The spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the banning of large events have many entrepreneurs postponing, rescheduling and re-thinking their live events. Oftentimes this is happening on very short notice and the entrepreneurs are left scrambling for answers.
Instead of canceling your event and the real or potential income from it, consider pivoting to a virtual delivery. Your audience already accesses webinars and spends a great deal of time online, so switching to a virtual event isn’t a stretch or a totally unknown concept to them.
Your virtual event can include pre-recorded videos, live-streaming and/or virtual event panels and forums. In all these options, each participant and presenter can live-stream from their own office or home.
A successful virtual event requires a great content strategy and solid execution. Start with these tips.
Six tips for planning an amazing online event.
1.Plan stream-worthy content.
Make sure your content aligns with the interests of your target audience, and your content matches your brand voice and targeted prospects and customers.
Then make sure you keep it interesting so your audience doesn’t tune out. It’s much easier to lose your audience at a virtual event! You definitely don’t want this to happen before you deliver your call to action.
2. Stream everywhere or create exclusivity by only streaming in your closed group or private platform.
Where you stream should be determined by how your audience watches video online and who you want to be able to see your event. You can embed it on your website, share via social media, or host on a live streaming platform.”
3.Mimic the magic of an in-person event.
If replacing a physical event, make the viewing audience feel like they’re at the event. To impress your online audience, make the online event match the level of quality you’d expect from an in-person event.
4.Test everything.
The first rule of live streaming? TEST EVERYTHING. The best thing you can do to prevent mishaps during your online event is test every detail, but most importantly, confirm your upload speed by testing your connection at a website like Speedtest.net.
5.Prepare for “Murphy’s Law.”
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But don’t let that scare you off! If you identify the things that might go wrong, you can create a plan for how to handle them.
6.Enlist the support of an experienced virtual professional.If you have never hosted a virtual event, you need help from someone who has. An experienced virtual assistant can recommend the best tools for your needs and manage all the details allowing you to concentrate on your audience.
Virtual event solutions have emerged to not only solve the current problem of social distancing due to Coronavirus but also the long term issues of travel expense, different time zones and varying schedules. If you haven’t considered virtual events in the past, now is the time to investigate how they can work for your business.
If you need help planning and organizing a virtual event, I would love to talk to you. I have been assisting my clients for 13 years with the technology, logistics and administrative details of successful online events – think of me as you’re ‘Get-It-Done Concierge’.
I love to make things simple, smoother and easier for you. You can add me to your team or hire me for a specific event – one way or another, don’t waste a minute more of your valuable time or miss another dollar of revenue, contact me today.
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