4 Tips for Making Your First Online Event a Success

Posted by Sheryl Wright on July 12th, 2021

A successful virtual event requires more than just engaging presenters. A Zoom free-for-all could be a recipe for disaster.

There is good reason to plan events online. The COVID-19 pandemic has put limitations on large public meetings. Additionally, online events can be less expensive, generate greater leads, reduce costs, and improve networking opportunities.

A successful online event does not happen by accident. Here are four tips for making your online event successful.

1. Understand Your Audience

If you want your event to be successful, learn as much as possible about the attendees. You could have the most engaging program about heart surgery, but if your audience is primarily endodontists, they are not going to be as interested in the topic.

Learning about your audience requires that you do an investigation. When you know who is likely to attend, you can create content to suit them.

Good questions to consider include:

• Who is the event tailored for?

• What challenges do they face in their personal or professional life that the event can help them with?

• Is the event tailored to addressing professional issues, or is it designed to provide lifestyle advice or entertain?

• What do you want the ideal attendee to get from your meeting?

Once you have these ideas solidified, you can start to think about speakers or presenters who can offer your attendees true value. If attendees get value from the presentation, it can truly be called a success.

2. Create a Team

If you are hosting an event with in-person attendance, you are going to create a massive staff to help with every aspect of the program to keep things running smoothly. It would help if you created a similar team for virtual events.

For starters, you are going to want to have a tech support team. These individuals should be adept at navigating technology and addressing any issues faced by event attendees. They should be the tech support contacts that attendees can reach out to during the program if there is an issue or before the program if they have a question.

Next, assign a person or two to ensure that presenters are connected to the platform and are ready to deliver their presentations on time. Event booking software can help individuals working on this aspect of the event to launch programs, activities, and events. In addition to RSVPing with speakers, programs of this sort can help secure payments, send out reminders, and make the meeting an overall success.

Keeping things running on time is a must. People can interact with each other with an in-person event if there is a delay. If there is a delay at a virtual event, people are just going to disconnect. They may not connect again.

Assign people to monitor chat rooms. This allows virtual attendees to ask questions and helps control any abusive behavior by unruly attendees.

3. Choose the Right Date and Time

The beauty of online events is that people can choose where they connect. All they need is an Internet connection. Still, you need to choose the date and time for your event carefully.

If your target is business professionals, scheduling a conference during the day and early in the week is likely not going to work. Your target audience is working at this time. It may be best to schedule your event for a Thursday or Friday or even on the weekend to make it easier for your target audience to attend. Avoid scheduling major events around holidays because people usually make plans for vacation or family events and will be unlikely to attend your event if attendance is not mandatory.

4. Choose The Right Platform

The right virtual event platform makes all the difference. If you are hosting a small virtual get-together, platforms like Google Hangouts or Zoom may be all that you need. However, if your event is large, you are going to need an online platform tailored for your unique needs.

The right software will help you stream live video, create breakout sessions, integrate social media, and create customizable virtual exhibit booths. A good platform should allow attendees to interact with each other. Although the event is virtual, the platform should foster good engagement.

Conclusion

Hosting a successful virtual online event requires planning, time, and consideration. Know what your audience wants, use a platform that encourages engagement, choose a date and time that works for everyone, and create a team of workers to make your online event a success.