Even though virtual events are set to become the new normal, not many organizations have experience with this paradigm. And that will lead to a few mishaps that could break the virtual event experience for everyone involved.
But that’s exactly why we wanted to put this list together! We want to help you plan and strategize the best virtual events. This will help define how you can be mindful of these mistakes and avoid them from the get-go. Join us in this quest to learn more about what not to do!
1. Not being aware of your attendees’ needs
Virtual event attendees often face the same technical issues that are common. They cannot log in, they cannot access their microphone or camera, or they cannot figure out how to join a meeting. These kinds of issues can be avoided by communicating clearly what your attendees need to do to join your virtual event. Make use of your event landing page and event emails.
Make sure your presentations and your promotional content are compatible with most devices and are easy for your attendees to open and look at. It is also important to provide your attendees with ways to contact your team during the event in case of technical needs. Add the event email address, a phone number, or a chat messaging platform.
2. Not having a solid marketing plan
There are a few stages to a successful virtual event. The first and one of the most important stages is the pre-launch. It’s the week or two leading up to the event where you put the effort into your marketing tactics and drum up excitement and interest.
Make sure your virtual event promotion is heavily content-driven. Content can be anything, videos, images, infographics, blog posts, landing pages, and many more. Ramp up your social media channels and use email marketing to reach out to your potential attendees. The more diverse the selection of marketing vehicles used, the better the chances of increasing your event attendance.
3. Lacking interactivity
Keeping everyone engaged during your virtual event is one of the main factors that decide the success of your online event. No one wants to look at dense presentation slides for hours on end — that’s a one-way ticket to Boredom town. As a thumb rule, keep your sessions short and interesting. Focus on providing educational yet immersive content with enough balance between words, videos, and activities.
Host a webinar where attendees can participate in live chats and Q&A. You can also facilitate group or private networking sessions. Easy contact swapping based on consent, custom contact lists, text, and video chat help attendees make the most of your virtual event. Another great engagement trick is gamification. Use games such as Treasure Hunts or Scavenger Hunts to spice things up and amplify engagement.
4. Not tracking the attendee journey
It is important to track performance in real-time with reports that show you attendance rates and participation. You would want to know detailed demographics about your audience, which sessions and topics were most engaging, the number of times a file is downloaded, how long attendees spent with exhibitors, which sponsor ads were more effective and much more.
Analyzing the attendee journey and engagement will give you such a goldmine of information to measure event success and ROI. Make sure your virtual event platform provider offers a comprehensive report system and tracking tools that help you monitor everything best.
5. Not choosing the right virtual event platform
To find the right platform to host your virtual event, you must match up your each and every requirement with features of the available platforms. Make sure the platform you choose provides a range of immersive features that helps you reach your goals.
As virtual events are new to many event organizers, it’s good to prefer a one-stop-shop virtual event solution provider that is geared specifically to meet your unique virtual event needs.
6. Forgetting to do a follow-up
This is certainly a big mistake that one must avoid. Send a thank-you email and a follow-up survey to find out what they enjoyed at the event and which part of it needs improvement. Additionally, you can upload event recordings to various social media channels to keep the conversation going.
Learn more about Silversea Media’s all-in-one virtual event solution here.
