In many situations, it’s more appropriate to organise an event that is 100% online as opposed to in person, and this is a trend we have observed among organisers who use Weezevent. Technological tools are now developed enough to allow you to easily organise different types of events online. Here are our tips for getting started in organising virtual events with a solid foundation, covering webinars, conferences, training, workshops, and more.
Summary
- Know the advantages, disadvantages and prerequisites
- Manage your online registrations
- Propose a pay-what-you-want option
- Communicate the link to your virtual event
- Re-emphasise important information
- Constantly reinvent your event
- Find new partners
- Maintain contact between each event
1. Know the advantages, disadvantages and prerequisites
No room rental fees, registrations are made accessible in all 4 corners of the world, a wider potential target audience… the arguments in favour of organising virtual events are many. The most appealing of them is the possibility of attracting attendees in a very direct way: you can redirect your audience to your registration site (see point 2) with online advertising or specialised content. You can even track the conversion rate of your communications (see point 8). This is a far cry from the conventional means of communication involved in most events, such as advertising in local venues without tracking conversions, which can lead to potential inefficiencies in communication.
However, organising a virtual event requires an interest in digital tools. First, you need to download and configure a videoconference software program — e.g. Zoom, Skype, Slack — with the necessary options, including a chat window, file sending, etc. You will also require a good internet connection and you’ll need to have enough charisma to run an event of this kind. For beginners, it’s better to start with small groups in order to gain confidence.
2. Manage your online registrations
To carry out online registrations for your virtual event, you can create an event with Weezevent in just a few clicks in order to publish a registration module on your own site or on a dedicated mini-site. This will ensure that your attendees benefit from a smooth and secure registration experience. On your side, the advantage is the ability to gather key information on your audience, allowing you to better understand them and improve your future events.
3. Propose a pay-what-you-want option
Different people will perceive the value of a virtual service in different ways. It may therefore be useful to propose a pay-what-you-want option for your webinars, conferences, workshops, etc., especially if you are a beginner. This will help you to understand what your service is worth in the eyes of your attendees. You can then set a definitive price if you wish, in addition to improving your services to increase their perceived value.
4. Communicate the link to your virtual event
All those who register for your event via your module automatically receive a confirmation email with legal information, including the organiser’s email and address, the date of the event, etc. Add the link to your virtual event and practical information in order to reassure and guide your attendees. Do your utmost to ensure they attend on the day.
5. Re-emphasise important information
With WeezTarget, our emailing and marketing tool, send all those registered the steps to follow, as well as the link to your virtual event, around 1 hour before the event starts. Since your registration module is directly linked to WeezTarget, there is nothing else you need to do.
Tip: At the beginning of your virtual event, check the attendees with their first and last names by going to your Weezevent interface, then Applications > Access control > Access lists > Actions [Name of your event] > Start ticket validation. You can then tick the boxes corresponding to the people present and work out your attendance rate.
6. Constantly reinvent your event
This can’t be repeated enough: an event must constantly reinvent itself in order to avoid decline. Organising virtual events is a good way to innovate, provided you do so frequently in terms of content and form: find new subjects, invite international speakers, run the event differently with interactive formats, and so on. The only limit is your imagination!
It’s very easy to think that all you need to do is replicate a face-to-face event to make it happen online, but don’t fall into this trap. A virtual experience is completely different to a face-to-face gathering. Interactions must be all the more present, with questions and answers, games, or opportunities to share experiences. For instance, if you’re organising webinars or workshops on productivity, show the office you’re using for remote working and what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s all about providing something to interest your attendees to ensure that they benefit from your virtual event.
Tip: The best way to boost your registrations is to schedule a keynote speaker from your sector of activity. Their renown will attract a large number of people, and you can negotiate a lower fee than would apply to an event requiring them to travel.
7. Find new partners
Organising an online event can allow you to create a new network of partners. By sponsoring yourself through online advertising on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, the knock-on effects will be beneficial for them as well: the partner will gain greater visibility through content that is separate to their advertising for their products, or they could acquire an image of a modern company keen to collaborate with innovative events. As for you, you will also have more visibility and therefore more registrations for your event.
8. Maintain contact between each event
Virtual events are not incompatible with face-to-face events. Indeed, they provide a useful additional way to address different themes, encourage people to get together, and so on. They also allow you to easily keep in touch between two face-to-face events — which are more difficult to organise. Even so, the virtual link will never be as strong as a face-to-face link, unless it is recurrent and regular — a meeting, in short.
So, between each of your virtual events, engage in discussions with your attendees by asking them what they like about your content, what they’d like to talk about next time, and so on. With WeezTarget, you can easily segment the messages you send and simplify your life. In just a few clicks, send attractive messages to the right people, at the right time, and via the right channel, be it email, social networks, etc. You can even track the number of registrations and the turnover generated by each campaign in real time.
You have all the tools you need to lay a solid foundation for your future online events. Discover all of Weezevent’s features and effortlessly collect registrations by clicking on the button below:
