Though social distancing has us temporarily apart, virtual events are filling an important niche for thought leadership and community building, and are now undeniably an integral component of the current and future events scene.
We’ve shared ways to build the basic infrastructure of your virtual event—from making game-time decisions about the future of your event to choosing the best platform and equipment—and are now here to share some of the nitty gritty mechanics. Here are our top tips for creating virtual environments that inspire your attendees, speakers, and partners while also meeting your own organization’s KPIs.
1. Curate memorable moments.
The best event managers create memorable experiences from start to finish and experiential elements shouldn’t be sacrificed for virtual events. Just as you would for a live event, utilize an emcee to announce upcoming sessions and provide reminders and how-tos. Attendees will better remember your organization when a face is connected to the host. In addition to creating your authentic voice as the host, think about other ways to incorporate experiential elements unique to your event.
A memorable speaker or celebrity appearance not only generates buzz for your event but also leaves your attendees with inspirational and tactical messaging. Currently, many keynote, entertainment-worthy speakers are not only more available but offering lower speaker fees.
For other attendee touches, consider at-home alternatives to experiences you would offer at your in-person event. Instead of catered lunches and receptions, can you send meal delivery gift cards or cocktail kits? Or ship materials in advance for a hands-on activity like a terrarium building class? We’re also big fans of a charitable donation in lieu of swag or attendee gifts. Event bonus: these experiences also create impactful sponsorship opportunities for your partners.
2. Remember shorter is sweeter.
Whether it’s attributable to the distractions of home life alongside work-life or current events, our attention spans are lower. Without the in-person energy of live events, the best virtual content should pack a punch in a shorter duration. Consider not only shortening sessions and networking time blocks but also the overall event length.
If you’re hosting an event with multiple sessions, ideally the full event stays under 4-5 hours, or you can explore 2-3 hour blocks across multiple days. Keep things to an hour or less if you’re presenting a solo session.
3. Engage, engage, engage.
Interaction with speakers and other attendees ranks among the top reasons people attend events. So creating valuable virtual engagement opportunities is key to your digital event’s success.
Include live Q&A with speakers after each session and crowdsource questions in advance via your registration form or social media and have your moderator or emcee ready with a few starters when Q&A opens.
Because networking at a virtual event isn’t as easy as walking up to a fellow attendee and striking up a conversation and the idea of an open Zoom meeting with more than 20 attendees is a mute button nightmare, a thoughtful virtual networking strategy is critical.
The best way to overcome these challenges is to dedicate specific networking time, spaces, and protocol—organic conversation just doesn’t happen as seamlessly over video. Utilize your event platforms chat functions or an event Slack. Establish “house rules” about how to introduce yourself and check-in throughout the event with questions and prompts to keep activity up. For face-to-face connections, focus on small group roundtables and/or 1:1 matchmaking.
(Coming soon: We have a lot more to stay on this topic—stay tuned for our upcoming post on virtual networking!)
4. Be realistic about revenue.
While virtual events have many cost-saving benefits, generally revenue goals will need to be adjusted. There are countless creative ways to monetize your virtual event through registration fees, on-demand content subscriptions, sponsorship opportunities, and more, but inevitably these will be lower than you would expect for in-person.
As you plan for virtual and hybrid events, make sure to communicate these new expectations with your stakeholders and engage your partners to fully understand their goals and metrics for event investments.
5. Prep your speakers.
Here at cred, we believe content is the heart of any successful event. The convenience of virtual events and current remote work orders open up a lot of opportunities to secure top-notch speakers—but even the savviest and seasoned speakers are likely less experienced with virtual platforms and are learning how to navigate all the different platforms.
Ensure you provide all the tech resources, tips, and in-person support to make your speakers and attendees experience seamless. We also recommend mandatory dry-runs with all presenters to mitigate any day-of glitches.
Ready to figure out how to bring your virtual event to life? Let’s chat! Contact events@credpr.com.
