The pandemic forced most businesses to opt for virtual meetings. And as technology keeps progressing, more brands have embraced the idea of a virtual corporate event.
Today, virtual events have helped reach a larger target audience, which has driven conversions in the long run.
Since virtual events can be accessible to everyone, regardless of their location, most people are more likely to turn up, making data retrieval easier. In addition, virtual events don’t involve the same costs as physical events. These cost savings include finding a venue, getting suppliers, technicians, and so on.
As a result, virtual events save a lot of time while expanding global reach as the logistics of gathering audiences are simpler when done online. Furthermore, virtual corporate events have more value for exhibitors and sponsors because they can directly promote and showcase their services to participants.
As for networking, virtual events make everything easier because of live chat options and tag-based interactions where participants get to meet other people in the field. However, just like physical events, virtual ones will need an expert to provide great virtual corporate experiences to both parties.
So, if you’re getting ready to create memorable virtual corporate experiences, you may need to keep some tips in mind that will ensure success. Here are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when setting up a virtual event.
1. Setting Lengthy Time Frames
Depending on your target audience, you’ll need to set the right duration for each virtual session.
For instance, if your event targets clients in college, then a 30-minute session may be the best way to ensure that they don’t lose interest.
However, if it’s a corporate event aimed at employees, they might be able to have longer sessions that can last an hour. You can avoid sending participants away by spreading your content across a couple of days with minimal hours.
Additionally, short sessions can help you plan engaging activities that will keep the participants interested in your content. Therefore, take time and plan all your sessions to go well with your content. Avoid overlaps during the event.
2. Not Having an Agenda
For an online event to be successful, it needs prior planning and organization.
Constructing a plan helps you understand whether you have the required resources to conduct the event seamlessly.
When planning a virtual corporate event, most people who lack an agenda also lack a contingency plan. A contingency plan should include instructions that would be used in any aspect of the event if something goes wrong.
Significantly, you should create a plan that includes writing important details first, such as the event’s start. You can also add the number of attendees, necessary arrangements, time period, guest speakers, and many more.
3. Densely-Packed Content
Your content needs to be well structured, complete, and unique to capture the audience’s attention.
To make your content interesting, consider balancing it by adding images and videos that are more likely to engage attendees.
Every virtual event requires engagement from participants, which is the hardest task to accomplish. Unlike physical events that don’t have as many distractions, virtual events tend to be the exact opposite making it hard to sit through long sessions.
As a planner, ensure that presentations aren’t boring and long. This may send away attendees who can easily log out. Try and vet all the presenters and their content to avoid overlooking vital parts of the presentation.
4. Choosing the Wrong Platform
Every virtual platform offers different options and getting one that has everything can be hard. And, with so many options in the market, you may end up choosing the wrong platform. As you look for options, consider the features that can help you achieve the goal of your event.
Networking is important at most corporate events. So, getting a platform that allows people to connect and stay active during the event is essential. Additionally, the platform should encourage attendees to log in more easily.
The platform should also offer the feature of personalized branding and customization. It should also offer real-time and post-event analytics that can be used to improve the experience of different sessions. And, to keep attendees present, consider getting a platform that offers them a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing design. Make sure to do some research to find the optimal event app for you situation.
5. Failure to Prepare Participants for the Virtual Event
Most of the time, people will find it hard to use virtual platforms. To prevent this, the preparation of participants should be done before the event to ensure smooth sailing for everyone.
As you plan, share the web tools available and the choices of virtual booths, rooms, vendors, or additional participants that attendees have access to.
To ensure that they’re well prepared, you can use screen recording software to film a short video with instructions on how to participate.
6. Getting the Wrong Sponsors
Sponsors are vital to the success of most events, and virtual ones give you an infinite number of possibilities to attract more.
However, the sheer number of choices can threaten to overwhelm most virtual planners. They may end up with the wrong sponsors. As a result, when choosing a sponsor, consider if they are related to your content or concept to avoid unnecessary distractions to attendees.
7. Lack of Technical Support
You never know what might go wrong. That’s why it’s important to find reliable technical support that ensures a smooth event.
A tech support team can help you pick the right tools and entertainment venues. They’ll also ensure you have enough bandwidth with security protocols to suit your needs.
In addition, they make the registration process easy for everyone involved. They do this by offering several ways for people to sign up for the event on time. They can also collect registration responses in one place, making them easy to track.
Additionally, your attendees will get immediate responses confirming they have their registration information, thus streamlining the signup process.
A reliable tech support team can also set up virtual stages for different speakers during the event to make corporate virtual experiences more enjoyable.
Meanwhile, if your event has multiple sessions going on simultaneously, the tech support team can help manage each breakout session.
As for the speakers, they can have virtual greenrooms. There, they can take time to prepare and access the countdown to their presentation.
Bottom Line
Technology has been instrumental in shifting our understanding of events. It ensures that events can be successful, virtually, with different attendees, staff, and speakers. However, many people fail due to the mistakes made during the planning phase.
As addressed above, some of the most common mistakes include having densely packed content that may be boring, low engagement levels, long time frames, and choosing the wrong platform. As a planner, one needs to get the right sponsors and have their plan laid out with technical support to back up the event.
