As the COVID-19 continues to spread employees from different companies are working remotely, following recommended actions for preventing the spread of the disease such as social distancing, self-quarantine and flattening the curve.  Working remotely and trying to stay connected can be quite a challenge for companies. Thankfully, there are many platforms such as Centrallo, Easynote.io, Pintask, Trello and Asana to help your team achieve their goals even when they are not physically present.

Affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, almost every event and conference is being canceled or postponed. But there is still an alternative: going virtual. Event planners all around the world now have to learn new skills and adopt virtual experiences for their clients, in order to deliver impactful and engaging event experiences.

But how does it work? An event can be live, hybrid, or virtual.  Completely virtual events can be live or on-demand, it is important to understand and define what is right for your particular event. Hybrid events are a consolidation of having a real-life speaker in a venue with a virtual factor for online guests. Hybrid events are a great solution during the COVID-19pandemic, since companies can have one guest speaking at a time. These types of events have a wide-range of set-ups that can include a main stage, microphones, lighting, audio, video, and more.

Tips on launching virtual & hybrid events:

All about your attendees!

It is essential to understand who your attendees are and what are their capabilities. Will they know how to participate in a virtual event? Will they be able to follow through? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself. If access to that information is unavailable, you can always send out surveys to collect it.

When choosing the event date and time, it is crucial to take into consideration that virtual events do not have geographic boundaries. Knowing your target audience can help deciding an adequate date and time for the event.

Finally, audiences are more likely to have a positive experience when they are able to participate and engage in the event as a conversation. A good option is having sections with active chat room for comments, polls, Q&A, and more.

 

Who hosts the event?

Some companies decide to hire speakers, while others have one of their employees host the event. No matter what the option is, it is important for the person to speak clearly and feel confident speaking looking right into the camera at all times. Rehearsing before the event is key for virtual events!

Creative & Memorable Experiences!

Going live doesn’t just mean turning a camera on. Experiences created by physical and emotional connections are key to creating memorable events, but with a creative twist we can accept the change and create great experience that can still be meaningful. Live streaming high-quality events can bring a lot of value to a company and help create remarkable experiences, and virtual events can help a company meet their business objectives. Just like in real-life events, set-ups are a defining factor on creating memorable experiences, just because it is a virtual event, doesn’t mean we don’t need any branding. Hybrid events should include staging and/or set designs, and virtual events can need a highly creative graphic design team.

 

Choose the right platform!

Live streaming high-quality events can bring a lot of value to a company and help create a memorable experience. A platform that is not user-friendly can have the opposite effect, creating an adverse reaction. There are many virtual events platforms that provide the possibility of virtually connecting with your audience. Many companies lack the technology infrastructure structure so choosing a good platform is key to create a memorable experience. Popular ones include: INXPO, On24, GoToMeeting, Periscope, Facebook Livestream and YouTube Live.

 

Have more questions on where to start when planning a virtual event? Contact us, we can help!