You probably know that a virtual event is a great way to grow your business and to make money. Virtual events add interest and provide a valuable form of education and content to your audience. As much as you do know about creating and hosting a virtual event, there are probably some questions you haven’t thought to ask.

 

1. What Types of Software and Technology Do I Need to Host a Virtual Event?

There are actually several different approaches you can take to host your virtual event. For example, at the most basic level you can host a Google Hangout, which limits your attendees, but does let you record your event and give the public access to the recording. So at a most basic level you’ll need some sort of webinar, webcasting, or web conferencing and meeting software.
There are many different options. It’s important to first decide what you want to accomplish with your event, how you want to present information and how interactive, if at all, you want your event to be. Once you know how you want to deliver your content and the fundamental structure of your event, then you can look for the technology that fits your needs.
You’ll also want to make sure your marketing systems and technologies support you. For example, an autoresponder and list management software, along with secure payments systems, are crucial to your success.

 

2. How Do I Market a Virtual Event? How Do I Make Sure People Attend?

You market the event essentially the same way you’d market a new product or service launch. That is to say, you want to make sure you’re marketing the event a few weeks before the actual event. Use the marketing tactics that you know are successful.
If social media is usually effective for you, then create a strong social media marketing campaign. Create a strategy to market your event and approach it with a clear plan of action, including systems to measure your success.

3. What Do I Do Once the Event is Over?

After the event is just as important as the prelaunch and the actual event. It’s your opportunity to follow-up with attendees and to make promotional offers. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about how they felt about the experience.
What did you do well? What can you do better next time? If you have sponsors, talk to them about their experience. Assess your analytics and conduct a thorough evaluation of the success of the event.
Take notes and make changes to your documentation. This information will help you create an even more successful live event next time.
Virtual events are a challenge to create and pull together. The more information you can gather ahead of time, the more effective your strategy and implementation will be. And remember that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Get help from people who are familiar with event technology, marketing, and analytics.