Virtual Event
The online conference is not new, and there are better platforms to host a virtual conference now.
If organizing a meeting for a large number of people within a four-wall is difficult, you can host a virtual event successfully and even make it interactive like a physical office meeting.
What is the best way to organize an online conference, and what is important when running an online event?
This is the most important question for people that want to host their first virtual conference.
How to Host a Virtual Conference?
Digital conference management is primarily based on well-functioning technology and an intuitively usable software solution that provides some important tools.
For the successful implementation of your online conference, we have put together a 15-step checklist that you can use to reliably organize your online conferences.
Checklist to Making an Online Convention
Define the Objective of the Event
Before you start planning the tools and resources needed for the online conference, you need to determine your target audience and the design of the virtual conference.
How interactive do you want the event to be, how easy would the participants find the tools you want to use, which topic do you want to discuss, and what resources are best suitable for the event?
Would you like to impart knowledge, sell products or expand your network?
You should factor in these criteria before you set up your digital conference.
Don’t forget the planning phase
While you don’t need to book hotels and flights for anybody in a virtual meeting, you still have to make some arrangements and secure tools like speakers, reliable internet facilities, and others.
Test different virtual conference platforms and compare their features to determine what’s best for the event.
You should plan everything to ensure that everything runs smoothly with your online conference.
The Date and Time
Decide when you want to host your online conference, both date and time.
When planning virtual events, it is good to consider whether all the participants would come from the same time zone.
Holiday periods or public holidays should also be taken into account before picking the date and time.
You can also suggest 2 or 3 dates and survey the prospective attendees to choose the best date for them.
You can use the result to determine when most people should partake in the online convention.
Learn from past successful Online events
When it comes to organizing a digital conference, it can make sense to orientate yourself on events that have already been successfully held and to look at which tools are used, how the online presence is designed, or how any income has been generated.
Plan your budget
Similar to the classic conference, certain expenses have to be made, for example for technology, fees for speakers, personnel costs, or expenses for advertising material.
Be realistic about expenses and align your income accordingly. You can also sell paid tickets for participation in a virtual conference, start a live sales campaign from participants and get sponsors on board.
In any case, you should reserve a buffer in your budget planning.
Use the right platform
Organizing an online conference means using secure video conference software for your digital conference management, which guarantees transmission in HD quality.
The basis for a successful online connection is a stable Internet connection and enhanced technology.
Synchronous live transmission can be a challenge, especially if the participants are in different time zones.
In addition, the selected tool should be able to integrate a larger number of participants and enable a delay-free transmission.
Specify lecture duration for participants
From my experiences, unlike live lectures on-site, participants in online conferences often drop out after around 60 minutes.
Therefore, limit yourself to several half-hour presentations with sufficient breaks to maintain interest.
When it comes to giving professional advice to colleagues, an online conference that extends over several dates can make sense.
