4 Key Tips For Initiating Successful Virtual Events

Every year, companies get ready to attend and host them. Networking, learning, and demos fill the air. Badges are swiped, raffles are entered, sessions are attended, and happy hours are infinite. We are talking about conferences, and since COVID-19, companies have had to figure out ways to connect with prospects virtually.

In fact, 65% of event professionals pivoted an event to virtual because of the impact of the pandemic. We are proud to see companies successfully pull off the virtual conference, however, it isn’t compulsory to recreate the wheel when presenting on a virtual conference platform.

Whether you have already hosted an online conference or you are planning to do so in the near future, it is essential to take into account that people attending an in-person or online conference would like the same thing – a quality experience. And in this blog, we will share tips on the way you can do so and keep people coming back for more content and connections!

1. Keep attendees updated prior to, during and post the event

Attendees have a lot of questions, and they would like answers at all hours of the day, everyday – including holidays and weekends. It isn’t just enough to create resources that share the information they are seeking, it is essential to ensure that your attendees know where these resources are situated, so they can rapidly stumble on answers to their queries.

Crafting a FAQs page filled with answers can be an accommodating resource for attendees, in addition to keeping an active social platform. However, both of these options can necessitate extra work from your team, which could take them away from higher-value tasks. Consider adding an AI-powered conversational interface to your website that allows attendees to instantly access the answers they need wherever they are.

2. Select the right platform

Based on the type of platform to make use of for the virtual event is all part of event planning and it can seem like a minefield of queries, perplexing information, and competitor platforms that all seem to be offering identical services. Do not panic – the right hybrid event platform is only a little research away.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself prior to you making a choice of which platform would be best for your event.

• Is the platform free to use? If not, what expenses are linked to it?
• How many individuals would be capable of attending by means of this platform?
• Does the platform incorporate the entire set of features that you need?
• Does the platform offer support the entire time of the event lest things do not go according to the plan?

You will also want to consider whether your event is going to be live or pre-recorded as this will have an impact on which platform will work wonders for your event. When it comes to expediency, research and lessening the possibility of any technical concerns, pre-recorded events are a realistic alternative.

3. Make sure the sponsors are fully informed

The same small bumps that take place at an in-person conference can come to pass during a virtual conference. Just like your attendees and event team necessitate additional support, it is essential to ensure that your sponsors, vendors, and presenters have access to information and tools to prepare before the conference so every person is set up for success.

Vendors and sponsors are in search of making connections, raising brand awareness, and collecting leads by attending an in-person or virtual event. By streamlining the process for vendors and sponsors, you will be able to fill more booth spots at future events.

In a recent study, 53% of respondents shared that they believe tools to connect sponsors and attendees both virtually and in-person will play a key role in their 2022 event strategies.

4. Plan the content

In order to plan content for an online event, you are likely to have already chosen your platform and format depending on the goals of the event and target audience. Useful tips to keep in mind when planning the content are: to coordinate the messages around one interesting theme. You will want to repeat this through all forms of communication, including social media, blogs and emails.

The most promising themes are carefully planned, simple to understand and attractive. It is even a good idea to have a well-planned script to keep the entire virtual event organized and capable of running smoothly. In order to support the script, we suggest you make an interesting and appealing PowerPoint presentation, including slides that are clearly illustrating the point of the virtual event.

Here, at nxtshow, we suggest that you make use of the same colors, logos, and any other graphics that are on your website and social media platform during your virtual event. This will help to promote your brand and make the entire event coherent and clear for the audience.

To conclude

At the same time as hosting virtual events turns out to be the norm, keeping attendees engaged and entertained with online events has become a must. In this guide, we summarized 4 key tips you need to follow to initiate successful virtual events. nxtshow is the best virtual event platform that you can always count on when it comes to hosting a virtual or hybrid event.

In the future, past coronavirus, we believe there are more opportunities for hybrid conferences that offer the personal touch of networking and the flexibility of online learning. In fact, 72% of event professionals are in search of hybrid event technology that supports both in-person and virtual events.