Virtual event planning might seem like a tough job, but it doesn’t have to be! This ultimate virtual event planning checklist will walk you through the entire process of creating and executing an effective virtual event from start to finish. Be sure to check back next week when we share our favorite tools and software solutions for virtual event planning in a new article on our blog! Until then, stay tuned to our social media channels to get weekly updates from us!
Consider the below questions to create the base for your next virtual event!
1) What is the purpose of your event?
You have to know what you want your event to accomplish. Is it to sell a product? Educate your audience? Just get people in a room together? Whatever your goal, write it down and keep it in front of mind throughout the planning. How many virtual event participants do you want?: For most businesses, 200 is a good number for an initial virtual event. If you’re trying to build a broader community, you might go up to 500 or more. But if yours is a small business, 100 participants might be best for you.
2) Who will attend your event?
Ideally, you’ll have a list of attendees who are already genuinely interested in your topic or speakers before you start setting up. You should ask for their emails in advance so that you can pre-register them for your event. Registration will be much easier when participants have registered ahead of time. If an attendee registers at least 24 hours prior to your event, send them a welcome email with additional information about your event and links to any other materials they may find useful. Also, if someone is registered but doesn’t attend, send them a follow-up email asking why they didn’t come. The virtual world is very different from attending an in-person conference where logistics are simpler—people tend to forget registration deadlines or completely ignore RSVPs.
3) When is your virtual event being held?
The date and time of your virtual event will play a major role in how you can structure your event. If you want to schedule it outside of working hours, you’ll need to check what days and times work best for your target audience and if they’re available.
4) What are you trying to accomplish?
The main goal of your event should be to attract an audience that wants to attend. To create a demand for your event, you must give people a reason to show up. You can do that by sharing valuable information that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. If you succeed in getting attendees interested in your content, then it’s likely they will come back for more and share it with their friends and colleagues.
5) How do you stand out from all other events?
To ensure your virtual event is successful, you need to stand out. This checklist will help you plan for all possible factors so that your event stands out among others in its field. When it comes to virtual events, there are several factors that set them apart from traditional face-to-face ones. These days, people are doing more than just attending virtual events—they’re live streaming them on social media.
Virtual Event Planning Checklist
Consider these questions for your next virtual event:
- What are your goals?
- What type of content will you deliver?
- Where will you host it?
- Who is invited to attend?
- How many people will be at your event?
Known your audience
Are they co-workers, employees, or customers? Start from there and build a checklist that guides you from inception to execution.
Focus on delivering a quality event
Focus on details like audiovisual equipment (beyond what you’ll use), moderation policies, branding guidelines, social sharing tools, staffing needs (both local and remote) etc.
Think about what can go wrong
As you prepare your list, make sure to anticipate possible issues, like audio or video glitches. What will you do if a live stream fails? Will someone be available to troubleshoot and ensure that there is no downtime? Will you maintain a backup plan in case something goes wrong? Even better – try and test out some of these services before an event so that there are no surprises on conference day. That way, anything that does go wrong won’t negatively impact attendees’ experience (and by extension, their engagement). Keep in mind; not every mistake will be avoidable, but it’s always nice to know exactly how things should work. Preparation helps create a seamless experience for those at home and those speaking on stage.
Inform your audience
Well-informed attendees are usually better-behaved attendees. They’re also more likely to engage with one another, stay attentive to speakers and have a good time. Be sure to provide detailed descriptions of all of your event rules so that people are clear on their responsibilities. An open line of communication between you and your attendees is also key – share information about changes in location or schedule as they occur, so that no one feels lost or confused.
Send Reminders
One of the biggest benefits of hosting an event virtually is that you can build in reminders so attendees don’t forget about it.
RSVP your attendees
Encourage your audience to RSVP to your event, and include important details like venue address, parking information and more. You should also use these opportunities to send surveys asking for feedback on speakers or topics, ask them what they liked best about an event, if there was anything they didn’t like etc. They are virtual events after all – just because people aren’t physically there doesn’t mean that you can’t engage with them!
Keep Backup
Other things to consider? Having a backup option in case of technical difficulties might be a good idea if possible.
All of these things will help to ensure that your virtual event is a success. It’s worth planning ahead so that you know what to expect and can avoid some of these issues before they arise.
Choose an interactive virtual event platform
Always make sure to choose a virtual event platform that makes your virtual event experience engaging and interactive for your attendees.
Conclusion
Virtual events can be a great way to connect with remote employees, customers or partners in an interactive way – but there are pitfalls if you don’t do it well. Practice makes perfect, right? Good luck!