Tips For Planning a Successful Virtual Event

Putting on an immersive online event isn’t as easy as it sounds. Virtual events have become the norm over the past 18 months, but still represent uncharted territory for many businesses. While the event itself is (of course) what matters most, it’s how you plan and generate hype for your events that makes all the difference. If everyone is well and truly on board before it even starts, it’s much more difficult to go wrong. With this in mind, here’s a quick rundown of a few essential tips and guidelines for planning and hosting a successful virtual event: 1. Make it Cheap (But Not Free) Free events are fantastic, but people who pay for something are far more likely to attend and give you their full attention. When an event is free, you don’t think twice about missing it, or bailing after a few minutes if you’re not totally hooked. There’s also something to be said for the psychology of a paid event. If you have to pay for something, you naturally assume it’s of greater value than something that’s free. Don’t make the mistake of overcharging, but a token fee to sign up gives the impression of something well worth taking part in. 2. Post Something Physical to Attendees Receiving something physical in the post can make a virtual event feel so much more “real”. It could be something as simple as some literature related to the event, a simple card thanking them for signing up or some kind of token gift. This can be a great way of bringing something solid and tangible into an otherwise virtual affair. It establishes a more meaningful connection between the recipient and the event, significantly boosting the likelihood that they’ll turn up and tune in. 3. Make the Registration Process Interactive By this, we mean having someone on your team communicate personally with each and every person who signs up. They registered to attend, you write to them personally and you invite them to submit any questions they have. This can also be a great opportunity to encourage attendees to present their own topics and ideas you might want to raise during the event. Virtual events are always more engaging when those in attendance feel they’ve been listened to and the points they’ve raised are touched upon. 4. Don’t Offer Free Recordings It may sound counterproductive, but not offering free recordings can be a good thing. Where free recordings are available, attendees often feel they can tune out or simply skip the whole thing entirely, in order to watch it later. Not good for engagement when the event is taking place. Offer free recordings if you like, but perhaps make them available a few weeks after the event itself. Alte atively, charge a token fee for a recording of the event - the prospect of having to pay will likely encourage them to give you their full attention! 5. Encourage Interaction Throughout Last up, a virtual event with insufficient attendee interaction quickly becomes a lecture. A guaranteed recipe for disinterest, irrespective of how much they’ve paid to attend. With a virtual event, it’s even more important to bring the energy and focus heavily on audience engagement. Take questions at regular intervals, present questions to your audience and make the whole thing as collaborative as you possibly can.