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We just finished our 1st Session Topic this week, it ended up hotter than predicted.

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6 more topics to come so make sure that if you are not registered you do so here so you can tune in live and join the conversation.

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These are the golden nuggets coming out of the sessions, we had speakers tune in from different sides of our field.

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Our first speaker was  Sarah Buchbinder a meeting broker with  Meetings Made Easy kicked off the webinar with a lot of great content about the 6 P's in Planning Virtual Events.

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The Six (6) Ps to Planning A Virtual Event

1. Product - What you’re providing your audience and what are you looking for in return
2. People - Who is your audience and what platforms are they on. Strengths and weaknesses of your planning team. Role and importance of speakers and moderators. Importance of rehearsals
3. Promotion - Know who you want to attend your event and how to get them there and take action, join your community etc. Must be multifaceted, branded and memorable. Provide Incentives and Add-Ons
4. Platform - Many factors to take into consideration when selecting a platform. Including User Interface, Analytics, Branding Opportunities, Data Security, Engagement Tools, Help & Support etc. KPIs.
5. Production - Show Production, Digital Production, Content Production, Redundancies & Safeties
6. Price - Monetizing Event, Face-to-Face vs Digital Costs

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Our second speaker had a different approach from the platform side of the field, Michel Sayo from Hubilo, hybrid events made mention in his list of what attendees expect.

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What attendees now expect from virtual & hybrid:

• In-person and remote connections
• Session Engagement
• Networking Experiences
• Event App
• Gamification

Here are some features to ask your platform if they have:

• Engagement for attendees - many options located in side panel including live chat, polls, Q&A and self-promote
• Registration and attendee matchmaking tool
• Interactive Booths similar to a live event. can provide videos, ads, downloads, CTAs, Contests
• Lots of Sponsorship Opportunities including branded lounges and breakout rooms, sponsor logo visibility, introductory video and sponsor ads
• Dedicated support
• Brand Amplification
• Analytics to measure ROI

*Hubilo has all of the features listed on their platform.

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Items Speakers can benefit from in a virtual event are:

• Recorded content
• Session engagement
• Ability to be in person and virtual at the same time.
• Live analytics and sessions
• Specific networking

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When evaluating prices of platforms be sure to look at:

• Support
• Brand amplification
• Sponsorship
• Analytics
• Intuitive - User Friendly

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Our biggest takeaways from the sessions and the Q & A were:

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Importance of Engagement - Audiences need to be engaged, make this a top priority in planning, how can you keep your audience engaged? Are there features your platform can offer to facilitate? Are there physical items you can send them? Can you offer some sort of gamification?

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Establish Clear Objectives with your event -Talk with your speakers , sponsors, clients  and attendees and gather that intel to establish clear KPI’s that are achievable with your event.

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What is your ultimate goal that would make the event a success, this also allows you to use your analytics in your favor to measure the success and present that to your clients and sponsors.

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Clear Marketing- Know your market, the channels they use and how to get them to opt in. Make it clear and easy for them to say yes to your event with out major hurdles (i.e : downloading an app, registering multiple times, etc.)

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Practice, Practice - Practice- Dry runs, testing, speaker training . (test, mic, lighting, slides, platforms, wifi, noise in area, backgrounds.)

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Backups are important - Make sure you have copies of speaker recordings ready to go in case there is a technical issue, have back up Wifi options if you are hosting the event. Have emails cued up that explain what to do in case of a technical issue.

Bonus Tips:

• With all of this you can have a smoother event, keep in mind that now with virtual we are seeing (at a high number) a 30% sign on rate from registered attendees, make sure to factor this into your numbers when you talk to your client and are speaking about ROI.
• A hybrid event is not 2 events it is 3 events in one! Virtual, In Person & Hybrid, plan and budget accordingly.

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If you have more questions on this topic feel free to reach out and connect with our Founder Alexandria Tomayko or our two amazing speakers : Sarah Buchbinder & Michel Sayo.

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