Virtual conferences and events are becoming a popular alternative to in-person ones, especially when these physical conferences might have more complex demands than the average event, and so a virtual or augmented reality type event is a preferred choice.
Planning a successful, virtual conference is one that takes some time to perfect, especially when you’ve not done it before. With that in mind, here are some helpful tips to plan a successful virtual conference this year.
Pre-plan the event
Pre-planning the event is the first step when it comes to creating a virtual conference. It’s important to research your target audience so you have a good understanding of who they are and what they’re looking for in an event, specifically when it’s virtual.
Setting clear and measurable goals is the best way to approach this sort of event organization, and using event management software like Accelevents can make it easier to plan, too.
Research attendees and use sales intelligence tools to do this. You may want to look at connecting with influencers to help drive more popularity towards purchasing tickets. As it’s a virtual conference, most of the advertising will be online, so it has to be used in the right manner.
Make use of target networking opportunities
Targeted networking opportunities are something to think about when it comes to your attendees. Actively engaging with attendees both before and during the event will help to build meaningful connections.
The challenge of virtual conferences is making sure people are still networking. Therefore, it’s helpful to look at how you can introduce virtual-led networking sessions whilst the virtual event is ongoing. Focus on making sure these opportunities don’t take place during times when speakers may be holding sessions or workshops are taking place.
Improve on-site engagement
As a virtual event, everything that is engaged with is online. There’s no longer a physical element to your event, so it’s important that you improve the engagement of your virtual event online.
Interactive activities and informative presentations can be combined to help create a new and exciting type of learning environment through virtual means. Look at virtual and augmented reality experiences to see how you could showcase your business or the event in different ways.
Strategic post-event follow-up
As with any event, you want to provide some sort of follow-up once the event is over. A strategic post-event follow-up is therefore an important part of helping to maintain momentum. Follow up with leads and contact those leads as soon as you can in a personalized way. Send thank-yous and updates on potential events taking place in the following months or years.
Asking for feedback can also help to improve the engagement your virtual events receive in the future.
Data-driven analytics
With data-driven analytics, you can improve the efforts of your virtual events from the moment someone hits the registration button to the feedback they provide after the event is over. By analyzing the data you have on the virtual event and its attendees, the more you can improve those events moving forward.
With these tips, you’ll be able to plan a successful virtual conference for your business this year.
