So you’ve rescheduled, and rescheduled again, that meeting, training, or event that was supposed to happen back in March or April, in hopes that it could eventually happen in person. The uncertainty of when things will be back to normal is setting in, and your event cannot be put of any longer. OR you’re itching to share new content, ideas, or just want to have some type of social interaction, maybe it’s to celebrate a birthday or a bride-to be. It may not be your first choice, but virtual events are picking up speed and can ultimately provide a memorable experience or the platform you need to continue to meet your business goals. We’ve put together an easy tool to get you started in conquering your first (or next) virtual or hybrid event. The checklist below will guide you through the planning process all the way from the beginning stages of thinking through your event to processing and event wrap up.
let’s get started!
1. Thinking Through Your Event:
☐ What is the purpose of the event?
Is it informational, training, or social?
What do you need your attendees to know, think, or feel after walking away?
Begin to think through the bare bones of how you will present your content or reach your event goal. (*content creation will happen in the next phase of “Preparing for your Event” but this is a good time to get the idea wheel going.
Will this include multiple speakers?
Are there certain elements you want to be sure to include?
Are you going to do it live or pre-record and send it out as a resource?
* Record the goal(s)/takeaway for the event. This should be at the forefront of your mind during the rest of the planning and execution process. Always make sure that everything planned for the event is in alignment with your goal(s). Even the next step of choosing and event date and time should keep in mind the purpose of the event.
☐ When will the event happen?
Meeting/Training:
Think through the length of your event. It should be long enough to cover everything that you would like, but not too long that you lose the attention and participation of your attendees
Keep in mind that virtual meeting are proving to be more draining than an in-person meeting. Perhaps a meeting you would typically do in one day, in-person, should be broken out into two days for shorter time periods.
If it’s a work event, studies have shown that mid-morning or mid-afternoon is the best time to have an efficient meeting with the most engagement.
Is there a time difference for any of your potential attendees? Make sure to choose a time that makes sense for all who could attend.
Social Event:
Most social events should be scheduled for evenings after 5 or on a weekend.
Do you need to coordinate the date with the schedules of your attendees?
* Choose a date/time
2. Preparing for Your Event:
☐ Set a budget & work through all potential costs involved in your event:
Will you need to pay guest speakers?
Will there be any system costs?
Will you be sending your guests any resources, swag, gifts, or anything that has an extra cost?
Will you need sponsors?
Will you charge guests to attend?
☐ Choose a virtual format and platform.
Keeping your event goal in mind, think through how you can best present your content to reach your goal. Also be sure to keep your audience in mind as you choose a platform and create your content presentation (a few steps later). Not everyone will be tech savvy or have access to the resources needed to attend and participate in your event.
Webinar
Live Stream
Group Chat
Video Conferencing
Pre-recorded video/presentation
☐ Consider the technology needed to pull off the event.
If your event will include multiple speakers in several location: Does every presenter or event moderator have access to sufficient & stable wifi, computers with working cameras and microphones, the right lighting & backdrop, etc.
If you’re considering a hybrid event, where all speakers and hosts will be in one location, this would be the time to considering hiring an AV vendor to do the production portion of the event.
☐ Create content & an event timeline to lay out the order/schedule of the content delivery.
☐ Tailor content to be given via virtual presentation.
Keep in mind the importance of still having audience interaction. It may not look the same as in person interaction would, but there are ways to make it happen!
How can you make sure your attendees are still collaborating, responding, and interacting? A few ideas:
During a live event, use the chat feature integrated into whatever system you are using to have your audience ask or answer questions.
Use the raise hands featured integrated into whatever system you are using.
During a live event, use an online poll system or quiz maker that allows audience members to participate using their phones.
Use Google docs to collaborate.
☐ If you need to grow an audience for this event, start promotion. If you already have your audience, share the event with them and start collecting RSVPs.
Email
Social Media
Website
Paid Advertising
☐ Once your broadcasting platform has been chosen, your content & presentation has been assembled, and any necessary resources have been created or collected, you should practice. We can’t stress the importance of this checklist item enough. Technology during live events is tricky to handle on it’s own, but going completely virtual can present issues that you may not even be aware of. Practice might not prepare you for everything that can arise as a complication during your event, but it can give you a comfortability with your content that will allow you the flexibility to adjust as needed if complications arise during your virtual event.
☐ Send information to your attendees about how to “attend” or “join” the event on the day of.
☐ Confirm that all of the hosts or speakers have what they need as far as information, content, and resources.
3. During Your Event:
☐ Give an introduction to any actions you will ask your attendees to make in order to interact throughout the event (ie. Instructions for those who may not be technically inclined) or external resources you may need them to open or access.
☐ Monitor the chat feature (or have someone monitor it for you), even if you are not using it for a specific reason. Attendees commonly use this feature to ask question about content or tech.
☐ Don’t forget to encourage audience/attendee engagement!
4. Processing and Event Wrap Up:
☐ Ask for feedback!
Post event surveys are a great way to collect feedback on the event and discover ways to improve.
☐ Connect with any co-hosts or speakers to debrief and work through feedback. Talk through ways to adjust or improve your next event experience.
☐ Calculate ROI
