How to select the platform with the best fit for your virtual event
With COVID shutting down all the meeting venues in the world, more and more companies are making the shift to conduct their events on various virtual platforms.
The problem is, when there are too many options available, we humans are then faced with an “over-choice”, or “choice overload”.
A common problem is that when offered too many choices, consumers give up and make no choice. Too many options results in no sale where fewer options might have resulted in more sales.
It’s like the cognitive load of so many choices makes the decision impossible.
I embarked on my own research in early April this year, to figure out which platform to use to move to virtual events since COVID is far from being over.
So here are five useful tips to consider, to find the virtual platform with the best fit for your virtual event.
1. Decide on your event format
If you’ve done a simple Google search on virtual event platforms, you would’ve seen that many platforms offer you a subscription service or annual license fee.
Before you jump on the bandwagon to subscribe to one of these services like a business Zoom account just to hold that one event, ask yourself first:
What kind of event is this going to be?
Is it going to be a virtual conference with multiple breakout rooms?
How many people do I want in this event? Do I need to see all participants’ faces?
Is this going to be an event with tons of pre-recorded content with a networking component?
Is this going to be a virtual exhibition with virtual booths and presentations? Do you need a virtual environment created with your company branding all around?
Is this going to be a simple webinar with one or two presenters speaking and then a Q&A session at the end?
Or is there going to be a live panel discussion between a few selected speakers with live polling and live Q&A?
There are so many different functions available on different platforms, and what you must first decide is how you want your virtual event to run.
So take the time to consider this before committing your budget to that annual subscription for a virtual conferencing platform.
2. How long is your event going to be?
I’m sure by now everyone has attended AT LEAST one virtual event online.
And as users on various websites, apps, and virtual conferencing tools, we only have that much attention span to focus on a single topic, before we get distracted by something (or someone) else.
Typically in live events, a seminar or conference can run for a few days (usually 3 days is the sweet spot).
But in virtual events, a 2 hour panel discussion or presentation is usually enough to tire one out for the event, and as a regular social media user, I’d need much more stimulation to keep my brain at attention.
So depending on how much content you need to cover, have a think on how many days you wish to run your virtual event for, and for how many hours per day.
All these considerations do affect the final selection for your chosen virtual platform because each virtual platform offers different functionalities.
3. Who is your audience for this event?
Who are you planning this virtual event for?
Think about these questions:
Is it going to be your bosses and fellow colleagues?
Is it going to be some students or industry professionals learning something new in a seminar?
Is it going to be anyone from the public who can sign up for this “Free Webinar” or “Free Workshop”?
If it’s open to the public then is there a cap on the number of people participating?
Depending on WHO your target audience is (and how many of them sign up for your event), chances are, it’ll affect which type of virtual event platform you’ll choose.
Which brings me to my next point.
4. Think about how you want to keep your audience engaged
According to Statista, people spend an average of 143 minutes on the internet daily. That’s approximately 2 hours and 22 minutes interacting with the internet, on a device, every single day.
As users, we tend to have a need to stay stimulated when consuming information online. And with the tremendous growth of social media, this behaviour becomes even more pronounced.
That’s why it’s so important to take this into consideration when planning for your virtual event — how will you keep your audience actively engaged?
Through gamification? Through virtual ice-breakers and team bonding sessions? Through fun collaborative exercises conducted on a separate website? Or through fun challenges to be enacted through the webcam?
If you think about it, with virtual technology, the possibilities are actually limitless!
5. Content is king
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, and this is a no-brainer, but it’s probably the most important point here.
With live events, we could always impress event participants with “fluff”. Things that engaged their five senses, like a beautiful instagrammable photo wall, talented dancers or live artists performing on stage, an impeccable set up of a themed gala dinner, and of course the delicious food.
But with virtual events, all we see as participants, is the speaker or presenter, and the content being presented. The main thing that participants are there for, is the content and information being shared.
So the last thing you absolutely NEED to consider is, what content will you be sharing, and how will you present this content?
Will it be in a boring old Powerpoint presentation that goes on for 30 minutes? Or perhaps you could bring your content to life by creating a video in a green screen studio?
This also brings me back to point 4 of engaging your participants, perhaps you could even get the participants to engage with your content during the presentation!
Conclusion
I’m not here to help you choose the virtual platform provider, because I don’t know exactly what you need for your event (or what budget you currently have)!
But whichever platform you do choose, always remember to make careful considerations on these five points below:
- Decide on your virtual event format
- Think about the desired length of your virtual event
- Who is your audience for this event?
- How will you keep your audience engaged?
- Content is king, think about what you want to present and how you can present it more meaningfully while being virtual.
I hope these pointers have been useful for the planning of your next virtual event! Do leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
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