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One Year In: Virtual Event Best Practices - Pavilion

Written by Pavilion HQ | Mar 30, 2021 4:00:00 AM

We’ve all been there: the spotty connections, the unavoidable, always-awkward, and constant interruptions, the unreliable weblinks. Living life virtually can be frustrating. 

Despite the glitches, digital meetings and events will continue to be the standard for the foreseeable future. That’s why we’ve put together a list of tips, tricks, and best practices for virtual events, from the right tech to innovative programming ideas. 

Choose the right platform

Virtual event hosting experts Freeman suggest that first and foremost, choosing the right platform partner is essential. Few things kill the momentum of a virtual event like technical hiccups, so alignment with the right tech partner is key to your event’s success. Will your participants be primarily local, or are you serving a global audience? Does your event need video conferencing capability, or does it need to integrate with social media platforms? Answering these questions early in the planning process will put you ahead when it comes time to broadcast your virtual event. 

Keep it authentic

When it comes to hosting a successful live digital event, Crowdcast says it’s best to keep it authentic and be honest with your audience. Virtual events can have a blend of live and pre-recorded content, so it’s best to let your audience and participants know that. No need to pretend pre-recorded content is live or vice versa — let your audience know that some content will be pre-recorded with someone on your team interacting with your audience in real time

Tell an engaging story

Authenticity doesn’t end with addressing programming expectations — successful hosts make sure they’re telling an engaging story. Today’s audiences are inundated with content, and most of them are tuning in from a home environment replete with distractions. Providing them with a story that contextualizes the event, humanizes your product or service offering, and offers them a chance to engage is a great way to make sure your virtual event has a lasting impact. 

Get tactical

As with anything, experience is the best teacher. John Fernandez STL shared these tips from his experience hosting virtual events:

  • Make sure you get the attendee list at least a week in advance
  • That list needs to contain contact information
  • Make sure the booth section has plenty of traffic 
  • The tech for the event has to be easy for the participants and prospects to use
  • Get your hands on post-event vendor data to quickly learn and iterate 

 

Try something new

Settled on hosting a virtual event, but don’t know what kind of event to host? Here are some tried and true places to start from industry experts in the Pavilion network and beyond:

    • Virtual happy hours
    • Inside look/behind the scenes tours
    • Trainings, workshops, how-to’s, and tutorials
    • Interviews, performances, and virtual “talk shows”

From marketing events to virtual selling to onboarding new employees, virtual events are here to stay. Here are a few recent and upcoming events to learn more about making the most of our virtual world.

Driving Success in the New Era of Virtual Selling – an EMEA study: Replay Now

Virtual Sales Coaching: Elevating Team Performance: Replay Now

Virtual Onboarding and Employee Engagement Best Practices: Register Now (CLOSED)