As more businesses develop the use of virtual events it is important that you keep up with the trends and tools that are used so that your event is successful. We’ve shared some top tips that you can incorporate into your event to help everything run smoothly and to impress your delegates – check them out now.
What is a Virtual Conference?
Virtual conferences are simply conferences that are held online rather than in person. They can be streamed via social media or organised through a virtual hosting service and can take any format of your choosing. There are a number of benefits to choosing virtual conferences including low costs, wider audience reach and greater levels of flexibility.
However, to be successful at hosting your event you will need to prepare for tech problems, connection issues and issues with audio so that they do not disrupt and spoil the day.
Our Top Virtual Conference Ideas
Getting your virtual conference up and running requires a lot of time and effort as well as significant planning and expertise. Take a look at some of our best ideas to help you make it a conference that delegates will remember for all the right reasons:
- Use Live Tweeting Throughout the Day – keeping delegates and other interested parties informed about the day is a great way to garner interest. You can set your own hashtag and tweet live from the event, providing sound bites and important information as the day goes on. You can also get your delegates to use the hashtag to gather their views on the day and their highlights, helping to promote your event to a wider audience.
- Offer Ask Me Anything – AMA on Reddit is a popular way to get questions from participants and have them answered by the conference speakers or hosts. Simply set up the AMA on Reddit and then share the link so that people can share their question. Once the AMA is over, you will have a bank of information that you can then use for post-event engagement.
- Provide Social Live Streams – not everyone will be able to attend your virtual conference and so using social live stream to share what speakers have to say is a great way to reach a wider audience. From Instagram Live to Facebook and Twitter, there are lots of different social platforms to choose from.
- Provide Webinars – spending the entire day just listening to speakers without any interaction is a sure way to lose delegates fast. Instead, arrange breakout rooms where your speakers can hold webinars with smaller groups, provide them with an opportunity to ask questions and learn more as well as giving your speakers the chance to grow their network and link with people that want to use their services or work with them.
- Choose the Right Platform – access issues and delays can cause a bad atmosphere for your event and so it is vital that you choose the right hosting platform for your needs. There are a number of dedicated conference hosting services that offer a range of tools that will help you to organise a successful event. Take the time to check out all the options and settle on one that fits your needs the best.
- Encourage Delegates to Talk to Each Other – conversation is a natural part of an in-person event and can be important for networking. However, at a virtual event it is much more difficult for delegates to meet each other. Providing break out rooms for networking is a great way to get people speaking, increasing the value of their day and helping them to make the links they need.
- Invest in Event Promotion – planning a great conference is no good unless you get people to sign up! Spending money on event promotion is a great way to get more delegates interested, helping you to grow your profit margins. From targeted email marketing to social media adverts and word of mouth referrals, the more air time you can get your event, the more likely you are to get increase sign up numbers.
- Employ Moderators – moderating a conference can include organising Q&A sessions for speakers as well as flagging up issues that delegates may be experiencing, supporting them to get the help they need. The other important part of a moderators role is to ensure that the information being shared is accurate and does not encourage any negative speech that could harm the speakers or delegates. Moderators are a vital part of ensuring that your conference is a safe and respectful environment for all users.
- Have People Ready to Troubleshoot – even with the best platform and most thorough planning there will always be someone that needs help to access your conference. Having dedicated troubleshooters will help to get any issues dealt with quickly and efficiently so that they can get back to enjoying the conference. The other great thing about troubleshooters is that they can help individuals without the main event being disturbed, keeping everyone else on task.
- Use Engagement to Get Feedback – knowing what delegates think is the best way to improve what you have to offer. The best way to do this is to gather feedback through user engagement. This could be a survey, a Q&A session, polls and more. To have the best chance of getting as much feedback as possible, you will need to ensure that your engagement is succinct and relevant rather than longwinded.
- Have a Specific Theme for Your Event – even when an event is virtual, having a theme can support consistency and offer your delegates something to enjoy. Take the theme of the conference and make sure that all your marketing and promo materials mirror this theme. On the day, you can use the theme to create backdrops and on-screen materials for your delegates to enjoy.
Plan Well for Your Next Event
One thing is abundantly clear, if you plan well then your conference will be more likely to be a success, leaving delegates keen to return for your next one. From thinking about attracting your audience to arranging the best conference platform, there are a multitude of things that you will need to think about. The great news is that a well-received, well-planned event is sure to help you achieve the profits and outcomes that you’ve been hoping for!
To find out more:
Call us on: +44 (0)1438 908770
Email: enquiries@miceconcierge.com
anna.hellawell@miceconcierge.com
andrew.bowers@miceconcierge
Read more… Advantages of Hosting Virtual Events
