Attending a virtual wedding or an online webinar? What did you think of the experience? While attending or hosting a virtual event can be a tough nut to crack at first, but the surge of digital platforms has certainly left us spoilt for choice of mediums and technologies. With social media reigning in our lives, nothing seems impossible anymore!
Going virtual is the order of the day. Though not a new concept, virtual events are a rage, especially now, when the pandemic has coerced companies, businesses, and people to adopt ‘online’ as their medium. Thanks to the social media and tech upgrades, some of the world’s largest conferences have been conducted online. So much so that even virtual tours and weddings have been accepted and attended graciously.
We know attending a virtual event may not garner real-time reactions and the razzle-dazzle, but moving social, corporate, and private events to online platforms does has resulted in reducing costs considerably apart from eliminating carbon footprints and making them available to a larger set of audience.
If your business wants to ride the virtual back too, here are some superlative tips and practices to follow :
Who Is Attending Your Virtual Event?
The success of a virtual event is entirely dependent on the viewership it garners. So, knowing who is going to be attending the event becomes of paramount importance. Starting from the age group, gender specification and the general interest of the audience targeted, to whether they are tech-savvy enough to participate in the event, are key to make your virtual event a rage.
How Does Your Event Stand Out?
What is it that your event brings that stands apart from the rest? How can you take the interest of the audience a few notches higher? The answer is - defining a format. For example, using a virtual background relevant to the event or the conference helps create a first impression. Creating a personalized storyboard taking the viewers through a journey is another way to make the virtual experience more relatable.
Which Platform Are You Choosing?
With a multitude of OTT platforms to choose from- such as Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, your event must stream on one that holds your kind of audience. Most of these platforms extend pretty much similar features for live streaming, tagging, and hashtags, so pick one that you’re more familiar with.
When Are You Hosting The Event?
Sounds simple right? But this is one of the most important considerations to make while planning the event. A little time through thorough research will do the trick. Usually, most virtual events are planned for the weekend evenings as they tend to pull more viewers. But making sure your event doesn’t clash with other major events on the platform, can eliminate the risk of putting the audience in a dilemma. Choose a date and time
Have You Thought Out Your Marketing Gimmicks?
Promoting a virtual event can take twice as much effort as a physical event, but ends up costing half as much and way wider an audience. So whether, a physical event or a virtual one, promoting over social media is the way to go. Facebook and Instagram offer stories options, Twitter brings considerable viewership, but if you want your event to hold the spotlight, you must market it in a way that excites and creates curiosity. You are welcome to go all out with frequent videos of the event location, backstage bytes, bytes from the organizers connecting directly with the viewers. Contests and questions asking people to guess the topic or the guest is also a good way to harness their participation. Lastly, tags and hashtags work better than you think. So bring them on!
How Can You Reach Out To A Wider, Larger Audience?
When you post on Facebook or Instagram, do you go back and monitor at regular intervals the number of likes and comments? Of course, you do! Virtual events are no different. Monitoring live comments also allows you to connect with the live audience and communicate with them in real-time. Most OTT platforms give the option to boost posts which guarantees a sure shot wider reach and engagement.
How Did It Go?
Tricky, but important. How did your event do? Did people find it interesting? Was the sound, video clear enough? If you are hosting your first event, there are bound to be loose ends. But don’t get discouraged. It is also a learning ground. Feedback is optional but extremely vital to bringing credibility to your business or brand, knowing what your audience needs, and helping you do better the next time. Take the criticism just as sportingly as the accolades.