6 Factors to Consider When Organizing Virtual Conferences
Most organizers know their audience, but very few consider their audience. However, this point is essential to create relevant and exciting content. The nature and size of your audience and the quality of your online event platform make all the difference. Having an audience-first mindset is a crucial decider of how effective and successful your conference will be.
Consider Your Audience
Know your target audience. Study their demographics, interests, and why they would want to attend your conference, and plan the content accordingly. This way, you know that you already have your audience’s attention even before they join the conference because you will serve just what they want.
Choose the Right Platform to Host Your Event
Picking the right platform to host your event is a very vital decision to make. The chosen platform should be user-friendly to avoid technical glitches. It is also important to ensure that it does not come with complicated settings or complex instructions that irk the attendees during the conference or even before joining it.
At the same time, choosing a hybrid online event platform that is easily customizable and comes with many useful features is preferable. The features may include a real-time video conferencing experience, conversation windows where the audience can interact during the conference, visual boards that will enable writing, and display videos, presentations, etc., with high clarity.
Availability of these features will go a long way in addressing the biggest challenge in a virtual conference which is to hold the audience’s attention throughout.
Content of the Conference
Good content is always the backbone of a conference without which people lose interest very quickly. Put considerable thought into what you will talk about and how you will deliver it.
It is better to avoid technical jargon when planning the content because the real success lies in how much of what you speak has been understood and liked by the audience.
Another thing to keep in mind is not taking up time that isn’t needed. People logging in to a virtual conference may have other professional or personal commitments. By keeping your event relevant and crisp, you can win over not only your audience’s attention but also their appreciation for you and the event.
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Choose Your Speakers
It takes less than ten seconds to lose interest in a speaker, especially in a virtual event if the speaker is monotonous. So choose dynamic speakers who can sense the pulse of their audience and grab their attention with effective communication.
Planning adequate short breaks between each speaker is also essential to avoid a lapse of attention.
Participant Engagement Features
This is the golden slogan of any virtual conference – participant engagement. When there is a lack of face-to-face speaker-audience interaction, the audience’s natural tendency to feel passive and uninvolved in a conference, which eventually results in them losing interest quickly.
That is why it is imperative to focus on strategies to make the conference engaging. Asking casual questions, planning interactive sessions, exciting games, teaming up the audience for activities, having chat windows, etc., may be valuable strategies that will make the audience feel included and show actual involvement in the conference.
Keep it All Organized
A virtual conference means bringing together people you don’t see in person and conducting an event. Therefore, it is crucial to keep every single detail organized and written down.
It would help if you had a minute-to-minute schedule in chronological order, including the list of speakers, visual aids required, activity sessions, instructions to be given and everything else that may be required. Also, it is important to diversify the format of your plan and, above all, make the best effort to always stick to your schedule.
Dragging a session beyond the specified time can have a negative impact on the event and must be avoided. Plan and allot time-slots for each activity or session that forms part of the event. Advanced virtual conference software will allow you to schedule and plan the event as per your preference.
Wrapping Up
Choose a virtual platform that offers plenty of real-time features and benefits. Additionally, check if the platform offers AI-powered networking features and capabilities.
