Now that virtual events have become part of our lives for the long haul, it isn’t enough to just send out a zoom link and hope for the best. Zoom fatigue is real and It’s getting harder and harder to hold people’s attention in the virtual space. But don’t fear, you can still put together an effective program if you keep these 6 TOP TIPS from Huddle’s Virtual Event Production Team in mind. Take your virtual events to the next level and keep your audience engaged.

Get clear about your goals and objectives

When you’re organizing a virtual event, it’s tempting to jump right in to selecting a technology platform. But don’t be hasty. It is vital for the success of your event that you take the time to set clear and measurable goals first, before you get absorbed in the detail. Throw out all your ideas about what the event looked like when it was in person and concentrate on what will deliver for you in a virtual format.

Design your virtual experience

Now that you have clear and measurable goals for your event, it’s time to get creative and think about what your attendees will need to THINK, FEEL and DO to help you achieve those goals. Then design and experience that will create that in virtual format. Tear up that old in-person agenda. We are not looking backwards and trying to recreate the old in-person event in a virtual format. You need to think outside the box and create a fresh experience that will achieve your goals, and that is specifically designed for virtual. Some things to keep in mind are that sessions are generally shorter in the virtual format and a mix of pre-recorded and live content tends to achieve the highest levels of engagement. Check out this blog post for more on how to keep your virtual audience engaged.

Invest in the right technology

Once you have set clear goals and designed your event experiences, it’s time to work out which tech platform will be your best tool to deliver that experience. The global upheaval of 2020 has led to an explosion in innovation, not least in virtual event technology. Event planners now have a many tech options and face the challenge of selecting the best option for their event, or program of events.

Straightforward meeting tools like Zoom sit at one end of the spectrum, offering basic functionality like desktop sharing, polls & surveys. whiteboards, custom backgrounds, and chat. These basic applications can be integrated with event registration and marketing platforms to produce an effective simple virtual event.

At the other end of the spectrum are a growing number of fully integrated virtual event platforms that offer more advanced features, including virtual exhibition halls, breakout sessions, integrated registration, attendee engagement data and event marketing capabilities. Take some time and talk to an expert about what capabilities you might need in a platform, and which ones might be suitable.

Ensure your message is clear

Before you jump into strategies for attendance and engagement, you must ensure your message is clear.

From the very first digital marketing piece for your event, through to the content and post-event communications, your consistent message needs to be woven throughout in order to maximize the impact on your audience and achieve return on your investment.

Ask yourself what you are trying to say to your attendees and what you want their experience to be in each moment. It is your content that will really drive your event towards its objectives.

Focus on your digital marketing strategy

Success or failure of an event hinges first on foremost on ensuring people attend. The art of ensuring you have strong attendance for virtual events differs from live events, not least because  the customer journey timeline for a virtual event is often much shorter compared to a live event.

It’s essential to understand and have a strategy for attrition. Attrition rates of 50 percent (and higher) are common for virtual events. Effective pre-event communication is vital to ensure attendance is maximized.

Funnel registrants into a separate pre-event campaign and encourage them to show up. Sending something physical to your attendees (something creative and in line with your event branding and strategy) and offering incentives to attend are also great ways to get people engaged in the lead-up to your virtual event.

No matter which strategy you choose, an effective digital marketing campaign is a crucial part of the planning process for virtual events.

Switch up your format

Rather than all being together in one physical space, attendees at your virtual event will be joining from a variety of locations. Your event will be competing for their attention on a whole new level as emails and social media pop up on their screens and distractions in their physical space draw their attention away from your content. This means you must have a clear strategy for maintaining attention and engagement to compete with other priorities and distractions in their environment.

Pace and timing are key to maintaining engagement. We recommend switching formats regularly between live presentation, attendee participation and pre-recorded digital content. Speakers should be well rehearsed and emphasize personal stories that tie back to your key message.

Create a social feed for attendee interactions to foster a feeling of community in the online space. A good online event will also leverage mobile app features like live polls, push notifications and Q & A. As the world of digital events becomes the norm, many attendees are using multiple screens as they attend virtual events – a computer screen to stream the content live, and the app on their phone to view attendee and presenter bios, post on social media and post questions in the chat feed.

If you feel like you are struggling through a maze of virtual event technology, or any other part of the virtual event process, your Huddle Virtual Event Expert will be happy to advise you on which platform is right for your upcoming events. Contact us here…