Table of Contents
- What are Virtual conferences?
- Tips for virtual conferences
- Highlight clear business objectives
- Be straightforward about the topic of your event
- Select the right Event platform
- Inform and educate your Stakeholders, Sponsors, and Exhibitors
- Virtual conferences have the power to connect you globally
- Timely reminders should be sent to your attendees
- Social media platforms as a powerful tool
- Chalk out an agenda
- Share an alternative to Video conferencing
- Two-way communication needs to be encouraged
- Appointing a moderator is the best way to keep your audience engaged
- Comprehensive Reports and data
- Create a resource center and record your session
- Testing your technology is a great way to avoid any last-minute shocks
- Have a team on a standby
A virtual environment is a lifeline and the latest trend in the event industry. One can host different types of Virtual events as per your requirements like Virtual Education fairs, Virtual Job fairs, Virtual Exhibitions, and Virtual Conferences.
Apart from being cost-effective, Virtual events also offer immense networking opportunities.
What are Virtual conferences?
Hosting a conference in a virtual space or online is called a Virtual conference. A virtual conference platform allows you to host a virtual meeting with audio, video, and screen-sharing facility.
The objective of Virtual conference platforms is to enable its organizers/companies to connect globally with their audience.
This is not the case in traditional conferences as in these conferences, one is confined to a particular location that limits the number of attendees.
Tips for virtual conferences
1. Highlight clear business objectives
Setting clear targets and ROIs which need to be attained can help in multiplying profits and attaining business objectives through Virtual conferences. You can aim to attain an enhanced attendee count or generate quality leads with the help of Virtual conferences.
Make sure that your team is aligned with your objectives, which is the primary tip for Virtual conferences.
2. Be straightforward about the topic of your event.
Use clear, precise, and crisp messaging to reach the maximum attendees. The audience needs to be fully informed about the benefits they will reap after attending the virtual conference, which is the secondary tip for Virtual conferences.
3. Select the right Event platform
Choose the one that is more reliable and experienced and offers a complete package with inbuilt features like a Customization facility, multiple branding spaces, screen sharing facility with recorded videos, audio and video chat, and call tools.
These tools will encourage interaction among attendees, speakers, and exhibitors. Also, do ask your service provider about social media integration, and gamification facilities that will lead to more engagement and will help you to reach a wider audience, which is one of the tips for virtual conferences.
4. Inform and educate your Stakeholders, Sponsors, and Exhibitors
Another tip for virtual conferences is to create a video that will educate and inform your staff, sponsors, exhibitors, and audiences about your virtual conferences and will also showcase how to navigate the platform.
5. Virtual conferences have the power to connect you globally
In-person conferences did not have this feature of connecting globally, but Virtual conferences do.
Hence, they can connect you to a wider audience, and you can also have your favourite speaker on the virtual platform which you couldn’t earlier due to geographical constraints.
6. Timely reminders should be sent to your attendees
Reminders with the time, date, and link to your virtual conferences should be sent so that attendees do not miss out on the sessions they’ve registered for as the attendees can be preoccupied with their personal and professional commitments.
7. Social media platforms as a powerful tool
Spread the positive word about your virtual conferences through your company website and other social media platforms to reach a wider audience and enhance the attendee count. Use hashtags for your virtual conferences to track posts around it.
8. Chalk out an agenda
An agenda on your home page can inform, educate and engage your attendees and help them understand which session will be of use to them, and accordingly, they can fix their schedule which is another important tip for Virtual conferences
9. Share an alternative to Video conferencing
Keep an alternative handy in case of poor connectivity, as audiences from different parts of the world will be attending, so they might have different networks in place. Therefore, be ready to provide an alternative audio option.
10. Two-way communication needs to be encouraged
It could be in the form of surveys, polls, Q & A sessions, and through sponsor booths where attendees can interact with sponsor representatives through call, WhatsApp chat, video call. A networking lounge, providing a facility to interact one on one and between one and many.
11. Appointing a moderator is the best way to keep your audience engaged
Sometimes, speakers are not enough to hold the audience till the very end, apart from them, there should be a moderator to spark interesting conversations to enlighten the mood of the attendees and prevent them from getting bored.
12. Comprehensive Reports and data
Detailed reports take you through the feedback of your attendees, which is important for your future events and also provides an insight into the total lead count and will also share information about how much time an attendee spent on a particular booth. This will help the organizers to strategize their virtual conferences and other events accordingly in the near future.
13. Create a resource center and record your session
A resource center also called a digital repository stores presentations, recorded sessions, and brochures as a future reference for attendees, and at the same time, it safeguards your team’s hard work in getting all things in one place.
14. Testing your technology is a great way to avoid any last-minute shocks
Do a test run or a dry run to ensure a hassle-free event with easy navigation to make your virtual conference frictionless, which is another important tips for virtual conferences.
15. Have a team on a standby
To make your events glitch-free, make sure you have a team on standby for last-minute troubleshooting, which is again an important tip for virtual conferences. It is mandatory to implement these tips for virtual conferences to make it a win-win situation
Switching from In-person events to Virtual events might give you goosebumps, and it might feel challenging, but this change is rewarding as it can attract 20% more attendees with more networking resulting in Higher ROIs.
ibentos, a pioneer in event technology, knows the art of holding its audiences till the very end of the event and has proven its expertise time and again on the virtual platform.
Read more | Virtual Conferences – The 2021 Guide