Everything has changed because of the pandemic, and we have to use online virtual platforms to create events from meetings to workshops. So what makes a successful online event?
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In This Article:
- Know Your Target Audience
- Define Event Goals
- Event Branding
- Create a Team
- Choose a Speaker
- Pick the Perfect Time
- Choose a Platform
- Test Run
- Send Survey
- Evaluation
Tips for Creating a Successful Online Event
Know Your Target Audience
First and foremost, before any event, you need to know and understand who your target audience is. To identify who your target audience is, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is the event for?
- What are your ideal attendee’s personal objectives?
- What barriers or challenges do they confront in their line of work or in their everyday lives?
- What is the purpose of the online event?
Define Event Goals
Determining your event goals goes hand in hand with determining your target audience. What are your goals as an event planner?
The goal of your event is what you want it to “do,” and knowing that will help you map out a course to get there.
To begin, choose an event type from the drop-down menu. For example, if you want to hold a virtual networking event, you need to set up and advertise your event differently from a virtual trade fair or expo. While one just needs powerful chat and connect capabilities, the other also needs virtual display booths, a show floor, and extensive chat tools. Video production or live streaming capability is likely to be required for a virtual meeting.
Once you’ve done that, consider what success means to you. Do you want to increase the number of people who know about your brand, or do you want to earn cash from tickets? Are you trying to raise money and publicity for a certain charity or good cause?
Event Branding
Establishing an event brand will ensure that your event marketing efforts are directed at your intended demographic.
This calls for the development of a logo, a slogan, and perhaps a hashtag, as well as a distinct brand message. Your marketing channels should promote your messaging and branding.
Posts on social media are a great way to get your event’s name out there and get people interested in it early on. Promote your brand by writing and sharing relevant blog articles, releasing video teasers, and building a community of virtual attendees that respect and trust your brand’s actions and words. And try your best to be consistent with your branding, use the same fonts, color, designs, and logos, so it helps with brand recognition.
Create a Team
To get a successful event up and running, you need to put together a team that works well together either for offline or online events. A good team needs to have:
- Tech supporter staff: These people can aid speakers with navigating the event’s technology and alleviate any issues that attendees may encounter.
- Admin staff: these staff monitor and moderate chat rooms and keep the abusive behavior to a minimum. They can also help the audience raise questions to the speaker if they have any.
- Event supervisor: this person’s job is to ensure that everyone is doing their job and follow the timeline/ script.
Choose a Speaker
Picking the right speaker for your online event is extremely important, as it will keep your audience interested and create a good impression in their minds.
Getting a sought-after speaker to speak at your online event is one method to be a success. Find a well-known expert on your issue by researching and listening to what they have to say. This individual should be able to command the attention of the audience due to their authority and knowledge.
Pick the Perfect Time
People have a lot of flexibility when it comes to attending online events, and they may take part from anywhere in the globe as long as they have access to the internet. However, this does not absolve you of the responsibility of carefully considering the date and time of your event.
Depending on the target audience, you might need to think of the perfect date that suits them. It could be a good idea to hold your online event on a Thursday or Friday so that it won’t interfere with the weekend plans.
Choose a Platform
There are a vast number of platforms out there that can help you create a successful online event. It would be best if you looked for the ones that allow you to:
- Livestream video
- Enable video chat and live text
- Create a customizable online booth
- Support online registration
- Organize break-out sessions and meetups.
With phpFox, you can create your own online networking site and online community in which you can also host various kinds of online events. From online workshops to webinars, all can be integrated into your website.
Test Run
To make sure that everything is running smoothly during the event, you should have a test run or rehearsal. By doing this, you can actively avoid the issues that may slip through during the planning stage, and you can quickly find a suitable solution for it.
Send Survey
Getting honest feedback is the best way to make your events better. Distribute a post-event survey to all participants, speakers, and sponsors.
The replies will inform you if your event was a success or a failure, and they will assist you in making future plans. Alternatively, you might utilize the results of this poll to generate ideas for future fundraisers or community activities.
Evaluation
- How many invitations have you sent?
- How many people actually attended your online event?
- Which session has more comments? Which has less?
- How many people stay through the whole duration of the event?
These are the questions you should ask to evaluate your event. And looking through all the feedback, recommendations, and comments from the audience can give you a better idea of how successful the online event is. Not only that, but it also helps you improve to make future events even better.
phpFox is a powerful social network platform with various built-in features to help you host successful online events.
Contact us now! And let us know how we can help you create online events with your own online social network!
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