5 tips for a successful virtual event

COVID 19 has affected our day to day life in many ways, including the way we meet and interact with one another. Virtual event platforms have grown market share around the world, while meeting in person is still on hold. Although these platforms have a tremendous amount of upside, some argue that connecting through these tools hasn't generated the same interest level due to a variety of factors. Below are five useful tips that will enhance your virtual event.  

1)Know your concept.
Pre-planning and theme generation are essential to keep attendees engaged. Create unique experiences that can keep audiences at their computer but also creating that fun environment. For instance, it can be a cooking event and you can invite folks to participate from their kitchen!


2) Know your audience
Audience satisfaction is the key to any event. Look at previous surveys and historical data to understand your participants needs and wants. Other ways to better understand your audience are pre-event surveys and questionnaires. 

3) Gamification is key
Remote audiences can be distracted easily. Getting sponsors, exhibitors and participants to utilize the tools to stay engaged with the content and with one another! 
 
4) Break up the content 
Gone are the days of 1 hour blocks of content. Chunk out your material into shorter, more digestible bites. Consider opting for audio only content to give folks a break from the presentation slides? Offer short quizzes or breakouts to discuss content to keep people engaged. 

5) Don't underestimate tech support
Just because we are in a virtual environment doesn't mean that you can compromise your event flow. In this setting more than ever you should be engaging the right IT and tech support - don't try and go it alone! 

Virtual events are here to stay! Understanding how we can merge both virtual and in-person will be an interesting test for the next 6-12 months, I am looking forward to the ride!