Virtual Conference Best Practices to Host a Successful Event

Leave a Comment / Company / By WasiVirtual

Are you still wondering how 2021 digital solutions elevated companies’ repute? With growing technological development, not just the Apple iPhone upgrading sales tactics, companies have started moving about smartly than ever before. Physical events are now being shifted to virtual events platforms with the spread of the internet. Funny how hand pumps freed our hands to be on smartphones, tablets, or advanced machinery around the clock.

Likewise, instead of bumping into people at a physical event, organized virtual conferences have saved the hassle for many. Wondering why are virtual conference best practices essential for your event success? A virtual conference is an interactive event hosted online that seemingly connects a like-minded, larger group of people sharing the same interest to connect, engage and learn. Your efforts to organize a physical event are subsided. The event comprises keynote sessions, breakout sessions, and much more, connecting audiences at a virtual conference platform.

How do you make an amazing virtual conference?

As much as the global village is transforming into the digital world, conferences efficiently target global attendees proving their place in your organizational needs. Let us take you through the rapids of the business world, highlighting virtual conference best practices to host a successful event in 2021.

Define a Purpose

You are planning a family dinner and are to explain to everyone the reason for your invite. Why are you planning it? The question remains when planning a conference for your corporate event. The hybrid or virtual event your organization is planning needs to have a clear purpose. With a well-defined purpose of the conference, the event’s production can be estimated. Carefully plan the first step as the success of your business conference depends on its basis. Why risk it to cry over spilled milk at the first step?

Identify Target Audience

Do you want a blend of cows and cats, mooing and meowing at your virtual conference? Of course not, decide on who is to attend your conference. Take out the notes from your purpose of the conference and identify who will be attending your conference. By this, you can choose who is to speak at your conference — wondering how virtual conference best practices are beneficial for your business? You can now attract a global audience by targeting people of your interest and demands. Attendees do not need to be present at a physical location; rather a virtual platform is their landing space.

Choose Smart Networking

Networking, however, is assumed to be greater in physical events. Nevertheless, with a virtual conference, you meet the right people at the right event to network easily through digital solutions. Virtual events are known to make networking efficient. You can easily discuss matters and convey information in chat rooms through texts, audio, video, text chat. Participants worldwide will form lasting ties with people and your company.

We realize that meeting someone in person has a lasting impression when you can either splash coffee on them or smell the amazing deodorant they wear, but with virtual networking, you connect in a safe environment. The online conferences save your time and connect you to the right candidate using attendees’ personal information for appropriate match-making.

Environment-Friendly event

Don’t you already feel suffocated by the emission released from vehicles? Guess you do; therefore, Virtual conferences are the best way to arrange a webinar, seminar, or online meeting where no one needs to commute to a location using a different travel mode. With the covid-19 outbreak, it is definite that no partners will shake hands or like to sit close to you, not because you do not smell good but because it is against the safety precautions this pandemic has dawned upon us. Thus, virtual conferences hosted at online events platforms are the last choice.

Cost-Cutting

You also do not like to waste money on stationary, comfortable seating, and multimedia expenditures. So why waste your money on traveling, food, or accommodation? Hence, virtual conferences are the choice of businesses in 2021. Moreover, virtual conferences benefit you by approaching high-profile keynote speakers as you cannot schedule meetings or afford high-paid professionals. Their busy schedules do not allow them to be physically present at an event. Nevertheless, virtual conference speakers can agree to be present online with lesser fees. This way, your conference is schedule-friendly and cost-cutting on expenses.

Tricks of Engagement

When hosting an online conference, you must follow another essential thing to find unique ways to keep attendees engaged. There is no unnecessary chattering or clapping at a virtual event, rather the distractions are minimized. However, with an online conference, the issue of internet, work, and family distraction are there, which you need to avoid through engagement tricks. Use virtual technology to benefit during the conference by engaging attendees in Q&A, chat, and much more. Schedule short tea breaks and activity sessions to keep them fully engaged in your event.

Market Online

Marketing your event remains the most crucial aspect of you hosting a virtual conference. You do not want to shover it down attendees’ throats to attend an event they just randomly looked at in an ad. People like personal attention; why not target them personally through email marketing? Email marketing remains the best practice for companies and organizations to host a virtual conference. Moreover, the use of social media for marketing your event is a smart move.

Make the most use of digital marketing strategies such as digital pop-up ads, personal invites in inboxes, and spread employee advocates who aware people of your upcoming event. Do not just sit around and wait for people to be convinced over just an email invite, instead create an engaging email campaign to keep them interested and devoted.

Why not pair with Sponsors?

You are already doing all the hassle, then why spend money on it? Get the best sponsors to fund your virtual gatherings and make the event memorable. Once onboard with you, sponsors will market your event and promote it to maximum global audiences out there. Today, more than 50% of businesses have moved to virtual events platforms.

Wish to know how else the sponsors can benefit you? Well, they can set up giveaways and virtual after-parties for your attendees to be highly engaged to your conference. Moreover, they have the power to pair a celebrity or famous spokesperson to your event. Nevertheless, most importantly, choose a credible platform that attracts strong sponsors from all around.

Record Data and Analytics

How did you plan on measuring the success of your event? We have many ideas for you to keep track of event success from the start till the end. Keeping track of the analytics and data of the event is highly important. Mark session attendance, engagement amongst attendees or the event, and keep track of leads to analyze the performance of your virtual conference. Survey results also offer an insight into the success of your event. Focus on all the essential analytics to ensure the success of your event.

Conclusion

Businesses are smart enough to be convinced of the importance of practices mentioned above when hosting a virtual conference. Who does not want to maximize audience reach with an online presence? Most companies have partnered with virtual events platforms to host events online from safe spaces without the need to travel to places. They easily schedule events, plan them, choose intelligent networking, market the event, and pair with sponsors to achieve high ROIs. We do not blame the digital world for taking over businesses. Let us host virtual conferences with best practices to achieve success.