Going virtual with your conference required learning how to operate across several platforms and considering whether this endeavour would be beneficial to your attendees. Would your speakers be familiar with using the platform? Will your event sponsors see a return on their investment, and what are your plans for the exhibitors? What will matter most is how people will connect. So how can one best position themselves for success when organizing a virtual event? Here are some suggestions to guide you through the procedure.
Don’t approach online events the same as live ones. Your delivery and meeting design will differ, therefore your aims and objectives should also. Since April of this year, I’ve read a lot of papers on how to make virtual events successful. One thing unites them all: you can’t just take the real and turn it into the virtual. Although the physical energy generated during live events cannot be completely replaced, you can at least add enough exciting content to make something engaging. By allowing attendees to sit in their homes or offices and simply stare at a screen, perhaps leaving a chatbox comment while yet feeling removed from the event, you run the danger of losing their interest.
Do your research. Different virtual systems run differently. Choosing anything just on the basis of affordability may not satisfy the needs of your attendees and may result in greater costs overall. Numerous event coordinators have told me that virtual gatherings are not always less expensive. Your stakeholders need to be able to understand that. Consider how your attendees will use the system. How is video integrated into the platform? Are attendees able to communicate with one another? Attendees of unpleasant virtual events are less likely to return than they are for in-person events.
Read more at: https://www.connect.space/blog/how-to-launch-virtual-event
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