THE FUTURE OF EVENT PLANNING Preparing for an All-Virtual Event
After COVID-19, everything changed—even the event business. What used to be a simple birthday party, summer wedding, or weekend gathering now has to be strategically planned and coordinated according to the daily guidelines set by the state and CDC.
But it’s always been our goal to make your event dreams a reality so we were up for the challenge of creating the perfect event (even if it is during a global pandemic!).
Nobody has mastered event planning during COVID-19 yet, but Perfectly Timed Events has learned several all-virtual event tips and tricks over the past few months—and we want to share them with you!
1. Strategize & Process
Like any event, giving yourself plenty of time to plan and prepare is a must—even more so when planning a virtual event. Start by setting realistic goals and objectives for the desired outcome of your event. Think through the content you plan to show if you are hosting a conference or gala and what you want your guests to experience if it is a virtual wedding, birthday party, or shower. Having a clear and concise production agenda and detailed check-off list is going to be your best friend! If you have a team or volunteers—meet with them and email them often to update everyone on any changes or regulations set by the state or CDC. (You will always need a back-up plan during a pandemic!)
2. Over-Prepare for Tech Troubles
Technology issues happen at every event—but with all-virtual events, you want to over-prepare to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Livestream can easily drop without notice, so try to pre-record as many videos as possible for galas or conferences. If you are planning a virtual wedding or shower, test the camera and Facebook live before the event to ensure you have a stable internet connection and have someone standing by to make sure it doesn’t cut off at the most important parts! If you are hosting a virtual conference—make sure you have extra batteries for mics, a stage manager to keep your speakers on schedule, and an online manager to communicate with your online audience. Though technology has done so much good during this season of isolation, it can also have a negative financial impact on organizations that depend on donors for monetary support. Over-prepare for these issues so you don’t lose your donors half-way through your program!
There are many technical challenges you can run into with a virtual event so it’s important to choose a reliable technical supplier to use for your event (play it safe by using well-known platforms like Vimeo for videos or Eventbrite for registration). Choose websites and platforms that allow your guests to register and give online as well as those that will easily link with PowerPoint, music, video, graphics, and other presentations.
3. Make it Inclusive.
With all-virtual events, you need to remember that you will likely have audience members from all over the world joining and tuning in. To make the event feel more inclusive, try to avoid words that identify your time zone and make an effort to make personal shout-outs to specific people or countries from different time zones! And make an effort to strive for diversity within your event. Focus on reaching all genders, ethnicities, and ages. If you are hosting a women’s event–have women of all backgrounds and ages speak. Diversity matters when trying to be inclusive!
4. How to Promote Your Virtual Event
Running Facebook Ads and scheduling Instagram posts is a must with any event these days—virtual or not! Social media is a great way to engage with your audience and send casual reminders or emergency updates about your event to your registrants. Gain excitement by having speakers or presenters share about the conference to their circle of influence or count down the days til your wedding to keep it at the forefront of your friends and family’s minds. And always be sure to over-communicate the official hashtag, event tagline, or verbiage you want your guests to remember. Use social media to your benefit—it’s FREE marketing!
5. Encourage Engagement.
No matter what type of online event you’re hosting, you want to engage your virtual audience. Find a friend, volunteer, or staff member who can lead the online-engagement by responding to the comments being made by attendees. If you are hosting a live event—be sure to have an engaging emcee who can communicate with your online audience and keep them excited about everything going on. Encourage your online attendees to use the chat on Facebook or Youtube by shouting out people who comment or asking questions and responding to specific posts. Think of creative ways to engage with your audience like having special giveaways or raffles to keep your viewers watching until the end of the event.
6. Make it Special (and Safe).
If your audience is comfortable with having a few friends or family over for a watch party—you can plan satellite watch parties to engage multiple areas of the country or world on your living room Apple TV! You can even share recipes of what they should cook or bring for the watch party pot-luck (but be sure to enforce the CDC guidelines for anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID to keep everyone safe!). If you decide to host a watch party, try using some of the inspiration from our 5 Senses of Events blog to make your event extra special!
We’ve been in quarantine for nearly 6 months at this point. Large gatherings, weddings, and conferences have been canceled. People are ready to be out again and even if they are staying in, they are looking for fun ways to engage with people and causes. That makes this the perfect time to make your online event something your guests will never forget!
I hope these event tips and tricks will help you create a perfectly detailed virtual event. Contact us today to make your virtual event dreams a reality!
- PTE