Virtual Events
Last week, Stacey and I were asked to talk on a Digital Outreach webinar about events during lockdown and it got me thinking about the journey we have taken as an agency since March….
Just before lockdown, we had an exciting year of events planned and we could not wait to deliver them. But Covid-19 came along and smacked us all in the face, and the world of events (along with the rest of the world) was turned on its head.
Virtual events burst onto the scene in full force! There was a virtual event for everything from product launches to birthday parties. I personally took part in a virtual book club with friends, weekly virtual baking sessions, and even a few virtual workouts (to burn off all the cakes!). Plus, how could we possibly forget all the Zoom pub quizzes?!
But it didn’t last long… At the beginning of the summer, we all started to hit what’s now been coined as ‘Zoom Fatigue’. We were spending all day staring at our laptops, so it got to the point where the thought of logging on again after work hours to talk to friends became more of a chore than a way to stay connected. From a business point of view, the number of virtual events being hosted was so high companies were struggling to be heard over the virtual event noise and attendance began to drop off.
Towards the end of Summer, there was a glimmer of hope that smaller face to face events were returning, with a preliminary date of October set for their gradual return. So the team here at Goho eagerly completed our safer event training and were so excited about putting what we had learnt into action... And then came the second wave!
Now (nearly 7 months in) we can certainly say it’s been a learning curve, but where does that leave us with hosting events today? Do virtual events still have a place in the market?
The answer is yes! Virtual events definitely still have a place, but careful thought and planning needs to be put into them. There are so many virtual events and webinars out there, the market has become saturated. So you really need to carefully plan what you want to do in order for it to be successful.
Here are our 7 top tips for a successful virtual event:
Make a plan - what do you want to achieve? How are you going to market it? Do you want to do this yourself or work with a partner?
Time & Date is key - Make sure you do your research in advance. Are there any holidays coming up? We would always recommend mid week between 11am - 2pm. Also, don’t make it too long 30 - 45 mins is ample time, if in doubt you should always leave your audience wanting more!
Promote your event - A lot of time can be put into planning a virtual event so make sure you promote it to the right audience with a strong marketing plan in place. Social Media is an excellent way to promote your event to your audience.
Don’t sell - Don’t use the event to just pitch your business, make it inclusive and engaging. Give people a reason to stay switched on!
Engage with your audience - Ask viewers to submit questions into the chat box, find out what they want to take from the event and make sure you leave time to answer the questions. If you do this, make sure to have a moderator assigned to the task of fielding questions.
Accept technology might go wrong - Working with technology, you always run the risk of something going wrong. We would always recommend having a quick rehearsal with your speakers beforehand and make sure they log on 30 minutes before the event is due to start!
Think outside the box - If the purpose of your virtual event is for a social reason or team building, what could you do to bring the team together? Have you considered something like virtual gin tasting (where everyone receives all the ingredients via post and an expert talks you through the wonders of each gin)?! If gin isn’t your thing, don’t worry! There are so many options out there, so take a look, or get creative and come up with your own!
