If you haven’t already planned one, or even if you have a few virtual conferences under your belt, you know how many decision points there can be. It can feel super overwhelming and frankly panic inducing at times.
Having planned our share of fully virtual conferences, here are some of our top do’s and don’ts to get you back on a happy planning path:
DON’T: Hold your conference on a singular Zoom meeting all-day-long. Trust us when we say you will lose audience participation faster than you can say “boring”!
DO: Find the right Virtual Environment (VE) Platform!
Not all platforms are made the same, with pros and cons for each use case. There are hundreds of solutions available ranging from free to well over six figures, but no matter the budget you should be focusing on ensuring ease of use for your attendees, speakers and your staff.
With so many options, here are a few of our favorites!
Zoom Events: The most cost-effective VE platform on the market, starting at only $99/month, which includes the features of Zoom Webinar. Both your organizers and attendees will already be familiar with the software, and you get the bonus of adding a clean landing page for entry and a little marketing pizzaz to your event!
Whova.com: Starting at a lower end entry point of $3,000/event, Whova represents the next step up if you want to add a few more branding opportunities to your environment, charge for tickets or allow for attendee networking. It has a very intuitive interface, attendees can create their own virtual greeting cards, and as the organizer, the platform makes it as easy as possible to set up and manage. Also, who doesn’t love a photo contest… and I right!?
Accelevents: Here we take the functionality and user experience to another level, with a platform full of useful built-in features with an all-inclusive starting price of $6,999. The layout is fully customizable, it supports robust gamification, video greetings upon entry, and live video streaming from a variety of sources. You can incorporate their internal meeting platform that WORKS, donation buttons that live right under your video player, sponsors booths that make partners feel valued, and much more! We shouldn’t officially have favorites, but it’s hard to beat the value and quality to cost ratio on this one.
DON’T: Jam pack your conference with wall-to-wall content.
DO: Create a well- crafted agenda that offers attendees a few different types of interactions throughout the day. Here’s what we often suggest:
Try to give at least a 10 min break every hour! Allow your audience time to both interact with the environment you’ve built for them and step away to avoid burnout.
Welcome attendees with a short session, around 5 minutes, at the start of each day. And yes, this can (and probably should) be pre-recorded!
Make your keynote lecture the focus of the morning. Have your host or staff introduce and ask your guest to keep it around 30 minutes in length. Allot time at the end for Q&A if possible (that goes for all sessions) and remind your audience to submit!
Think about how your content matches your streaming capabilities. Keynotes should be using a one-to-many platform, while workshops should be using meeting or conferencing platforms like Zoom or Teams to be as interactive as possible.
Book a few FUN sessions! Think comedic magicians, cooking and cocktail classes, interactive games and other entertaining ways to learn, energize or unwind. We’ve seen conferences where they start every morning with some yoga or meditation and end the day with music and dancing!
In addition to hourly breaks, provide designated time in the agenda for networking and visiting with sponsors/exhibitors.
Record EVERYTHING and offer it to view On Demand as soon as possible, even if you plan to edit down the road. Attendees should be able to view what was missed within a couple of hours of each session ending.
DON’T: Ignore your sponsors and exhibitors. Just putting their logo on your site and emails will not give them the ROI they are looking for
DO: Prioritize sponsors in your VE planning and showcase exhibitors whenever possible
If your event is sponsored, choose a platform that will allow you to create separate pages or “virtual booths” where they can showcase services, share assets and interact with audience members. A few platforms will also allow them to gain access to the contact details of attendees that have shown interest, allowing them to follow up!
Have sponsors showcased at the start and end of live sessions. Show a short video they’ve submitted or a professional ad, display their logos, mention their contributions on-air, or even give them a few minutes of live speaking time!
It’s been said before, but if often goes overlooked: Add time in your agenda that is specifically focused on getting attendees to visit the booths as opposed to use the bathroom, check Email or grab a sandwich.
If you are on a platform that allows it, add sponsor and exhibitor goals using gamification tools. People will do a lot for a free t-shirt!
DON’T: Expect speakers to just “show-up” without prepping them.
DO: Always provide your speakers the time and space to get ready for your event!
Touch base with your speakers around 5 business days prior to their session to review the technology you are using, set expectations and answer any questions they have!
Get an extra copy of their (Final, hopefully!) presentations in case they have technical issues so you can share and advance on their behalf.
Always hold a 30 min pre-conference prior to each session to give your speakers time to settle and troubleshoot any technical issues.
Have a moderator in each session that can introduce speakers and assist in facilitating Q&A.
And lastly, DO have fun!
A well organized and produced virtual event can be a unique, impactful and memorable experience, in a way that even in-person events and conferences can’t quite replicate.
And if there’s anything you’re unsure about, reach out to our team and we will happily review your conference plan to set you up for virtual success!