This year has required all of us to develop new skills. The way we work has changed, of course, but many of us have had to get to grips with new technologies in order to maintain our pre-pandemic social relationships, meet friends, study, and keep in touch with family. Most of our activities take place online and virtual events are a regular occurrence in our lives. Consequently, many companies are now seeking to recruit individuals with specific skills in this field. Any company needing to organise regular meetings or conferences, for instance, needs employees who are capable of carrying out these tasks in a fully digital/virtual environment. But how do you organise a virtual conference? Check out our snap guide!
Have clear goals
This golden rule applies to all events, be they virtual or in-person: in order to make the best use of the resources you have at your disposal, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. This is especially true when using a format you are not familiar with. Having clear goals will help you evaluate the results and understand whether your virtual conference was successful and what you can improve in the future.
Anticipate issues before the event
Event organisers have been doing this for years. Being confronted with an unexpected issue during an event can be very stressful. When dealing with something new, it is also essential to try and plan as thoroughly as possible in order to avoid facing difficulties you are not equipped to deal with. In particular, when organising a virtual conference, it is important to have a clear outline of the whole event, the features of the platform you will be using, and the roles of all the team members and speakers who will be taking part in the event. To avoid unforeseen snags, it is a good idea to organise several technical rehearsals, so that you can run test events, without an audience, where any problems can be resolved before the actual conference.
Choosing the right speakers
Not all speakers are created equal and not all have the same skills. Just as not all experts in a certain subject can teach it, not all skilled speakers and expert panelists do well with the ‘timing’ of a virtual conference. When working on online events, you need to remember that the audience’s attention span tends to drop faster than in a traditional event. It is, therefore, necessary for your guests to condense their speeches into relatively short blocks, which can be alternated with multimedia content and moments of interaction with the audience, to keep the viewers’ interest up. Virtual conference organisers must also resist the temptation to invite too many speakers to their event: even if your budget allows it, crowding your virtual podium with speakers risks confusing the audience and making the event less effective.
Choose the right platform
The most important tool when organising a virtual conference is the platform you will be using. Before making a decision, it is important to get an idea of the available features and the usability of the platform itself, both from the point of view of the users and the organisers. Hypersmarter provides you with flexible solutions to suit all needs, and guarantees constant support so that you can always get the best out of all your virtual events.