In four months of 2020, among all video communication services, Zoom became the main sensation. Zoom's stocks grew exponentially during the quarantine period. In the first quarter of 2020, more new users appeared on the platform than in the whole of 2019! In just the last month, the number of users increased by 20 times: from 10 million to 200 million. And the number of search queries in Yandex for a month is approaching 3 million. Other video communication services are also experiencing increased demand.
Without a doubt, the global tense situation around the world has directly contributed to such a surge in popularity. Most employers have switched employees to remote work. Doctors from different countries hold meetings virtually and share experiences, students attend video lectures from home, ordinary people can easily get to an online party or even a concert, and some find a partner on "blind" dates.
This is the new reality, and it's important to adapt to it in time. How to quickly integrate into the new online environment? How to prepare an event without a beautifully decorated venue, without a pleasant coffee break, and without the emotional engagement you feel in person? We'll tell you how to plan a successful online event: what to pay attention to and what mistakes to avoid.
Goal and Strategy
At the very first stage – developing the idea – you must clearly define the goal and objectives of your online event. What do you want to achieve in the end? Who is your target audience? What results do you expect? From this, you will understand which platform is better to choose, what functionality you need, and what additional services to involve (networking, document exchange, event agency, etc.).
Video Communication Platform
Explore possible options of various platforms, choose according to your needs. The main thing is that it is convenient and easy to use, does not require complex registration for participants, and has the ability to export content to YouTube.
Test all the functionality. Explore the possibilities of multimedia exchange, interactive webinars, chats, polls, gamification, and other necessary extensions.
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Explore possible options of various platforms |
Feedback
The interaction and engagement of every employee should remain priorities even in a virtual event. To begin with, future participants need to be motivated to join the event. It is important that it be an anticipated event, not a “voluntary-compulsory” one. Create a promotional page for the event, come up with an enticing logo and name, a brief and concise description, provide a link to the broadcast in advance, and remind about the date and time.
Ensure moderation of built-in chats during video communication so that they are not overloaded and provide feedback. Invite interesting or popular personalities, experts, so that attention is switched. Dilute your event with distracting details to retain attention (quotes, videos, photos, memes).
It is important to constantly appeal to participants through voting and polls to show the importance and involvement of each.
Security above all
A virtual environment where a huge number of participants gather at the same time is a tempting target for uninvited visitors and hackers. Insufficient protection can lead to negative consequences – from insults and aggression in chats to leakage of participants' personal data. Double-check the security of your ISP's router in advance, and provide additional protection against hackers if necessary.
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Security above all
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Comfort and pleasant details
Remember that a video session should not exceed an average of 3 hours; participants simply won't stay engaged any longer. Also:
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Allow those who wish to ask “questions from the audience”; this kind of interaction gives them a sense of actively influencing what's happening.
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Use an online voting tool. This will help you track effectiveness and the audience's emotional response.
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Offer an additional opportunity for networking (building business connections). This always attracts attention, because finding contacts and connecting with useful people remotely has become even harder. Even a simple list of guests and speakers will be enough to attract and interest those who will find them useful.
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After the session ends, share useful materials, case studies, presentations, photos and videos. Don't forget to record the video stream so you can later use it on your own resources.
Don't be afraid to attract sponsors and integrate their features and offers into your event. This will benefit not only you but also the participants themselves, who will be able to get some bonus from the sponsor company.
As Evgenia Glushenkova, executive director of the Aventura event agency, noted, companies simply need to quickly restructure and move all their work tools online. After all, it doesn't matter where employees, partners and clients are located; all you need is internet access.Make the most of the new conditions: erase boundaries, break and create new rules, step out of your comfort zone. Make every event participant (even if there are thousands of them) an active player in your event. And then you will get productive, high-quality events even during a global crisis. And our team will gladly help you organize any event and do it at the highest level. Shall we create a new reality together?..
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