The past years have taught us that you can host events without being in the same room together. This has a lot of benefits, including the ability to increase attendance and lessen schedule conflicts. But since there are a lot of changes in how we handle events, here is a complete guide to virtual events in 2022.
1. Purpose and Budget
Understanding each can help you in making sure that the event runs smoothly. Before, just a few types of events could be hosted online: webinars, virtual conferences, or live streaming.
However, since the recent global events, it has become a norm for even music concerts, job fairs, and even team building events can be hosted online. Of course, there will be limitations, but as long as you follow this guideline for hosting online events, you can host a successful event.
In all of these events, you need a proper planning stage for the event to go smoothly.
Webinar
Purpose: To teach, educate, demonstrate, or instruct
Webinars have been around for a long time, even before the boom of virtual meetings. They are often hosted by low-budget organisations to reach their target audience.
Conferences and Meetings
Purpose: Discussing with colleagues during a gathering
A conference is often hosted in a physical setting, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t hold one virtually. It will be similar to a webinar, except the participants will be more active. This type of event is great for groups of any size as it can allow everyone to connect. You can also set up team-building activities during your conference with the emergence of companies like https://escapely.com over the last few years
Live Streaming
Purpose: To entertain
While not considered as an event by some people, live streaming is actually a type of virtual event you can host. Recently, entertainment companies host concerts online for people to attend even though they are just staying at home.
Hybrid Events
Purpose: To reach a wider audience
This type of event combines physical and virtual components into one. This gives the benefit of both types of events. People who can go to the physical location can enjoy your event in person, while people at home can still access your event.
Also Read: 6 Business & Technology Trends To Watch In 2022
2. Timeline
A timeline is another important thing you should create for a successful event.
Of course, this timeline can change during the planning stage or even during the event itself. But having a timeline can help you manage the event.
Planning Stage
Give yourself enough time to plan for an event and iron things out. Choose realistic goals to accomplish on your timeline and prepare countermeasures for delays.
Promotional Period
At this point, you should have already ironed out all the necessary things in the planning stage. Your speakers, hosts, and venues should already be chosen and reserved during the day of your event.
You can start teasing about your event on social media and other platforms that might increase engagement. If you’re targeting a certain number of attendees, keep track of the interested people through a registration page.
Day-Of Timeline
The most important timeline is your day-of timeline, which includes everything that should happen during the event.
Don’t forget to include breaks if the events will take more than 2 hours. Even if the event is online, having breaks can make the event much more enjoyable.
After the Event
The event isn’t finished after the closing remarks. As an event organiser, you have the task of creating a report about your event and sharing important data that needs to be presented. You also have to ensure that the event has no remaining balance for its expenses.
3. Speakers and Hosts
Aside from your attendees, it’s important to create a list of potential speakers. Ask them if their schedule will fit with your events. You should also ask if they require fees for speaking at your event.
If someone backs out, you can also prepare an extra speaker who is willing to attend your conference on short notice. Alternatively, you can prepare another activity to fill the remaining time.
Also Read: 4 Stress-Free Ways To Help Students Learn Virtually
4. Promotional Materials
Promoting your event is important and having a website is one of the easiest ways to provide information to your potential attendees.
Event Website
One of the must-have promotional materials is an event website detailing everything your attendees must know. This includes the date, time, and link of your virtual event. It’s also important to let them know if there are any rules they must agree to when joining the event.
If you’re hosting a small event, especially events usually handled within the company. You can create a Facebook event page and invite the attendees.
For some companies with project management apps, you can include virtual events as a task for your team. One of the most popular project management apps, Notion can have a separate page dedicated to such events.
You can include all information on these pages. If your alternative choice has any comment feature, be sure to open it so your attendees can ask questions should they have any.
Social Media Promotions
Posting your event can help you get more people into your online event. This is important for events that rely on ticket sales or audience participation. If you have a budget, having sponsored posts for your event can give it a huge boost.
Influencers
You can also find relevant influencers who might be interested in promoting your event. This technique is better if you also have an influencer as your guest speaker, as they might even promote your event for free.
5. Registration
Knowing how many people are interested in your event can help you manage the attendees. Your attendees can commit the date and time to attend the event you’re hosting. You can also design your registration page to accept the payment for the tickets for the event.
Your target attendees might be different from those actually interested in the event. You can collect basic information on your registration page, so you have data from the demographics of your actual attendees.
Overseeing the Event
Every event planner knows that nothing will ever go smoothly during an event. Whether it’s a late speaker or some technical difficulties, somehow, there will be something wrong. It’s best to have countermeasures for every common problem that might occur.
Before the event itself, you can have a trial run with the key speakers of your event. This is simply to ensure that everyone’s microphones, speakers, and cameras are working.
Final Thoughts
Planning a virtual event in 2022 might be a bit tricky, but it is not very different from a physical event. Aside from a much cheaper event, it’s also more accessible for more people. Some experts are saying that virtual events will be the future, so you should take your time to understand the ins and outs of virtual events.
Also Read: Hybrid Working As The New Normal
