Successful digital events require careful planning. That means getting a technique, agenda and team in place to deliver a compelling experience to attendees.
“You all the time want blissful and engaged attendees who should not only learning through sessions or connecting with one another but are also learning, connecting with your small business or brand, and are deepening their relationship along with your organization,” said event strategist, event management and logistics leader, consultant Marsha Maxwell, in a session at The MarTech Conference.
Here are 4 key steps in planning on your digital event.
Defining a technique
The digital event strategy should include goals and objectives for each your small business and the audience.
“How are we going to construct the appropriate event and the way will we measure success?” Maxwell asked.
Objectives needs to be aligned with the digital event experience. Every motion participants take must have a purpose. This means comprehensive planning of the event, in addition to post-event evaluation to measure success.
The event’s content and messages should match the target market to make sure that attendees are engaged. Define specific measurable outcomes, which might include brand awareness, lead generation, peer networking and education.
To measure these outcomes, use post-event surveys, session surveys and even live focus groups and feedback sessions.
“If you possibly can’t measure the event, then it is best to query why you’re having it,” said Maxwell.
Dig deeper: What is a digital events platform and the way can it assist you to?
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Orchestrate a user-friendly experience
An experience with an organized agenda will make or break a digital event.
“You have to balance audience preferences and include breaks when constructing an event agenda framework,” said Maxwell.
An organized agenda includes the sequence of sessions, breaks and other activities that keep the audience engaged. Make sure these activities cover all of the personas expected to attend the event. And make sure that that there aren’t multiple activities happening without delay that cater to a single persona. Spread out the schedule in order that attendees aren’t faced with confusing scheduling conflicts.
Include breaks between sessions — 10 to quarter-hour — allowing attendees to grab a coffee while speakers and event staff prep for the subsequent session. And when making the agenda, also consider what time zones your attendees are in in order that they don’t miss vital sessions at early or late hours.
“Timing is crucial in digital events, especially due to global accessibility,” said “[Factor in] attendee schedules and a spotlight spans in digital events. Precise timing enhances accessibility, attendance and overall event experience.”
Assemble an event support team
In order to pull off the event, make sure that you’ve gotten a support team who can assist manage the experience on your attendees.
If your small business doesn’t have specific roles for event management and support, make sure that you recruit these team members from across the organization.
You’ll need IT or marketing operations to manage technical issues, in addition to marketers to help moderate discussions. You also needs to have a social media manager readily available to share highlights of the event over social platforms.
After the event, it is best to even have team members who can perform analytics and draw insights from event data.
“Having a team in place will help ease your mind as you execute the event,” said Maxwell.
Provide a protected and productive environment
Protect your attendees’ rights by addressing data privacy, copyright and accessibility liability. A secure and compliant environment needs to be maintained for all parties involved.
“Having legal terms and conditions and guidelines for digital events establishes a transparent framework for what your guests are getting into and the way they engage,” Maxwell said.
Let your attendees know that your small business is making a protected experience for everyone. Create and share a code of conduct, and clarify that you just’ll kick attendees out in the event that they don’t follow the code.
Make sure that any copyrighted video content complies with copyright law and is licensed. Also, include a speaker release form so that you could utilize content post-event.
By taking these 4 steps, your digital event is well on its way to making a meaningful experience on your audience.
“Utilizing all the event design helps deliver compelling stories that connect your attendees to your messages, creates memorable experiences and drives engagement and comprehension in a distant digital setting,” Maxwell said.
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