14 Tips For Running A Successful Virtual Conference
“Whew! It will take real planning to organize this kind of chaos!!”
That was the first thought that came to my mind when we decided to host a virtual event.
In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, virtual events have become the norm. Both virtual and in-person events, however, require thorough preparation.
After successfully planning and executing a virtual event (A4Fshowcase 2020) with over 600 guests, we decided to share some tips on how to make your next virtual event a success.
Pre-event Planning
The planning phase is where most of the work happens and here are some tips to take into consideration during the pre-planning phase.
Tip 1: Create a game plan for your event
Failing to plan is planning to fail. This is especially true in planning a virtual event. Your event should have a strategy, key goals, and concepts that will bring your event to life.
Understand your target audience and create a plan that will work.
Remember, the earlier you start planning, the better!
Tip 2: Choose and set up your platform:
Thanks to technological advancements, there are a host of online event platforms with different specifications to accommodate the needs of every event. When picking a platform, however, here are some of the key attributes you should look out for:
- User-friendliness
- Cost effective
- Platform’s interface
- Convenience and accessibility
- Ease of navigation to give your guests the best experience
- Support team of the platform
- Ease of engagement on the platform
When we were planning A4Fshowcase2020 we researched a number of platforms and the most relevant ones we found include Crowdcast, Airmeet, Communique Conferencing, Engazez, Hopin, Pathable, 6connex.
The #A4Fshowcase2020 event was focused on unveiling 10 African companies solving problems in agriculture and infrastructure with remote sensing technology. In order to effectively showcase these exciting solutions, we needed a platform with an easy to set up an exhibition booth, video capability, and a simple chat feature. Of all the platforms we researched, Hopin had the best exhibition booth and it was very easy to set up and run.
Note: All the platforms mentioned are great for virtual events, however the platform you choose to host your event must be the one that checks the most boxes on your platform suitability check-list.
Tip 3: Content Creation
Content isn’t King, it’s the Kingdom. Having this in mind, the content you create for your event should be clear, concise, and compelling. These are examples of various content pieces that you might need for your event:
- Content to promote your event
This content category focuses on how to effectively communicate your event’s core message and goal to your target audience. This can include a social media kit, design banner content, event brochure, personalized designs, and any other content unique to your event.
Below are examples of some of the content we created to promote #A4Fshowcase2020:
- Event guides
Event guides are documents that help your guests understand and easily navigate the event platform for an optimal experience.
See below navigation guides we created for #A4Fshowcase2020 for inspiration:
Pro-tip: Hold a 2–3-hour sprint during the planning phase of your event with colleagues across multiple teams (communications included) to co-create content concepts, social media copy design copies, etc. This radically reduces the time required to create content.
Tip 4: Event marketing
Event marketing will help reach out to your target audience and create awareness about your event.
Here are some ideas for marketing your event:
- Invite the target audience that you have in your database and network.
- Send emails to relevant channels and partners to share the word with their communities.
- Create a social media kit that partners and event sponsors can use to invite people to the event. This kit typically includes design banners, social media content, emails, etc.
- Share an exciting blogpost with members of the press.
- Use other promotion channels such as; Social media (Ads and Sponsored posts), Email marketing, Blogs. etc.
Using these approaches, over 1,300 people indicated an interest in attending #A4Fshowcase2020.
Tip 5: Create a guest list
Create a list of everyone who has registered for the event then send event details (date, venue, event link, & attendee navigation guide) and a calendar invite to remind shortlisted guests of the event.
Pro Tip: Send reminder email(s) to guests about the event. For#A4Fshowcase2020, we sent reminder emails 1 week to the event, 3 days to the event, and on the event day.
Tip 6: Platform Demo(s):
There is no such thing as over-testing! Test, re-test, even when you feel confident in the previous tests, run some more tests! Ensure to schedule several demo sessions on the platform for the key people participating in the event. To also preempt technical issues, prepare backups of visuals and presentations, and run tests on the same devices that will be used on the event day.
Remember that not all of your guests are tech-savvy, so share the platform navigation guide with guests before the event and have a designated team member available to assist guests with technical issues.
For #A4Fshowcase2020, we had demo sessions with: the startups showcasing, the panelists, our partners, and our team members.
IMPORTANT!!: Do not overlook any minor technical issue
Event Day
Now that you’ve spent weeks preparing for the event and you have people signed up, the event day arrives and you want to make sure your audience stays engaged and gets value from the event. Here are a couple of tips you can use to hold a top-notch event:
Tip 1: Interact with your audience
When you create opportunities for engagement, your audience will be more attentive. Encourage attendees to share event experience on social media (with the event hashtag), participate in polls or quizzes, and ask questions in the event chatbox. Chances are that the people who ask questions are going to stick around to see if they get answered.
Remember: Make sure to have a chat administrator assigned to the task of fielding questions.
Tip 2: Use lively speakers & moderators
If you want your attendees to stay connected, you need exciting hosts and speakers/panelists. Your audience will get the most of your event if the speaker is passionate about the topic of discussion, has an excellent command of the theme, and is excited about chatting with the audience.
At #A4Fshowcase2020, our expert panelists, Ndidi Nwuneli (Managing Partner, Sahel Consulting) and Marcus Miller (Data Science Lead, UP42), led a very interactive and enlightening session on ‘The Role Of New Technologies In Unlocking Business Opportunities Across Multiple Sectors’, a topic which aligned with the theme of our event. The conversation touched on key areas such as the increased effectiveness of precision agriculture, the opportunities Agtech companies can help uncover in Africa, and the increased relevance of remote sensing technology made possible by companies like UP42.
You can watch a video recording of the panel session here.
Tip 3: Schedule time for networking
Virtual networking and engagement allow guests to establish new connections and have one-on-one discussions with the organizers, partners, sponsors, and other attendees.
#A4FShowcase2020 had allocated time before the event, a short break during the event, and time after the event for networking. At the end of the event, over 230 contacts (quite similar to the way business cards are shared during physical events) were exchanged during these networking sessions.
Tip 4: Schedule time for recess
Keep in mind that your attendees could get bored if there’s an overload of information. You should schedule a couple of minutes for recess to allow guests to relax and get ready for other activities ongoing online.
Tip 5: Use sponsor and exhibition booths
Virtual events make it easy for attendees to interact with, sponsors, exhibitors, and organizers in the exhibition booth, if relevant for your event. We found this very useful during #A4Fshowcase2020 and the exhibition booth feature on Hopin supports videos, live chat & product demos.
After the Event
“Congratulations and BRAVO!!!” on hosting a successful virtual event! After all that hard work feel free to do a celebratory dance.
Here are some of the most important post-event activities to keep you connected with your audience and receive the information you need to improve future events.
Tip 1: Share event recording
Always record presentations given by speakers to share with event attendees and those who don’t make it. This way, they can always refer back to segments they missed or revisit learnings from the sessions.
Tip 2: Post-event email
Send out an email to thank attendees, speakers, moderators, and share event resources alongside the email.
Tip 3: Measure the performance of your virtual event
Get the analytics and information on how your attendees and presenters interacted during the sessions. Collate and go through the guest responses from the feedback form and event polls to identify areas that made the highest impact and those you can improve upon for your next event.
Bonus Tip: A good virtual event software will generate event analytics
Conclusion
Virtual events give you the opportunity to go beyond physical interactions and reach more people who might not typically attend your physical events. The Africa4Future showcase was our first ever fully virtual event and it was a success, with the highest number of attendees for all of our showcases.
The virtual nature of the event provided a more accurate way of understanding our audience’s profiles, their concerns, and provided us with insights we will use to improve the experience at future events.
Cheers to the many more virtual events! Like they say, “It’s only up from here”.
