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Virtual Events Best Practices

Delivered March 29, 2020. Contributor: Matthew B.

Goals

To understand how best to run large virtual events (for example 4 cameras in 2 locations, live streaming, doing break out rooms with virtual tools, best practices, social engagement, etc) for a creative and funny blog post addressing the shift from live corporate events to virtual / digital events because of the coronavirus.

Early Findings

  •  This article interviewing Tom Gott, Vimeo’s Live Production Lead, states that "great virtual events start with a great content strategy, backed by solid execution."
  • The article from Vimeo states the number one rule for great virtual events is to plan stream worthy content, keeping these four things in mind when planning: relevance, interest, consistency, and actionability.
  • Relevance is being sure content is in alignment with the interests of your intended audience, matching brand voice, targeted prospects, and customers, while' interest' is in keeping content interesting. Consistency is also key and turning a live event into a series will aid success, while actionability focuses on the action that the virtual event aims to inspire.
  • An article from socialtable.com on "7 Easy Steps for Virtual Event Planning" mentions choosing a platform among the many live streaming services as a key step. Some options include Facebook Livestream, Periscope, and YouTube Live.
  • Another article lists 20 virtual event ideas by looking at examples from major companies and events such as South By Southwest and Apple Social Events, among many others. Ideas include strategies for content marketing and inviting in the right experts and resources.
  • Inc.com states that experts suggest a timeframe of 16 to 20 weeks (depending on your experience with event planning) to plan for mid-sized events. Although there is no hard rules, if you want to involve speakers, sponsors, and stakeholders, allocating even more time may be wise, as most virtual event providers recommend around three to four month timeframes to plan for experienced companies, and five to seven months for businesses new and inexperienced with virtual events.
  • Companies such as Whova offer tools that make virtual events "highly interactive, fun, and productive before, during, and after the event." The tool directly integrates live streaming and video hosting tools such as Google Hangout, Zoom, Vimeo, YouTube, etc, while providing live Q&A, a discussion board, attendee networking, a virtual exhibitor hall, meeting-matches, and virtual meet-ups.
  • Whova's Event App has been a leader since 2014 in attendee networking and engagement. Whova has received the award for the Best Event App and the People's Choice Award from Event Technology Awards having been used at over 10K events all over the world.
  • In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address your goals.

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