you want to communicate to them
2. Understand your creative strategy for the event. “Creative” does not mean winging it. To develop that strategy, is impossible to over-communicate with your team, and nearly impossible to over-plan.
3. Determine your message and the content critical to get that message out to the audience. It is not so much how much content you have, but more importantly, how impactfully it is delivered.
4. Think about ways to engage your audience during the event with surveys, polls, calls to action, engaging speakers, networking chat, Q&A forum, gamification, including a digital audience.
5. Develop an event promotion strategy that includes a strong social media presence.
6. What is your timeline, and how are you going to hit your target? Planning any event requires time. Virtual events require production work to capture remote presenters weeks in advance. Be sure you allow 8 weeks or more and select an experienced production partner who can keep you on track."
7. Make sure you choose the right platform to host your event. Understand the performance and uptime of the platform so you can be sure it will reach the entire audience and not be interrupted.
8. Don't overlook platform security. You should control access to all the event content.
9. It is crucial to have a detailed Run-of-Show, which includes the list of items that will be shown during the event down to the second; not some or most of the items, but everything the end user will see and hear.
10. Give careful consideration to your production partner. Invest in high-production value so the broadcast looks polished and professional.
11. An experienced production partner will guide you on what post-event metrics are important and help decide what other metrics will be important to your company. They will provide you with post-event reports on these metrics.
12. Develop contingency plans to ensure the event is flawless and accommodate changes up to the event and during the event. Think about the things that are out of your control. Be prepared for the unexpected during the event and have contingency and backup plans.
When it comes to planning a virtual event, there is so much to think about. It can be overwhelming, especially if this is the first time your organization is putting on a totally virtual event. You want your corporation, your brand, your organization to be seen as highly professional and as a Team who has prepared well to bring you a valuable experience. You want to ensure the audience has a very engaging and motivating experience. With the right plan, the right messaging, and the right partner, your first or next virtual event can be every bit and more the success you are hoping it will be.
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Stagedge: Elevating Event Production Experiences for 50 years is proud to be one of Boston's premier full-service event production companies, dedicated to conceiving, creating, and executing immersive brand experiences through live, virtual & hybrid events, domestically and worldwide.