Last year saw a huge rise in the number of online events, seminars and training sessions. More and more people were embracing new platforms to share their message with those working from home. Yet, there are still some mistakes that people make which could eclipse your successful event. Here are a few Dos and Don’ts of your online event.
DO offer technical support and advice before your event
There are numerous levels of computer knowledge in the world and that is the nature of how quickly technology has been growing. There are multiple generations out there who have varying levels of internet knowledge. Some of us were growing up with the internet becoming the latest new thing, others treat the internet like the discovery of the wheel. It happened a long time ago by our ancestors. Either way, this means that some members are going to find it harder joining your event than others. Depending on your chosen hosting platform there are multiple ways for someone to join the event.
If you are dealing with a smaller number of people you can handle any technical issue that comes in through an email service or through the attendees giving your office a call. If you’re dealing with hundreds in attendance, this can be a huge task. You can cut out the middleman by offering as much information as possible during the signup process and email notifications. If you are looking to fill your event, you need to make sure you’re directing your audience to your landing pages as soon as your event has been finalised.
Do Not go live without a test run
Planning is essential when it comes to an online event, which means you should test your equipment beforehand. If you go live and a microphone is cutting out, or worse your internet is malfunctioning you may end up looking a bit unprofessional. There is some forgiveness during live events, but if you don’t have the fundamentals in place you’re going to have a hard time getting people investing in your event.
DO engage your audience throughout
There is no point in a live event unless you have an amount of interactivity. This could be as little as a live chat, or a message highlight from time to time. Or even a question and answer section built into the end. You need to give the audience a reason to attend your event as it is taking place. If you allow people to watch a replay because they feel they won’t miss anything they won’t turn up they will opt to watch at a later date and ultimately forget, which is just human nature at times. Keep your audience involved with the online event in any way you can which doesn’t interfere with it.
Do Not go public without a plan
If your event is open to the public for anyone to attend you will ultimately find a few people that attend your event just to confuse and agitate. You need a plan to deal with these people before they annoy anyone who may be genuinely interested in your event. Make sure to incorporate chat moderators who will be able to flag any comments and users causing a scene. Don’t be afraid to warn people, or even ban people. The internet is still the wild west when it comes to opinions and trolls can be hidden behind any user. So, just be aware when you open your door of who may be stepping in.
Do be open to learn
Use every live show as an opportunity to learn. Even though these Do’s and Don’ts of online events provide helpful information, you’ll truly learn a lot about the experience after your first one. Give yourself some time to grow and develop your style, iron out any wrinkles and refind your presenting skills. Some online event platforms give you the ability to save your event and share a replay with your audience. If you take some time to watch through your past events you’ll be able to see what needs improvement.
There you have it a quick roundup of the dos and don’ts for your next online event. If you need a helping hand marketing your next event, I suggest taking the content marketing approach, alongside some email marketing campaigns. If your event is now online your marketing needs to follow suit. Get creative and start sharing.
