Successful brands are those that can adapt to different circumstances, and in these beautiful days, being prepared to live solely digitally has saved many, so organizing your online events makes more sense than ever.
Some chief marketing officers (CMOs) can feel like a fish in water when it comes to online platforms and digital media.
However, others do not have the tools or resources to develop digitally, so we want to help them with this article.
Having platforms at your side to automate your online marketing practices and manage your potential customers is essential.
But what happens when your business moves into the online events area and your success depends on the number of people you can attract?
You may think that this global quarantine is a threat, but it is an opportunity to diversify and organize online events.
That is why, during this article, we will focus on teaching you how to organize an online event and be able to offer the same quality as with any formal event only by presenting it from digital platforms.
Organizing an online event gives you a world of possibilities and expands geographical limits; in addition to that, at the profitability level, it can be everything you were looking for in your company.
After this introduction, let’s get down to business and start talking about everything you need to organize an online event.
Table of Contents
What are online events?
An event is an event or a planned event with a defined date, time, and place and that meets different objectives according to each brand or each company.
In the case of online events, the exact definition applies; however, it changes the fact that guests and presenters interact through a digital platform.
Although people are used to attending face-to-face events, it is essential to adapt to the technological reality in which we live and enjoy the benefits that the digital world offers us.
Among the main benefits you get when organizing an online event we find:
There are no geographical limits.
When you do an online event, the location is not part of the topics you have to attend.
There is no need to worry about touring in different cities or countries.
Anyone with a digital device and Internet access can attend your event online without any complications.
The only thing that could influence is the time zone of the broadcast, regarding the location of the attendees.
Greater capacity for guests
When carrying out face-to-face events, the capacity of the physical spaces can often be a headache for the organizers.
Either you do not have enough space for all the people or on the contrary, you need a small place, but you do not get one that meets your requirements.
If you are going to organize an online event, you have multiple options depending on the platform you choose to establish the number of attendees.
When holding your event online, you will not have to think about decoration, accessibility or special services.
Immediacy in interactions
In many face-to-face events, the dynamic is usually to listen to the speaker and then open a round of questions and answers or debate to interact; however, communication is generally one-sided.
In the case of online events, attendees can interact with each other during the broadcast and, likewise, leave questions and comments that the organizer can answer immediately, thus allowing faster and more direct communication.
Similarly, through online events, you can open windows where users contribute content to the event.
Recording of the event for its diffusion
Many digital platforms allow you to access the recording of your event immediately or in a few hours; this is also a benefit over traditional events.
Because while it is true that you can also record a face-to-face event, this process takes more time and will also require an edit that will take more than a few hours.
Ease of broadcasting in different languages
Although the presenter transmits the information in a single language, it provides the option of using subtitles when doing so through digital platforms.
This tool will help you effectively reach more people, regardless of where they are or the language they speak.
Reduction of production costs
We know that organizing a face-to-face event requires a lot of work and effort.
You have to invest in spaces, decoration, advertising, media, invitations, and some details for the guests, even food and drinks.
All these elements are not necessary when organizing an online event.
For these, you only need a digital device with a good camera and good audio and space where the presenter can effectively convey their message.
Profitability
In addition to the previous point, organizing an online event will leave you with a more significant income by saving all production expenses, and you will see a better return on investment.
Now, you may have doubts about whether your brand can organize online events by category or depending on the area you operate.
Do not worry about that; now, we will let you know the types of online events you can carry out.
Types of online events
Nowadays, there are no limitations regarding the type of event you can carry out online, beyond copyright issues or the fact that your themes may affect a specific kind of population.
Regarding legal and privacy issues, you will always have the information provided by the platforms. In the same way, we suggest you consult with professionals in the area not to have complications.
On the other hand, we want to share with you a list of the most popular types of online events:
. Online workshops and classes
. Interviews with public figures
. Webinars
. Broadcasts of sporting or political events
. Digital congresses
. Fan Encounters
. Product launch
. Charity events
. Transmission of cultural events
. Online tournaments
Platforms to organize your event online
The choice of platform to organize an event should depend on your objectives, the number of attendees, and your budget.
Although many offer free options, they usually have limitations, especially related to the number of attendees; however, they typically have good options.
Next, we will share with you five of the platforms to organize the most popular online events.
. Eventbrite
. Go to webinar
. Evanthia
. Class online
. Any meeting
Each of these platforms gives you different options, capacities, and specifications; it is time for you to visit them and choose the best one for you according to your objectives and the type of event you want to carry out.
How to promote your online events?
Once you have established your objectives, chosen the platform, and have everything you need to carry out your event, it is time to make it known to everyone.
Keep in mind that, to invest strategically in the promotion of your event online, you must know your audience and learn how to reach them and make them fall in love so that they are part of your event.
One of the most common ways to promote events online is through the company’s website and its social networks.
Some of the content that you can create to promote your event online can be:
. Short videos related to the theme of the event.
. Infographics with relevant data that you are going to deal with during the event
. Collaborations with other brands that are related to the theme of the event
. Support with micro-influencers.
. Paid ads on social networks
If you have previously held an online event, you must share small clips so that your audience can see the quality of the transmission and feel confident about being part of your subsequent events.
On the other hand, if you will have guests or participants outside your company, it is good to make them known in advance through your digital platforms so that your audience begins to generate a connection with them.
Likewise, this will help you generate interest in the event and attract the audience that follows these guests or collaborators to your online event.
Take into account the promotion time of the online event; make sure to start early enough so that you can achieve your sales and attendance goals.
Elements to take into account during your online events.
Let’s imagine that the day of your online events has arrived, that you have already met all of the above, reached your sales goal, and it is time to deliver to your audience everything you prepared for them.
Pre-production forecasts
. Internet connection quality
For an online event, the Internet connection is vital.
It would help if you had that throughout the event; both the audio and the video are optimal, that there are no cuts, jumps in the audio or failures with the platform.
Make sure you have a plan B for any eventuality that may occur during your online event.
That all devices are charged connected, that there are no interruptions and that all the material shared is in order.
Minimize the possibility of an error during your online event and keep abreast of everything attendees comment on while your events is taking place.
. Double-check
Checking everything twice never hurts, and if different people can do it, the better.
Ensure that the speaker or guests have everything they will need during the event on hand and that there are no unnecessary breaks.
. Create a contingency plan
If something out of the ordinary happens, you must be prepared for it.
Develop a contingency plan if the presenter has a last-minute problem or if your teams decide not to function correctly.
Why is it essential to keep attendees focused?
Perhaps one of the not-so-positive aspects of organizing an online event is the distracting factor of being on a computer or cell phone.
Also, the person speaking cannot see the audience directly leads to loss of attention.
That is why taking account time of the event, the breaks, and the topics to be developed are significant so that the message arrives correctly.
Think that you as a user do not want to be immobile in front of a device for 6 hours listening to a single person talking about a single topic.
With online events, you need to be dynamic.
Promote interactions with attendees; in this way, you will be able to keep their attention during the event, and you can also confirm that the message is getting through.
It brings us to the next point that you should polish when organizing your online event.
How can you generate interactions?
When you’re running an event online, one of your biggest challenges will be keeping attendees focused on what the speaker is saying and the message that is being delivered.
Online event platforms usually provide chat or question spaces where attendees can interact during the celebration, and these spaces will be your allies for interactions.
. Establish a scheme
In this, you will define how long each topic will take and how many interactions you would like to generate during that space.
Be careful not to let the audience control the timing of the event.
. Organize a list of questions for the attendees
Preferably ask closed questions that do not take too long and are easy for them to answer.
. Make sure to let its know that entries are valuable
Take into account their opinions during the celebration, use phrases such as “as Roberto told us” or “According to Lucas’s opinion”. In this way, you will generate a connection with them and motivate them to continue participating.
And with these interactions, you can start segmenting your attendees and then take them to your sales funnel and make them qualified leads.
Tips to get leads through your online events
Online events can be a great strategy to get leads and then convert them into your customers. That is why we want to share with you some quick tips to achieve it.
. Share direct links to your website or landing page during the event to capture leads.
. Offer a discount to attendees for upcoming online events.
. Use a thank you page after the events.
. Send them the recording of the events via email with some other free resource of your brand.
. Create an information gathering form for the closing of the events.
By grouping and filtering all these tips, you can move on to the final stage of your online events and thus take attendees to the next step on their way in your marketing strategy.