Estás planeando un evento virtual. ¿Cómo puedes hacer que sea un éxito?

Goals: - Educational Objectives - Entertainment Goals - Inspiration Objectives Format: Live, Recorded, or Hybrid Session Structure: Single Session or Multiple Sessions Decide on the length of the sessions and platform selection Develop interactivity

The key to a successful virtual event is to be clear about what you want to achieve and pick a format that matches those goals. Being live, recorded or hybrid event, take a systematic and careful approach in your planning to ensure that every part of your virtual event works together smoothly, making it a great experience for everyone involved.

Do not assume that it's going to be less work! Virtual events come with their own set of "fine detailing" that make the whole experience professional and pleasant.

Agreeing with many other professionals who have responded to this question another aspect is you have to make it interesting. More than great expertise and content, make it visually appealing. Dynamic speakers, interesting settings, and strong interaction. Make it memorable, offer downloads, and reward interaction. Also make their experience customizable where it’s easy to find topics they want to learn more about and create a unique experience for each individual participant. Another clever and effective method is to RSVP far in advance and deliver something in person or by email that reminds them of the event, allows their mind to prepare for it, and builds connection before, during and after.

Engage your participants with interactive elements like polls, Q&A sessions, and breakout rooms to keep them involved and connected. Ensure a seamless technical setup with reliable platform / software and provide clear instructions for participants to access the event and content to minimise any potential technical difficulties.

In my experience, it’s all about identifying your goals first and then mapping out the communication , marketing and integrations and budget. Some platforms these days are thousands. At the end of the day you need to consider the attendee experience and get a platform that provides the number one most important aspect of what you need to deliver for an impactful event with your partners/sponsors in mind.

The market is full of interesting event platforms. Their price range is very wide, so before you commit to a given tool, it is worth checking what is available and how you can use it to achieve your goals. You may not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a platform that, for example, offers games for participants or the ability to video chat between attendees. Also remember that the more advanced the platform, the more likely it is that participants may have problems navigating it. My advice - the simpler the better!

A great way to engage your audience is by using a virtual event tool such as Gather. You attendees can create their own avatars and can interact with the speakers and each other in an interesting and exciting way. You can create a larger event with multiple rooms and booths, or a simpler event for a panel or keynote.

Selecting the appropriate event planning software is essential for facilitating seamless organization and execution of your virtual event. Look for platforms that offer features such as registration management, virtual attendee engagement tools, live streaming capabilities, and post-event analytics. Evaluate different options based on your specific needs and budget to find the best fit for your event.

Die Auswahl der richtigen Event(planungs)software ist entscheidend für einen reibungslosen Ablauf der virtuellen Veranstaltung. Sucht nach Tools, die Funktionen wie Anmeldeverwaltung, Double Opt-in Prozesse für den EU Markt, Teilnehmendenkommunikation und Analysetools bieten. Achtet darauf, dass die Software benutzerfreundlich ist und gut zu den Bedürfnissen der Veranstaltung passt. Ein Merkmal kann zum Beispiel sein, ob das virtuell Event für die Teilnehmenden interaktiv gestaltet werden soll und in welchem Ausmaß.

Gently encourage participation but not in a way that puts a spotlight on individuals and forces them to join in, you wouldn’t do this at a real event so there’s no need to do it virtually. To pull of a successful virtual event is to embrace that it is virtual, and people are attending from the comfort of their own homes so let them feel comfortable. Focus on the engagement and entertainment factor more than anything, as if the content is engaging and inspiring enough, the guests will participate willingly without encouragement.

One of the best ways to facilitate and host virtual events is to ensure that you set the stage/tone of the event, present the material in an engaging way, and allow time at the end for the audience to provide feedback, insights, and questions. Something that has always stood out to me about adult learning theory is the idea that repeating and circling back to pertinent information can go a long way in retention.... in a virtual setting, I always try to lean into that! This is accomplished by starting off with ice breakers, making the objective of the virtual event clear, and then emphasizing that point towards the end.

Some things to keep in mind while creating virtual events agenda: 1. Session length - 20 minutes sessions are best. If you are planning a longer panel, remember to engage the participants, e.g. by giving them the opportunity to ask questions. 2. Breaks between sessions - breaks are very important! If we do not provide participants with the opportunity to stretch their legs and grab something to drink, they simply turn off our event and do not come back to watch the remaining sessions. 3. Attractive design - put in the effort to create beautiful and minimalistic presentation slides - there is nothing worse than long presentations full of text that is very difficult to read on a small screen, without the possibility of enlarging it!

My top tip for successful virtual events is to introduce collaboartion. For several of my past virtual events, we used collaborative tools like Miro, Google Docs, and Canva to brainstorm ideas and develop content sessions based on this. When it comes to Q&A, audiences stay more engaged if their questions are addressed and not left waiting until the Q&A time when there's no time left. Also, I believe there should be flexibility in the session duration. If it goes overtime, it adds more value to attendees and can be rewatched on demand. And a lot of experimentation!

Craft an engaging virtual event with a diverse agenda and content, incorporating gamification for heightened participation. Utilize quizzes, virtual badges, and leaderboards to foster a sense of community and competition, encouraging active involvement. Embrace innovative technologies like AR or VR for immersive experiences that break the monotony. Employ varied formats—video, audio, slides, polls, quizzes, and chat—to cater to diverse preferences. Keep sessions short, concise, and interactive, featuring keynotes, panels, workshops, Q&A, and networking opportunities. This ensures your event is not only valuable and relevant but also captivating and memorable for attendees dealing with distractions in their home or work environments.

The strategic use of email campaigns can make all the difference in creating a memorable event. By initiating a email campaign six weeks before the event, it's a great way to build anticipation. Weekly emails can offer sneak peeks of event themes, highlight keynote speakers, and share articles written by featured presenters, fostering a buzz that keeps the event top-of-mind without annoying the attendee with constant reminders

Really know your hashtags. A mile-high stack of general tags won't get you much, but five intentionally selected ones will. Use your knowledge of your audience as well as the benefits of your programming to target who you want to see at your event. Follow up on any posts where mentions your event, especially if you're tagged. Build relationships with the influencers in your industry and collaborate with them.

Something as simple as a teaser video can really bring your event and advertising to life. Helps to connect people to you personally and/or the content making them more inclined to sign up

Es muy importante tener planificada la difusión del evento con bastante anterioridad, y diversos canales. Es frecuente debido a la alta oferta de eventos que sea difícil llegar al objetivo de asistentes.

It is important to quickly engage someone’s interest and senses. This can be obtained by creating a striking visual image that represents a story accompanied with music that captures the audience and leaves them wanting more.

As the event planner, you will be juggling many responsibilities at this point. However, don't forget that every presenter will feel the pressure of being on stage. An unprepared speaker that is unfamiliar with how their presentation will look will not perform their best. While you are testing your technology and software, be sure to work with the people involved, too. A run of show is an invaluable document to prepare at this point. Only by pre-planning segments and transitions down to the minute will you know if your event is on schedule or not. The run of show will also help you prepare for various risks. What if a speaker's internet goes out right before they are scheduled to present? How can you react as the event organizer?

Thoroughly prepare all speakers, moderators, and technical staff involved in the event to ensure that everyone is familiar with their roles and responsibilities. Conduct rehearsals to iron out any technical issues, refine presentation delivery, and synchronize transitions between sessions. Anticipate potential challenges and have contingency plans in place to address them promptly during the event.

Vor dem Live-Event ist eine gründliche Vorbereitung unerlässlich. Testet die Eventplattform, überprüft die Technik und führt Proben durch, um sicherzustellen, dass alles reibungslos funktioniert. Dies hilft, unerwartete Probleme während des Live-Events zu vermeiden. Auch ein Dry-run mit allen Speakern und Moderatoren ist zu empfehlen. Dabei kann man sicherstellen, dass nicht nur der Ablauf klar ist, sondern auch, ob die Technik, wie Mikrophon, Ausleuchtung und Internetverbindung optimal eingestellt ist.

Always have people arrive early - even for a virtual event, you want a minimum of fifteen minutes to solve last-minute tech crises. If a slide show or similar content will be used, rehearse that during the pre-meeting time as well.

Hosting a sound check prior to the event is a great way to put your speakers at ease and to triple check that all systems are functioning the way they should. If you're using any tools or functionalities for the first time, give yourself an extra rehearsal a day or two before wherein you run through and polish any unfamiliar processes. While prepping, get in the practice of writing out a formal schedule of the event, plus fifteen minutes before and after. Assign roles and responsibilities, provide any extra materials speakers may need, and then distribute these materials to all parties.

Während der Veranstaltung ist es wichtig, verschiedene Metriken zu überwachen, einschließlich Teilnehmerinteraktion, Fragen und Feedback. Nach der Veranstaltung führt man eine gründliche Bewertung durch, um zu verstehen, was gut funktioniert hat und welche Bereiche verbessert werden können. Schließt die virtuelle Veranstaltung nicht einfach ab. Nutzt die Gelegenheit, um sich bei den Teilnehmenden zu bedanken, Feedback zu sammeln und potenzielle Follow-up-Aktivitäten zu planen. Die Nachbereitung ist genauso wichtig wie die eigentliche Veranstaltung. Nutzt diese Erkenntnisse für zukünftige Veranstaltungen.

A post-event survey is critical. We use Whova for all of our in-person events now and collect post-event evaluations through it, but also evaluations of individual conference sessions. This allows us as an organization to see what our attendees think of topics and speakers without having to go line by line in a post-conference survey.

I completely agree with this assessment. Keeping your KPIs and milestones on target are great building blocks for your future virtual events. With the return of in-person meetings in high demand, it’s necessary to get the most accurate ROI for virtual components of your event to make sure they are still needed and viable.

For educational events, asking questions (such as rating knowledge or confidence levels) during pre-event registration and sign-up, can help with having a baseline of data to compare with any post event surveys or end of session polls. Having that comparative data shows the direct impact of your event held in those topics.

Having these recorded could help you get ideas when you introspect. Our minds don't catch everything in one go, hence going through this a few times help!

One awesome thing we discovered during COVID, when having to shift to a virtual conference in 2021 was Snack Magic. The ability to have attendees be able to select their own snacks and have them shipped to their house was great. People STILL talk about this in 2024! They even allowed us to have our conference swag delivered to them and included it in each box for a nominal fee, allowing us to save time, effort, and money in shipping swag.

A SMART virtual event can be outlayed in 3 summarized steps: 1. Triple A (Assess, Accredit & Alternate): Assess everything (I.e. time, theme, venue, audience, resources, segments, teams etc.) for ultimate effectivity. Accredit personnels to the assessed segments/teams. Now, find at least 3 Alternatives to prevent mismanagements! This is the key to successful events. 2. Complete Layout: Put everything in a piece of paper/doc/note; Create Blueprints accordingly. You can forget anything, anytime, anywhere! 3. Cross Check, Execute and Feedback accordingly.

In addition to the above steps, consider factors such as accessibility and inclusivity, cybersecurity measures, post-event follow-up and engagement strategies, and ongoing content repurposing opportunities. Continuously iterate and improve your virtual event planning process based on lessons learned and evolving industry best practices to maximize future success.

In the realm of virtual events, success isn't just about logistics; it's about creating an engaging experience that connects with participants online. While virtual platforms offer room for creativity, they also pose challenges in fostering real human connections. Yet, with strategic planning and thoughtful engagement, virtual events can bridge physical gaps and ignite meaningful interactions. As we navigate this digital landscape, it's crucial to see virtual events as more than just technical productions; they're opportunities to inspire, educate, and build community in our digital age.

To set your speakers apart from the general event attendees, create specialty/branded backgrounds for them. We created ours by session. So each panelist speaking on the same session/topic had the same specialty/branded background. That way as they participated in other virtual sessions, it was clear of their connection/participation with the virtual event. TIP. Be sure to test the backgrounds with each panelist. Different computers or phones, organizational firewalls, or personal settings may impact the background’s visibility. Some may even have to be created backwards so they show forwards to the audience. Good luck with your event!