Arsalan Khan
One of the biggest transitions event managers were faced with at the start of the pandemic was gearing up for a fully virtual conferencing year. By now, attending Zoom meetings having to do with work, school, or other organizations have become commonplace over the past few months.
Virtual conferencing tools have been around for a few years, but they’ve recently been picking up in demand. These tools are designed to emulate the physical conferencing experience as close as possible through an online setting. This includes the traditional networking, keynote speeches, and exhibitor booths.
When it comes to setting up a virtual conference from scratch, you might find that there are some key benefits involved with hosting an event online. From ticketing logistics to promoting the event, virtual conferencing may allow for a more streamlined process.
Experience-Based Tips for Managing a Productive Conference
It’s important to note that this is going to be more than just a webinar. A fully virtual conference is intended to reach a larger audience and provide added value to attendees. To effectively promote and run a virtual conference, there’s a few tips that I’d recommend incorporating:
1. Provide Meaningful Opportunities to Network
One of the main drawbacks to the virtual setting is the inability to have meaningful face-to-face interactions. A large part of traditional networking, and communication in general, relies upon these nonverbal cues to gauge a conversation. While it can be more difficult to conduct traditional networking virtually, conference organizers should plan for specific moments that’ll enable attendee interaction to be most beneficial. These moments can be at the end of a keynote speech, during one-to-one exhibitor booths, or in organized breakout rooms. Whatever the case, ensure that both presenters and attendees are prepared to take on these moments and conduct meaningful interactions.
2. Make Your Event Easily Marketable
While virtual event conferencing tools provide the medium through which attendees can engage with the event, event promotion tools allow for conference hosts to effectively spread the word and attract relevant audiences. When planning to market an event virtually, it’s important to make sure your attendees feel just as prepared to share it themselves. To do this, you should aim to provide prospective attendees with relevant information regarding the conference agenda, speakers, and planned activities. The more information you can supply to attendees, the better.
3. Leverage Sponsors
Working directly with sponsors allows attendees to be exposed to useful products and services while also allowing conference hosts to partner with relevant companies. Vendors primarily are looking for a conference with attendees that match their target audience. This means your audience should be well-fitted to the category of your event. The more specialized your audience can be towards your conference’s niche, the greater chance you have at securing the proper sponsors.
How to Plan The Speakers for Your Virtual Conference
For conference attendees to feel interested in what you’re offering, your virtual conference should be lined with a panel of relevant speakers and events. Getting the right speaker for your event can take some advanced planning. Many times, speakers are booked as far as two years prior to the event. However, there’s a lot less to account for when it comes to getting speakers to a virtual conference. Namely, reduced travel costs and distance requirements make it easier for speakers to attend.
When it comes to searching for the right speaker, you should have a clear idea of the objectives of your event. From there, start planning the logistics of bringing someone on:
- What’s the time frame for the speaker to present?
- What materials should they include?
- How can we effectively include speaker(s) as part of our marketing for the event?
- Are we looking for a keynote speaker or a more specialized breakout speaker to be with smaller groups?
To start finding a virtual speaker, begin with asking your audience who they’d prefer to hear. From there, start considering some of your existing partners and sponsors. The goal should be to focus on a speaker who’s knowledgeable within your event’s niche. You can start a search for podcast hosts in your industry, or even consider including some attendees to share their personal stories.
