Virtual and Hybrid Event Planning Tips A to Z

Like many of you, I’ve spent a lot of time upskilling for virtual and hybrid meetings. Following are insights worth sharing. Updated regularly, you’ll see articles on audience engagement, marketing, strategy, choosing virtual hosting platforms, presentation skills, monetization, sponsorship, social media and how to blend virtual with in-person forums. I welcome your contributions:

Audience Engagement:

Virtual Event Tips from Promenade’s Speaker Network

10 Ways to Add Conversation into Your Virtual Events by Liz Lathan

12 Interactive Presentation Ideas Your Audience Will Love by Social Tables

Overcommunicate to your Audience – based on Learning Styles and Communication Preferences

Why Remote Meetings Don’t Feel the Same – Google

Who Goes Next – Protocols for Online Meetings

The Non-Obvious Guide to Virtual Meetings and Remote Work by Rohit Bhargava: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087RC1L23/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

10 Tips for More Effective Virtual Events Q&A

Giant Wall Screens by Monique Van Dusseldorp

How to End Bad Events by Liz Lathan

Gamification:

If done properly, gamification consciously and subconsciously incentivizes people to participate, engage, interact, and research has shown that retention is higher when incorporating it.

Here are a few specific benefits of gamification:
-Improves your productivity
-Encourages creativity.
-Strengthens communication processes.
-Favors employee’s engagement.
-Introduces innovative dynamics.
-Develops specific skills.
-Transmits corporate image.
-Improves knowledge absorption and retention
-Instant feedback
-Prompts behavioral change
-Can be applied for most company needs(educational, CSR, fun, networking, competition)
-Intrinsic motivation
-Drives Sales

STEWART MANN, WILD ROOSTER EVENTS FOUNDER | CEO | CCO

Meeting & Event Careers:

Reinvention of an Events Professional – Interview

Content and Livestream Strategy:

7 Easy Ways to Repurpose Webinar Content by Evenium

Adjusting Content to Digital Meetings & Events by Erica Spoor

The Future of Digital Events – Kim Davis, Martech Today

14 Event Planning Blogs to Follow

Hybrid Events:

Can you run a HYBRID event, and is that still effective? (Julie Holmes)

ABSOLUTELY. This is the next best option to being live. Having the speakers, venue, and even a small live audience can provide the dynamic of a conference. Add to that a group of moderators that are monitoring live stream feeds, remote Q&A, and more.

Lessons Learned – Multiple Virtual Events Topics:

10 Biggest Event Planning Challenges via Social Tables

International Conference Partnership – Dozens of Article Links to Virtual Planning and Production Tips

How to Make Virtual Events Work by Alex Lindsay

Virtual Events Best Practices – Destinations Magazine

Lessons Learned from Fintech Expert Jonathan Weiner

Virtual Event Tips from Promenade’s Speaker Network

Chrissy Farr – What’s Working in Virtual & Hybrid Events

A Communications Coach’s 10 Virtual Conference Takeaways

Is a Virtual Keynote the same thing as a Webinar?

When you choose to host a virtual conference, it will be valuable to ensure that your speakers understand the difference and can deliver an exceptional experience for attendees. “Webinar” is a virtual type of presentation that can be more closely aligned to a “breakout session” while a “Virtual Keynote” would be a more apt description for a keynote or general session. The expectations for this type of content, approach, and style are different. Virtual Keynote = So dynamic, you feel like you’re in the room!

Don’t forget your sponsors and vendors!

For many events, vendors and sponsors provide a lot of financial assistance. Make sure that you are considering how to still deliver them the best possible value for partnering with your event. They can record videos to share or provide live-streamed presentations in addition to the usual “send an email to the attendee” option.

Source: https://promenadespeakers.com/speakers/virtual-hybrid-and-webinar-presentation-tips/

Planning/Budgeting:

Virtual Event Planning Tips from Hopin

Time Zone Planning by Meeting Play

Budget cuts to make Hybrid work – Faith Keiser

Presentation Skills/Speakers:

How to be a better Online Presenter – Financial Times

Building the Impact of your Virtual Speakers

Present Better Virtually – Harvard Business Review

Virtual Presentation Tips – Convene.com

Virtual & In-Person Emcees

Top Virtual & Online Speakers

Pricing & Monetization:

Behind the Curtain: Pricing the Digital Experience

Monetizing Virtual Events – Riches in the Niches

Privacy:

See if your virtual platform:

neither sells, monetizes or shares user data with any entity other than its client hosting the event, in accordance with its stated Terms and Conditions. (Some data may be shared at the user’s own discretion to the extent they choose to log in under their personal Facebook and Linked In accounts.)
does not collect user data other than that which those using the platform actively enter.
does not expose users emails, or other personal information to others in its events without their taking the clients own explicit actions to do so. (if you login through Facebook for example, then you and others see that your public Facebook profile is available at a click within the platform).
employs significantly more secure levels of encryption: e.g.: employing a 256 bit key
provides no opportunity for an individual to broadly heckle, hijack, or poison an event with anti-social messaging to all, because there simply is no event wide waterfall text chat. Be wary of event-wide chat function to protect against an individual projecting anti social messaging to the entire audience without the host’s first granting that individual express permission.
provides a video chat backstage where prospective contributors can be carefully pre-interviewed, qualified and prepared so as to ensure that only desirable people are given the stage. Taking people off stage should also be enabled instantaneously.

ROI/Results:

Rick Bradberry’s Key Webinar metrics

Trade Shows and Expositions:

Virtual Conference Booth Best Practices

Reed Exhibitions – Trade Show Trends

Trade Show Booth Best Practices

How Technology Can Maintain Safe Trade Shows

Transitioning from In-Person to Virtual:

Virtual Event Case Studies, Testimonials, Speaker Video Samples

Six ways to transition from In-Person First to Virtual – Virtual Events Institute

A Producer’s Perspective on Cancelled Events Going Virtual

How to Put On a Great Virtual Conference – Inc. Magazine

How to Host a Successful Virtual Event by Freeman Company

Value of Virtual & Hybrid Events:

A new study reveals the realities of meetings going virtual, from the variety of formats and sourcing to measurement and comparisons to face to face.

Visit www.mpiweb.org/research to read The Strategic Value of Virtual Meetings and Events research paper, which is accompanied by an in-depth How-To guide that demonstrates how planners can establish virtual events strategies. Also, read through a concise Lessons Learned paper for quick-hit tips.

MPI Study on Value of Virtual Events

Value of In-Person, F2F Events/Transitioning to In-Person Events/Future of In-Person:

Value of In-Person Events – ROI is crucial

What’s In Store for In-Person Events – Mike Dominguez

Event Leadership Institute – The Future of In-Person Events

The Shift from Large to Smaller Events

Why the Experience Economy should be our Objective

Virtual Platform Comparisons:

Virtual Event Platform Sourcing – RFPs by MPI

10 Best Virtual Event Platforms

https://www.smartmeetings.com/tips-tools/technology/85250/12-tech-tools-for-virtual-meetings

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-video-conferencing-software