One thing the Coronavirus outbreak has confirmed in my mind is that flexibility is the most critical factor to success. Without the time to plan, businesses across the globe were forced to pivot away from tried and tested strategies to try something new and different.click here
This has resulted in the rapid growth of online shopping (check out our series of three parts on eCommerce: An Guide To Getting Online, which includes part one that focuses on business strategies, and the second part focusing on technologies) and the increase in virtual happy-hours, online meetings as well as in-home training.
When attempting to convert an in-person event into an online event, the first thing to understand is that not every event will go through a smooth 1-to-1 transition. Certain things the virtual event you are planning will not be able to replicate. However, as Ben Franklin said, “By not being prepared for failure, you’re preparing to fall,” so it’s essential to prepare yourself for those things you can manage.
Two sticky notes, and failure to prepare on one, be prepared to fail on the second.
Engaging your Attendees before, During, and Following Your Event Online.If you are planning your event on the internet, You must be prepared to engage your attendees throughout the event. This means creating content and communicating to your audience before, during, and following the event.
Because the kind of engagement you engage in will depend on the stage you’re within the course of the engagement; we’ve compiled a few examples of the types of engagement options available to you:
Engagement Opportunities before your Event
Event Creation: This is the point where the rubber meets the road. This is where you’ll define the structure of your event.
What’s the event’s theme and who will be your speakers, and why should they be heard from them?
Before you do any other thing, those are the questions you’re going to have to address before you can begin making arrangements to create content.
Promotional Content: As web-based marketers are, these are the most enjoyable things you can design to inform the public about your occasion. It could be:
posts on social media to encourage registration,
- Send out promotional emails in your databases (and do not forget to create scheduled confirmation emails and follow-up emails for non-opens or reminder emails before the event and so on. ),
- event landing pages,
- promotional videos featuring your speakers,
- mini-event trailers you can make use of via social media, for example.
- The sky is the limit regarding promotional materials, and the kind of content you create will depend on your creativity. When you are ready to start distributing the information to your target audience, Here are some suggestions to consider:
Promote on Tuesdays (22 percent of registrations take place during Tuesdays);
Promote in the early morning (most registrations take place between 8 and 11 am);
Make sure to promote your event at least 4 to 6 weeks before your event.
The email method is still the best method of registering for online events;
Be sure to advertise events on your site (preferably, the landing page has the Registration form);
Join forces with another business (possibly one that is aligned with your event’s speakers) to increase the reach of your event as much as you can.
Make Your Event Customized: for web-based events, it’s most likely to use a conferencing software such as GoToWebinar (the most used communication tool for WSI Consultants across the globe!) or Zoom. They let you create websites for your event registration on the internet that you can later modify with your company’s colors. If you can, you should:
- The eye will be drawn to the design and employ contrast yet complementary colors;
- Create custom registration questions;
- Make sure you keep everything necessary for your event at the top of the list;
- Create your call to action (CTAs) to be noticed;
- Make sure that your registration page is optimized for mobile devices.
- Pro tip: Websites like Canva and Creatopy can help you design stunning social media banners and images. Promo.com is an excellent resource for making professional videos.
- Engagement Opportunities During Your Event
You’ve worked hard marketing your event, and the crowd has turned up. Now is the time to ease the nerves and begin. What can you do to ensure that your audience is engaged throughout the presentation and keep them engaged?
Utilize webcams.
The social element cannot be overstated. People are eager to hear from and engage with people. Sitting your attendees at home and watching the PowerPoint presentation but not being capable of connecting with the presenter is cruel and unnatural.
The event you are hosting will suffer for it! Make sure that your speakers are prepared to present their cameras to the crowd (check out these tips to optimize your webcam here!)
Ask Questions at Scheduled Intervals Make this a plan in advance with your event co-organizers and practice transitioning from the event to the questions! Ben Franklin – “by failing to plan, you are prepared for failure”!
Pro tip: Make questions that you can answer ahead of time for the eventuality that you have to entice your audience with questions to get them started.
Use polls: As with the previous example, make sure you plan the polls with your event’s co-organizers, but you must think about the questions you would like to ask your guests.
Ask ice-breakers, for example, “Are you a dog or cat person?” Or “What Netflix show are you currently watching? “;
Use information-gathering questions, such as “How have your lead generation efforts changed during COVID-19? “;
Utilize future-planning questions like “What do you want our future events to concentrate on?” or “What’s an area you’d like to know more about? “.
It is essential to practice what you’ll be doing when the poll is running (since you’ll only wait for the answers to arrive). Prepare your comments on the most popular responses.
Pro Tip: Don’t make a poll that you’re not sure you’re ready to share your response!
Utilize Videos: When used correctly, videos are the perfect way to allow you a short break during an event or to get your audience involved more. Videos can help you reach the level of perfection that is impossible to achieve in a live setting. So, make sure to utilize the power of videos!
Engagement Opportunities After Your Online Event
After a successful online event, leveraging tools like social media automation can amplify your outreach efforts. Automating post-event follow-ups, scheduling content distribution across platforms, and analyzing engagement metrics can streamline your marketing efforts.
Utilize Your Event Recording This is a fantastic recording (with potential hours of information) that you can use. Include the video in the follow-up emails you send out following your event. Also, share the video on your event’s post-event landing page. Be sure to collect contact information from those who have viewed your video, as these are potential leads!
TIP: Make sure that you personalize the event’s email to accommodate non-attendees and attendees – the messages will be different for each.Review the post-event analytics Review Post-Event Analytics: It’s essential to conduct a debrief of the event and look back at what went well and what didn’t during your event.
The analytics of the GoToWebinar and your Zoom dashboard will reveal the number of attendees and how long they were there at the event, what they asked, and a lot more. Make sure to go through the information and note down what you learned and the areas you could improve upon for the next time.
Pro tip: Make use of your audience’s questions from your event as a means to keep in touch with participants and make future events or content.Make Use of Your Recordings to Create Evergreen Content Once your Event has ended, you must squeeze as much relevant information out of your recordings as possible. Beyond sharing the video in the database you have, you could make use of the video for:
Create blog posts that summarise the event. You may also request the speakers at your event to contribute their content on your site (or request them to post your blog article to their site! );
Make short videos on how-to from snippets of your main recordings;
Turn your webinar into a SlideShare;
Make quotes, stats, and essential takeaways into posts on social media to share across all your social networks.
And one last thing Tips for looking and sounding Great on the camera
The internet is full of webcam videos that are dull or distracting and plain embarrassing. If you’re thinking of taking the leap of faith and taking events online, you’ll need to use your webcam. We’ve put together the webcam-related rules and guidelines that you need to remember for your next event or conference:
Bring your camera up to your eye level and maintain eye contact (but don’t look at the screen! This can be as offensive as looking away to the side while talking.)If you’re concerned about webcam issues, make sure you have your webcam controls in your hand throughout your presentation so that you can end up sharing at any point.
Transferring Your Event Online Checklist
Make sure that you’re facing a soft light source, like windows.
If you have glasses, be sure you adjust your monitor’s brightness to minimize the reflection on your glasses and enhance the overall lighting.
Get rid of any unnecessary clutter in the background, and display your brand’s image.
Pick a location with excellent acoustics that is quiet enough for the duration of your event.
Do not rely on Wi-Fi. Ensure that you have a reliable internet connection to connect to the internet during your time. Make sure you have a backup (cell phone, tablet, laptop, or tablet) available, just in case.
Make sure you have the right microphone and headset. Nothing is better than putting hours and effort into an event and later finding that the audio isn’t great.It would help if you had another display (or more) to show your slides.
Avoid distractions and do not try to multitask—Focus 100% and be fully present at your event.
In conclusion: Plan Your Event with the same mindset as digital marketing.In the final analysis, regardless of whether you’re hosting it in person or via virtual, your event should give value to the people who attend.
A topic that is appealing with a solid plan and our checklist of suggestions for your next event online is bound to be a hit! Best of luck!
