The market for virtual events has been valued globally at $77.98 billion in 2019, according to Grand View Research. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, companies the world over have been increasingly seeing the value in virtual events. They allow event proceedings to be carried out without worrying about travel limitations, venue constraints, and other issues that come along with live events.Â
You might not expect, however, that almost as much goes into planning a virtual event as a live one. Here are the three most important preparations one needs to make when arranging a virtual event.
Gather Information On Your Audience
Just as with regular events, you need to size up your audience in order to deliver the best presentation. Build an overall audience profile by determining the number of key factors. These include how likely they are to attend, how good they are with virtual event tech, and the reliability of their internet connection.
These are merely the things that go into whether or not they’ll be able to attend and stay with the event. More important are things like their specific areas of interest in the subject matter of the event. Also of importance are their familiarity with certain concepts, and their preferred methods of presentation.
Their presence in social media and other relevant communities should also be noted to see how up-to-date your audience is on smaller happenings. All of this can be fulfilled by using online surveys, polls, or AMA posts on Reddit and other social media.Â
Build Your Format Around Your Audience
Once you’ve determined the nature of your audience, it’s time to tailor the format of the event to their needs and wants. Depending on the temperament of your audience, you might need to add more interactivity when designing your event. Interactivity is a strong suit of the virtual event, and you can capitalize on this greatly. This, among other features, can be added to your event with the right virtual event platform.
Launch A Promotional Campaign
As with any event, virtual events need to enter the public eye as well before you can expect major turnout. It has to do so in a way that markets its relevance and desirable features. This will make it appeal to as many people from your demographic as possible.
Social media is the prime medium for promotions like this. Even simply tweeting and posting Facebook statuses about it can make for a sufficient campaign once they gain traction. But if you really want a high turnout, you’re going to have to go the extra mile. Instagram and Snapchat are great platforms to post live visual updates of event details.
You can also post about the speakers, detailed video content on the special features of the event, and instructional content on how to connect to the stream. You can also create an entire event website to handle registration, host event instructions and details, and more.
Plan and prep your virtual event well, and it will be a success before it’s even begun. Keep these three major tasks in mind, and you’ll do that just fine.
