Virtual events have many advantages, and the first and most important are the significantly lower costs of the organization. However, this does not mean that you will spend less time and energy on organizing an online event. Online events always lack the “human factor” of socializing, so when designing, don’t forget to include fun joint activities and ensure interaction between participants. For example, you can organize a prize game, a quiz or a short music program, and we definitely advise you to allow participants to comment and ask questions during the online event.
- Define the topic, content, title, place and time
- Arrange lecturers if the event is a conference type
- Define whether participation is paid or free
- Create a registration form for online applications
- If participation is paid, define the payment method (PayPal e.g.)
Promotion
While you won’t physically see them, you certainly want a large number of attendees at your online event as well. Invest in the promotion so that not only your users hear about it, but also all those who may be interested in the topic.
- Create a web page or subpage on an existing one. It should include the program of the event, information about the lecturers, the registration form and the salary conditions (if any).
- Announce online event media that follow “your” topic. Invite media representatives to “participate”.
- Consider investing in a sponsored media article read by your potential participants. A sponsored article is a great format to present your online event in the best light and highlight all the important facts.
- Send an e-mail invitation if you have a database of existing users and send them a personal invitation. We all love when someone addresses us directly.
- Promote your online event on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn). When creating posts, take into account the “legality” of each social network – for example, with posts on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, be sure to put a hashtag of your event and other related hashtags to make it easier for users to find. An example of how we created hashtags for WinDays Virtual online programming day can be viewed here.
- Encourage lecturers to announce their participation on their social networks and motivate potential participants to join.
Technical requirements
- Choose a platform that will support your online event. Test it and see if it fits what you need in all segments. For example, we had a great experience with Microsoft Teams Live Events that have the ability to record, and the recording is available to participants immediately after the event.
- Make a dress rehearsal – involve all lecturers and participants in the program to make sure everyone knows what they are doing at what point so that everything runs smoothly during the online event.
- Ensure a quality Wi-Fi network. You don’t want your online event to be a fiasco for a banal reason like a bad Wi-Fi signal.
Participant feedback
- Create a survey for participants and share the link at the end of the online event.
- Be sure to share the link to the survey on your social networks to give followers the opportunity to give their comments.
- Consider the comments, compliments and criticisms of the participants when planning your next event – in addition to improving its quality, they will be glad to see that their opinion is important to you.
If you are new to the world of online events, we are here to help you with our experience and knowledge, which is best confirmed by the nearly 2,000 participants at the last online event we worked on. Mozaik Event Center offers you the service of organizing an online event – find out more.
