Tips for virtual events
Before the event
Social Media Stories
A simple and free method for more reach and engagement is the use of social media stories: Announce speakers or certain event processes in advance for your followers or capture exciting moments of your virtual event.
Create event hashtags
Promote your virtual event with a customized hashtag and motivate your attendees to use it whenever posts about the virtual event are posted.
Event promotion via social media ads
An effective, albeit costly, method of promoting your virtual event is to place social media ads, for example via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube. Platforms with a B2B focus in particular, such as LinkedIn and now also Facebook, are ideal for promoting your virtual event.
Various price packages
If participation in your virtual event is not free but a fee is charged, you can consider various price packages, for example to grant participants special access to certain parts of the event – just as you are no doubt already accustomed to from face-to-face events. Make sure that the higher price really does offer recognizable added value.
Segment marketing activities
Determine in advance which advertising measures you want to use. Instagram is more suitable as a platform for the younger target group, whereas Facebook is developing more and more into a pure business platform, similar to LinkedIn. So create different ads that are aimed at several target groups. Make your virtual event diverse with a wide range of topics so that you appeal to people from different digital marketing areas.
If you know your target group, it should be no problem to divide them into subgroups and develop specific marketing approaches.
Use UTM parameters
UTM parameters are additional information, such as the name of an entire advertising campaign or a single ad, that can be appended to the end of a URL. This is particularly helpful if you advertise your virtual event on different websites or with different campaigns, as it makes it much easier to evaluate the effectiveness of your measures. Use these parameters to measure the performance of different marketing campaigns and compare the effectiveness of the promotion of selected content on different social media channels.
Trade fair notice in email signature
Communicate to your partners and customers at every opportunity that you are organizing a virtual event soon. This can also be communicated subliminally in the email signature and is also a simple, free method of promoting your event.
Reminder email the day/week/month before
It is worth sending your participants a reminder email the day before the virtual event. After all, a virtual event is much easier to miss than a physical one.
Trial event
Two days before the start of the event, you should go through your resources thoroughly and have them tested. Is the technology working as it should? Is a stable internet connection guaranteed? It is best to hold a small trial event the day before to filter out avoidable errors in the real event in advance.
Mobile participation
The majority of your participants are probably sitting at home in their home office with a notebook at hand. But there is an even more convenient way: offer your participants a software solution for convenient mobile participation via cell phone or tablet from the sofa.
Offer discounts/vouchers
Attendees want to benefit from your virtual event. Be it through great content, excellent networking opportunities or small, attractive gifts. Take advantage of limited-time discount/voucher promotions to entice attendees to register early and reward them for doing so. Prize draws for one-off training opportunities at the end of the event are also a good idea.
Set up a registration process
Be sure to set up a registration process for participants, even for free events. Registration alone increases the commitment of participation and reduces the no-show rate. Without a registration process, there is a great temptation to forget to register and not participate.
Data protection & GDPR
Data protection and data security play an important role in both physical and virtual events. If you are considering a provider for your web conferences, first check your and their handling of data. For example, clarify whether the data is transmitted in encrypted form, what happens to the data after the virtual event and where it is stored.
Promo video
Just as during the event before the individual sessions, you should also advertise your event accordingly before the event and conduct targeted participant acquisition. Make use of a wide variety of media and address your target group with expressive videos and briefly, but to the point, discuss the content and added value that you guarantee your participants through your event.
During the event
Q&A
At events, whether online or in person, participants always have questions. Provide a chat function so that speakers have the opportunity to respond to participants’ questions and encourage interaction. This has a positive effect on attention when users don’t just have to listen in front of their computer, but can actively participate.
Break-out rooms
Divide your online event into several sub-conferences and allow your participants to take part in several smaller workshops during your virtual event. This allows you to promote interaction and networking in appropriate groups, even with a large number of participants.
Networking rooms
Networking has always been an essential part of many events and should not be missing at virtual events either. Use networking tools that connect attendees with the same interests based on an AI matching algorithm. Talque is an ideal tool to give your attendees the opportunity to plan meetings and make contacts in advance.
1:1 appointments
Exhibitors and sponsors also have an interest in making contact with your attendees and conducting sales talks. Plan sufficient time and breaks in your event to allow for such discussions.
Live polls during the event
Let your speakers interact with participants in real time and conduct live polls to capture answers in real time and stimulate discussion.
Red thread
To prevent participants from falling asleep or running the risk of not being able to follow your program, provide and organized agenda with innovatively designed presentations and regular breather breaks filled with entertainment content.
Multimedia design
Variety is the key to keeping your audience entertained. In addition to product videos and interactive tools, PDFs and whitepapers should also be offered for download that have added value for participants beyond the event.
User experience
Make your event exciting and interactive. Actively involve your participants. Offer 1:1 sessions between the speakers and your participants via (video) chat function.
Sponsor integration
Sponsors and exhibitors also want to be consciously integrated and visible at virtual events. Use lower thirds (displaying the name and placing the person in the context of the event) so that your participants always know and remember who is speaking. You should also integrate your exhibitors’ advertising materials on your event platform via banners and pop-ups. However, make sure that these do not overshadow your actual event.
Video trailer before sessions
Create an exciting atmosphere by giving your audience a foretaste of the upcoming session with short but impressive videos.
After the event
On-demand retrieval after the event
One of the biggest advantages of a virtual event is that the event can be recorded without any additional effort. This means that content can be made available for retrieval long after the event has taken place – for example in your own video portal. This eliminates time pressure and your participants can access the session at a time that suits them. You could also activate this function for VIP participants only, for example.
Feedback session
Plan enough time during or after the event to gather participant feedback. Listen carefully and don’t be afraid to try out new things and respond to your participants’ suggestions.
Ideas for virtual events
Giveaways
Attendees who signed up right at the beginning of your event announcement should be rewarded. Who doesn’t enjoy receiving unexpected deliveries of promotional gifts? Small gifts such as T-shirts, mousepads, branded masks or sweets are ideal. In the best case scenario, this gesture will keep your participants coming back for years to come.
Gamification through an event app
Gamification has been a strong trend for some time due to the increasing shift towards hybrid, virtual events. A key benefit of using gamification is that it boosts audience engagement. It never hurts to add fun to your online event. Add fun challenges to keep your attendees engaged during the event. There are several types of gamification. These include: a virtual scavenger hunt, polls, a quiz and virtual escape rooms. Involve your audience with playful entertainment.
Virtual reality
Virtual and augmented reality have already begun their triumphal march in the event industry too. Despite the limitations that still exist, the VR/AR sector is becoming increasingly important and popular. In professional use, VR can replace telephone and video conferences and help events to be more productive. The level of immersion achieved, i.e. how convincing the artificial environment is, is crucial for success. In an exchange with other participants, the user would interact with the avatar of their counterpart in a virtual room, thus virtually simulating a 1:1 on-site conversation. You can find an example of the use of VR in virtual events here: https://vrtual-x.com/virtuelle-events-test-2/.
Augmented reality
Another way to make your event exciting and innovative is to integrate augmented reality. With the help of AR glasses, you can project important information into the real image of your participants, provided they are wearing the appropriate AR glasses. Each print product can thus be linked with additional digital content.
Hologram
If your technical standards allow it and do not exceed capacities, a hologram integration of your speakers is more than just an eye-catcher. Present your speakers with a creative and attention-grabbing solution for travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Further information at: https://www.marketing4d.de/online-praesentation/.
Virtual cooking course
So that your participants don’t have to get bored during the breaks between the program, offer a short virtual cooking class and then hand out your recipe to the audience.
Bartender course
As an alternative to the virtual cooking class, you as the organizer could offer a bartender course during happy hour to keep your audience entertained during a long break. You can see exactly how a course like this could work at: https://b-ceed.de/remote-events/virtuelle-cocktail-kurs-party/.
Virtual concert
Another option for digital entertainment is the integration of a short virtual concert at the end of your event. Bring your virtual event to a close in an entertaining, relaxed atmosphere. Sofa Concerts offers entertaining live music of all kinds with thousands of bands to choose from: https://www.sofaconcerts.org/de/programmpunkt-online-event.
Hire a keynote speaker
An essential advantage of a virtual event is the lower cost compared to an offline event. For this very reason, it may be easier to access speakers who are normally not available and fully booked due to the high time demands. In addition, you give your event a high quality with sensational speakers and thus boost your registration for your event.
Goodie bags
Goodie bags are small gifts made up of promotional products that are distributed to participants and speakers after an event. At an event, the contents of the event bags should by no means be random, but should be tailored to the event and highly relevant to your participants. A virtual goodie bag is filled in the same way as a traditional one, only digitally. This saves you time and money and allows you to provide content for giveaways, vouchers, video material, etc. on a website instead.
Hire a video production
For a large-scale virtual event, effort and quality must not be spared if it is to be successful. Hire a video production company to create videos and advertisements and to accompany you through the event with professional help. We will support you in the realization of your dream event. Get in touch with us at: https://www.movingimage.com/de/filmproduktion/.
Merchandising store
In addition to gift boxes and goodies, you can offer and sell other products such as T-shirts, baseball caps, mugs etc. in the look of your event. On the one hand, this monetizes the event and at the same time creates a bond with it. Simply create your online store without any programming knowledge at: https://merchrocket.shop/.
Best practices of virtual events
Townhall meetings
More and more companies are using virtual townhall meetings for their internal communication. These offer the opportunity to securely transmit live video content to a large number of employees without any loss of quality.
Virtual team building events
Team events thrive on shared experiences. There are now many digital options for team building events that are in no way inferior to the offline program. These include online karaoke, virtual escape rooms and even digital wine tastings.
Digital workshops & training courses
Online workshops, webinars and training courses have been considered a suitable alternative to in-person programs for years. The flexibility in terms of time and location makes this format particularly popular.
Online conferences
Online conferences are also already a common format in the digital sector. Speakers take it in turns to hold presentations or workshops on various topics under a strict schedule. With the help of video calls and suitable software, conferences can easily take place digitally.
Virtual trade fairs
Virtual trade fairs are on the rise and look impressive! Strolling through the halls and visiting different stands virtually is the ideal solution for recreating an on-site visit in times of a pandemic. There is already software that should make this possible, even if the effort involved is still high. However, it is likely to become suitable for all purposes in the next few years.
Virtual recruiting
Human resources teams are increasingly turning to virtual recruiting. With the video chat function in a virtual meeting, the meeting can be held successfully in person, regardless of time and place.
Award ceremonies
Stream your award ceremony with the highest streaming quality and interactive features and then offer the recording free of charge to your customers/participants via the on-demand download function in your video library. This year’s Oscar ceremony is a successful example of how an award ceremony can take place virtually with high security precautions and a limited number of participants. The event was easy for viewers to follow from home.
Product launch
Showcase your new product by hosting a stunning launch event. Use interactive tools to fully inform visitors about your new product and get the conversation going with features such as video chat, Q&As and polls.
IPO
An IPO can be broadcast to a large number of participants via livestream without any complications. The possible reach and quality varies from provider to provider of an event platform.
Onboarding new employees
If you want to plan a virtual opening event with all new joiners, then an onboarding event is the best way to do this. Schedule individual sessions, welcome gifts, meet-and-greets and Q&As in your virtual onboarding event.
Social intranet
A social intranet promises efficient collaboration between cross-functional teams across departments. Knowledge is made available quickly and easily within the company and employees are given the opportunity to comment on and discuss a wide variety of posts.
Employee speeches
Plan employee meetings virtually via invitation link with the highest streaming quality and helpful features such as screen sharing, chat function and surveys.
Online meetings
The number of online meetings has increased rapidly, especially since the start of the coronavirus crisis. Companies can communicate with each other digitally, regardless of location.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that there are a multitude of ways to hold a wide variety of virtual event formats. Take the step towards digital events and create memories that your participants won’t soon forget!
