How To Make The Best Of A Virtual Event

Virtual events have come to say. They are so common today that when people say they’re attending “an event”, it’s probably a virtual one. Since the pandemic hit, virtual events have gained so much popularity that the number of organizations planning virtual events have indeed tripled since 2020 according to a report by Wild Apricot. A good majority of event professionals have pivoted their physical events to a virtual one due to the impact of COVID-19. In fact, the presence of virtual events in a year can go up to 30 per year according to 49% of businesses who took part in a survey by Markletic.

There are many good sides to virtual events, both for hosts and attendees. As much as it posts convenience and saves costs for attendees, for marketers and event hosts, it enables a more seamless process of channeling attendees towards a specific sales funnel. Since potential customers are already online, it eliminates the need to re-engage customers on an online platform after a physical event. This gives marketers more options in nurturing potential sales leads beyond the traditional post-event email blast. Remembering that some virtual events and summits are paid for and are time consuming, the question arises, how can you make the best use of virtual events? Three ways:

1) HAVE RELIABLE TECH

A reliable Tech is very crucial in enjoying a virtual event. Having a poor network connectionis the biggest annoyance in a virtual event. Therefore, you need to find a reliable network provider and make sure your internet connection is able to support the number of attendees you’ll be having on the platform all at once. The next important element is the audio quality. Organizers say that good microphones are critical to a successful event. Nevertheless, good cameras are equally important. It’s important that audio quality is not compromised because even if the video quality is great and there are no subtitles, people can still rely on clearly hearing the content of the event.

2)HAVE AN AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

One thing that virtual event planners cannot overlook is their audience engagement strategy. Audience experience is now more important than ever and if you don’t have a strategy to keep your audience engaged virtually, it will be much harder to gain back your audience for the next event you plan. So how are virtual event planners currently engaging audiences? Try discussions and Q&A, optimize your content to key into the aspirations of your audience, have a great charisma and enthusiasm so people don’t sleep off.

3)WORK ON ‘YOU’

It’s not always easy to get it together. Seeming calm and confident is challenging—particularly when your nerves send your stomach dropping to your shoes. Maybe it’s an important meeting or casual meet, these feelings may always come. Perhaps it’s a presentation you need to deliver, or maybe you’re feeling intimidated with joining a networking event and introducing yourself to strangers. Regardless of the circumstances, this still holds true: you feel nervous, yet, you know you need to pull yourself together and make a professional impression. The following steps should help:

a) Take a deep breath:When we feel stressed, our bodies naturally take shorter, shallower breaths. Therefore, if you slow down and take a couple of deep breaths, you’ll provide your brain with more oxygen. In turn, breathing stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system.

b) Tense and relax your Muscles:It can often feel like your body is betraying you when you’re nervous—your knees shake, your shoulders tighten, and your voice quivers. This is why it’s important to take a moment to relax and take control of your body before entering an event.

c) Give yourself a confidence boost, before or during: Looking at yourself in the bathroom mirror and reciting positive affirmations about how great you are might feel a little cheesy. However, here’s the surprising thing: It can actually boost your confidence level before a big event.

Now over to you! Whether you’re about to step out onto a stage or into a virtual networking event, it’s perfectly normal to get nervous. But just because it’s normal doesn’t mean that you want to enter into that room shaking and sweating profusely. Remember, it is often said that you are as good as your last. If you do well to apply the suggestions stated above, you may be on your way to making the best out of your virtual event.

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