Many customers provide value to their members by moving events to a virtual platform. If you haven’t done this before, it can be overwhelming, especially when you have little time to pull it together.
As a company with customers across the continent, we have experience with virtual meetings and events. You might have attended our recent virtual event, MC Thrive. We hosted over 400 attendees in our own Classroom platform for a full day. The event included speaker sessions, a virtual vendor marketplace, trivia, and attendee awards.
If your organization wants to take events virtual but is unsure where to start, use this playbook. It outlines the main considerations for planning, preparing for, and running a virtual event that your members talk about all year.
On this page
Assessing your goals and resources
Complete an internal assessment by asking yourself and your staff the following questions. The questions might seem simple, but understanding your goals and the resources available to accomplish them helps align your team.
- Why do we need to do this?
- Who is our audience?
- What are we trying to accomplish?
- Do we have the staff to facilitate?
- Do we have the tools to facilitate?
- What is the format (all virtual or hybrid)?
- How will we generate revenue (and profit) from this?
Securing sponsors and exhibitors
If you plan to have sponsors and exhibitors, consider how to feature them in a virtual event format.
- Will you post their logo in a partners section?
- Will their logo appear next to a certain speaker?
- Should a representative of the company give remarks during the event?
Before you reach out for sponsorship, think through how to make the sponsorship valuable to everyone involved.
Planning your content
Start with an outline of the attendee experience that you want to provide. Include materials, speakers, sessions, and breakouts, such as vendor marketplaces or additional materials that benefit visitors. Allow time for transitions and for speakers to get settled and ready to present.
Material assessment
Do you need graphics created specifically for this event? Do you have the tools for each part of your event day, such as chat room plug-ins and PDF handouts?
Sourcing speakers
Consider who you want your speakers to be and how the content of your event makes it stand out. Our marketing team shares tips on sourcing speakers in a blog post.
Event length and complexity
Will your event be 1 day with multiple sessions, or span multiple days? If you want to run multiple live, concurrent sessions, do you have enough staff to monitor and assist in each session?
For smaller staffs, simpler can be better. A mix of prerecorded content and live sessions can stay manageable while still providing great content to attendees.
Choosing your technology
As part of planning your content, consider how you deliver it. Technology is your ally for a virtual event. Figure out the experience that you want, then find software that helps you achieve it. Adjust your plans depending on what you find.
Live webinar provider
Research providers. Ask colleagues, think about great events that you attended and the provider they used, and vet those systems. As you check out systems, keep a list of what is important to you:
- Do you need multiple speakers at one time?
- Do you need to run sessions concurrently?
- Does your event have hundreds or thousands of attendees logged in at once?
- Do you need live support on the day of your event?
Knowing what is most important to you helps you choose the software that best fits your needs.
Virtual trivia
Virtual trivia was popular at MC Thrive and gave attendees a fun break. We found software online and guided attendees to select a link to the trivia that we set up.
Chat room plugins
Many webinar providers include chat as part of the webinar. Consider additional gathering places outside of sessions where attendees can chat and virtually network. A chat room that is not tied to the speaker sessions may be worth looking into.
Choosing where to host your event
The best software to host the entire event depends on your needs. Consider these questions:
- Do you want an online location that is branded specifically to your organization and event?
- Do you want a site to post recordings and event materials after the event? They can serve as an attendee resource or continue to monetize the event sessions.
Promoting your event
Promotion is a large part of a successful event. Consider the following.
Value proposition
What is uniquely valuable about your event? How is it different from, and better than, similar events? Spend time on this messaging, because it helps your event stand out.
Agenda highlights
People want to know what they are signing up for. Point out the highlights of the event, including special speaker sessions, to build excitement and interest.
Social media
Emails alone are not enough. Use social media to generate interest and registrations for your event, and keep using it during and after your event for a lasting impression.
- Promos: Post promos for the event on social media. Consider a giveaway for free registration through a small contest, such as like and share to win. This helps your followers spread the word.
- Day of event: Keep the social media activity going after the event starts. During sessions, run contests and challenges. Ask attendees to post pictures, tweets, or other content with a special event hashtag, so that others can see the fun.
- Follow up: Post about the days you shared together. Consider posting key quotes from speaker sessions, congratulations to contest winners, and thank-yous to sponsors and attendees.
Preparing for your event
Dedicate time to a run-through with all involved parties, so that the day of your event goes as smoothly as possible.
Internal run-through
Make sure everyone on your internal team knows the program for the day, what time everything happens, and, most importantly, who is responsible for what.
Speaker run-through
Your speakers need to know what to expect, as your team does. Make sure they understand the run of the event at a high level, including what comes before and after them, and their time slot.
Do a technical run-through with each speaker. Confirm that their audio and video equipment works. Make sure they know how to navigate any software that you use for their part of the event.
Run of show document
To support all of the above, we recommend creating a “run of show” document. For MC Thrive, our run of show document was 23 pages. It outlines the events of the entire day and includes specific details about which staff member does what at any given time. Use it during practice runs and on the day of the event to clear up confusion.
Attendee preparation
Equip your attendees with everything they need to know. Go beyond sharing the agenda for the day. Tell attendees which links to use for each session. Explain how to log in to the site, access content, and navigate the software that you chose for the event.
Send this information at least 1 or 2 days ahead of time. This gives you and your staff a head start on answering questions and helping people with login or access issues. If you have time, send attendees a short video with instructions and navigation tips.
Plan B
Have a backup plan, because technology can fail. Even with careful planning and practice, disruptions can occur. Think through possible disruptions and what your team does in each case:
- If a speaker cannot get their audio to work, what is your plan?
- If your entire webinar platform crashes, do you have a backup Zoom account to move attendees to?
- If the event cannot be held, what is your refund policy?
No one likes to think about the worst-case scenario, but a contingency plan puts you at ease.
Running your event
By this point, you have done your research, set up your software, and practiced. Now run the event.
Executing the plan
Make sure everyone knows where they need to be and what they need to do. Make the communication plan clear for the day, so that everyone knows how to reach each other and who might be unreachable at any time. Give everyone the run of show document. Make sure they follow the time slots for each session and activity, to provide a great attendee experience.
Responding to attendee questions and needs
Set up an email address specifically for event questions and troubleshooting. Have at least 1 or 2 staff members monitor it before and during the event.
If attendees post in the chat that their screen froze or that they can’t hear the speaker, ask them to email the support address. Your team then helps them right away. Attendees appreciate the direct support. It also keeps the chat and Q&A areas clear for engaging with your content and speakers, instead of technical issues.
Closing out your event
- Send thank-yous: Thank attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors, and let them know that they were part of making it a great event.
- Survey attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors: Feedback shows what people loved, what they found valuable, and what you could do better next time.
- Hold an internal evaluation: After things calm down, get your staff and volunteers together to review feedback and discuss everyone’s opinions and takeaways. Then start planning the next event.