How do you transition your in-person event into a virtual event?

 

The economic situation is in the center of a drastic change right now. In the midst of coronavirus (COVID-19) chaos, events are forced to cancel or be indefinitely postponed. The massive wave of event cancellations is hitting businesses hard, especially those that rely primarily on events to generate revenue.

And it’s not going to stop with coronavirus. Everyone is getting the chance to attend remote events and work from home, and this new digitization is going to have a major impact on our collective psyche. It’s going to become the new normal, at least in part. Virtual experiences are going to become much more widespread and commonplace from this point forward.

So NOW is the time to act. Your business can greatly benefit from leveraging the spur of this digital revolution to your advantage by being one of the first onboard to do it, and do it well.

If you’re in the position of having to cancel an event, you’ve probably run the numbers and gawked at the extensive hit you could take. If you have an event in the next year, you’re probably feeling uncertain and anxious about whether or not to go forward with it. Even if your business doesn’t have to cancel an upcoming event due to coronavirus, you’re probably wondering what kind of impact this will have on corporate events moving forward.

But you don’t need to scrap your plans entirely; just move the event online.

The big giants are moving towards digital events. Microsoft’s Build developer conference in May has moved from Seattle to digital. This announcement followed Google’s complete cancellation of their May I/O conference and the digitalization of their Cloud Next event. There has been an explosion of growth in the digital event realm, with startups like Hopin suddenly reaching new levels of capacity. Some sports events, like the UFC, are even going crowd-less. Even after the coronavirus (COVID-19) social distancing has passed, it’s highly probable that more and more events will move to the online sphere.

Digital events are quickly becoming the new norm. So how do you prepare your business to get ahead of the pack with virtual events?

We’ve created this guide to push your business and events forward in the right direction. You’ll learn how to transition to a virtual event and create an incredible digital experience. Whether you’re holding internal meetings to keep employees updated or hosting a conference for customers and sponsors, we’ll help you figure out how to use the digital world to connect to your audience (and potentially show even more success than an in-person event).

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL EVENT?

Virtual events are events that happen online as opposed to a physical location. They can be hosted “live” with ongoing webinars and webcasts or prerecorded with video from speakers and panelists. Or, it can be a mixture of the two, with some pre-recorded content meshed with live Q&A and interactions. There may also be written content and communication components as well.

Virtual events are more than just an online video or two. An effective virtual event will create a unique and exciting experience for its digital audience. This means it provides a lot of different types of content, with a number of ways for participants to connect and communicate. Live presentations and webcasts can be pre recorded, with a live Q&A with panelists at the end. Live streams can create huge “reveals” for products or give a one-on-one intimate experience with a keynote speaker. Online chats (text, voice, or video) can allow for networking to find like-minded individuals. Forums and communities can converse about the topics as they’re going on and after the event has finished.

There are endless opportunities to create valuable, high-impact activities in the virtual sphere.

Virtual events are just high-quality events that take place in the digital world.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUAL EVENTS?

Let’s first address social distancing and quarantines, which is where the surge of virtual events is coming from right now.

With the mandatory social distancing and event cancellations due to coronavirus (COVID-19), more and more companies have decided to move all business operations to the digital world. This includes virtual conferences, company-wide gatherings, presentations, sales pitches, and more. Business can’t just stop, and virtual platforms are helping to maintain productivity while still promoting safety and public health.

Although this won’t last forever, having more virtual options available to us can help keep our economy stable in future crises or disasters. We hope for the best and plan for the rest, and virtual events are the best way to ensure businesses can continue running, people can stay employed, and the economy can continue to flourish—even in times of uncertainty.

Aside from this, though, there are a plethora of other benefits for utilizing virtual events. Even if the virus were completely eradicated tomorrow, a lot of companies would still hold virtual events instead. Digitalization is the future—but why?

• Virtual events are less expensive to put on and easier to coordinate. You don’t have to pay for a conference center, staffing, set-up, etc. This is especially beneficial for small or new companies looking to get involved in the event world with lower risk and cost to entry.
• Virtual events also save money for attendees, who don’t have to travel in order to attend. This means they’ll be willing to pay a little premium if they know they’re going to get a memorable, unique experience with your virtual events.
• Cutting down on travel cost and time also means there’s a lower barrier to entry for attendees. You can get a lot more people to login from home than you can to make it to an in-person event.
• Your reach is also a lot wider because you’re not limited by physical capacity or number of seats. You could theoretically sell as many tickets as your virtual platform can handle. You could also record the event and hold it again next week, so you can double the number of seats (and so on).
• You can host an event at any time. Whether there’s a pandemic going on or you just want to host more frequent interactions with your audience, you can create a much faster virtual event launch than you can if you need a physical space.
• You’re not held to the regulations of a hotel, conference center, or venue. You make the rules. This means virtual events leave a lot of room for innovation and creativity, and they’re a great way to “wow” your audience with a unique experience.
• You can personalize content—and the entire event—to the attendee based on their interests. Sharing highly relevant and customized information throughout the event tailors their experience, creating an unprecedented level of participant engagement and satisfaction.
• You can have greater access to keynote speakers. With virtual events, your speakers don’t need to fly in or take a lot of time out of their schedule. This can give you access to a global network of potential speakers and guests, whenever and however it works for their schedule.
• You can use and reuse the content from virtual events. Record the live webcasts, open up a fresh chat, and you can host the event again—and sell more tickets. You can also share that content for promotional purposes post-event to sell tickets to the next one.
• You can track and analyze your event’s metrics with ease. You can track behavior during each activity, conduct polls, and capture detailed information that makes it easy to continuously improve your events.
• Plus, people like the comfort and accessibility of their homes. Parents want to spend more time with their kids, and business owners don’t want to leave for a whole week. Virtual events allow people to attend and be interactive, without interfering with their personal or professional lives in any way.

The benefits of virtual events go on and on. It all boils down to the fact that virtual events save resources while providing a unique, exciting experience that attendees will adore.

TYPES OF VIRTUAL EVENTS TO CONSIDER

What are some events you can move online? (Spoiler alert: You can move any event to the digital sphere!)

Right now there are three primary types of events: in-person, online/virtual, and hybrid events. Hybrid events are those that are both held in-person at a physical location as well as streamed online with virtual platforms.

Here are just a few virtual events possibilities that you can leverage for your business:

• Webcasts (live audio and visual)
• Slidecasts (presentation in sync with live audio/visual)
• Webinars (audio and visual file over internet, either live or prerecorded)
• Live streaming in-person events
• Hosting online presentations, panelists, and Q&A periods
• On-demand content (prerecorded and pre-created media shared at any time with users)
• Virtual trade shows (sponsors and exhibitors broadcast with multimedia files)
• Virtual expos (exposition hall and booths that you visit using arrow keys on keyboard; and click on booth to chat with the exhibitor)
• Online job fairs (like a virtual exposition but used for employers and employees to network)
• Virtual meetings and conferences (live presentations or even host in a virtual conference center)
• Virtual summits (trade shows, expos, presentations, meetings, etc. all come together at once for the ultimate summit)

POPULAR EXAMPLES OF VIRTUAL EVENTS

Virtual events aren’t novel along with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A lot of cutting edge companies have been hosting digital conferences, shows, and events.

Check out some interesting examples of virtual events that have been showing success to get some ideas and inspiration.

HR Virtual Summit

Hosted by BambooHR, this HR Virtual Summit is the world’s largest virtual HR conference with over 3,000 attendees—and they know how to do it well. This year, the summit is being held on April 19-25, 2020, and they’re one of the only companies that haven’t had to worry at all about coronavirus impeding their ability for the show to go on. We especially love the saying they have on their homepage: “No need for special shoes. With a sturdy internet connection, and the opportunity to learn from the privacy of your own office, you can dance like no one’s watching.”

They offer free sessions from over 60 industry experts, authors, thought leaders, and visionaries. Everything is totally online, but the Bamboo team hosts it from their office in-person. On the platform, attendees can customize their experience, change speakers, switch views, and participate in real-time conversations.

If you’re looking for an awesome example of how to host a summit online, we definitely recommend being a part of this informative and unique (and free) virtual event.

Content Marketing Summit

Although the Content Marketing Summit is also a summit, this one isn’t held live—but it does still have a specific time and date for each event. Neil Patel has recorded over 200 hours of marketing content, including keynote speeches and interactive community opportunities. He also includes a step-by-step guide and other downloadable resources to pair the video/audio with written content for a comprehensive experience.

Since everything is online, users can check the schedule and see when they want to tune in, based on what they want to learn. Neil Patel has worked diligently to make his summit as customized and valuable for his attendees as possible. They’re even looking into ways to make the event more immersive.

Webinar World by ON24

Webinar World is a hybrid event, hosting both in-person and virtual attendees. They gather “webinerds” about marketing best practices, especially webinar marketing. They offer a registration for webinar marketing certifications as well as a full-day conference were marketing experts give presentations and engage with participants. They also stream it online, so online attendees can watch if they can’t make it to the in-person events.

What we especially like about Webinar World is that they put all of the speeches and events “on demand” online to watch after the event for marketing purposes. You can browse their keynote sessions, Master ON24, Build programs, and more from years past. This lets attendees rewatch their favorite sessions while getting others interested in the event (and buying tickets to the next one to get in on the action).

South by Southwest (SXSW)

South by Southwest is a popular film festival that also celebrates tech, business, music, comedy, and entertainment. Every year, they host a live event in Austin, Texas. They also stream keynote speeches and other events online for individuals who can’t attend in person. It’s an awesome example of a hybrid event that uses the digital sphere to widen their reach.

However, SXSW was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. They didn’t have the capacity or bandwidth to move the event entirely online. They also didn’t have a lot of time between the quarantine and their planned event on March 13, 2020. They had previously been doing online streaming, but it’s still not enough. We anticipate that SXSW will start to find even more ways to incorporate live streaming and virtual platforms into their event strategy.

SXSW could have really benefited from having an event partner like True Film Production who could help make a speedy transition from hybrid to entirely online.

Masterclass

Although not technically an “event,” we love the professional platform that Masterclass uses to teach their students virtually. You feel like you’re right in the room with some of the greatest experts in their fields, from Martin Scorsese to Gordon Ramsay to Samuel Jackson. They offer video lessons, downloadable workbooks, and community discussion for each class. Once the class is uploaded, they can continuously sell tickets or subscriptions to their classes for ongoing up-tracking revenue.

Harvard Studio Live is a similar online classroom that does a great job connecting participants with industry-leading experts for in-depth discussions. We like that Harvard limits each “class” size to 60 participants, so there’s a level of exclusivity and urgency to sign up for the discussions you want.

Your events don’t always have to be “live” or chock full of activities. Sometimes a prerecorded video with interactive options can provide the best possible experience for your audience’s goals and wants.

HOW TO HOST A VIRTUAL EVENT

Hosting a virtual event isn’t as easy as it seems, but it also doesn’t have to be hard. Let’s make it even easier for you. We’ll bring you through everything you need to know and think about to transition your event online.

What do you need to host a virtual event?

1. Logistics and planning

The most important thing you need is a plan. Developing a virtual event marketing strategy that aligns with your business and event goals is key to seeing success. The only events that fail are those that the organizers didn’t fully understand the objectives of hosting their event.

• Who is your target audience?
• What is the purpose of your event?
• What assets do you currently have?
• What assets can be repurposed from the cancelled event?
• Which resources do you need to make the online event happen?

Events work best when they are experiences. You need to build a community around your event. Right now, everyone’s stuck at home and going a little stir crazy. So now is the perfect time to optimize on their desire for more. How can you offer an event that gets them excited and amped up about your brand?

Check out this in-depth logistics and planning checklist we’ve put together for you to ensure you’re on the way to a smooth transition for your virtual events.

1. Decide if you’ll be a hybrid event or entirely online. You’ll have different needs if you’ll be live streaming in-person events or teleconferencing long distance keynote speakers, so choosing your event format has to be the first decision you make.
2. Select the multimedia format(s) that best convey your message and activities. Does a live webcast with your panelists work best for the Q&A, or do you want a community tab where people can chat and post their questions (or both)? Will you use pre-recorded video and audio or teleconference with speakers? Will you offer 3D renderings of a mock trade show that allow people to navigate through and talk to sponsors one-on-one? If you’re not sure what kinds of activities or technologies are best for your event, consult with an event marketing team like True Film Production to find out what’s possible.
3. Select the technology and tools that enable the professional use of your chosen multimedia formats. What are the right platforms for your subjects, objectives, and audience? How will you monitor and track audience metrics? What will be most accessible to participants? Visualize each step, and find the right technology platform that can get the job done.
4. Consider live streaming. There are a lot of options out there, from webinars to social media streaming, so it’s important to figure out what sort of live streaming platform will work best for your content and audience.
5. Create a clear, compelling story that brings your event together from start to finish. Remember that your number one goal is to create a unique, memorable experience for your digital attendees. That means noteworthy speakers and activities as well as high quality videos, animation, and graphics in your presentations. You want them tuned in from start to finish—and begging for a ticket to your next event.
6. Digitize your agenda and schedule of activities. An online program reduces waste and can be updated regularly as things change. In person, use a QR code people can scan with their phone cameras; online, have a tab they can refresh for the latest schedule.
7. If relevant, gather your team of experts from around the globe for a pre-event meeting and planning session. Give all presenters specific instructions about the software and how to use it to interact with attendees.
8. Get all partners and sponsors on board early. Notify and train exhibitors about materials they’ll need to participate in your online event.
9. Determine how you’ll handle audience interaction. For example, if you have a Q&A with panelists, will online attendees be able to send their question in a chat box or will they have to email them in ahead of time?
10. Coordinate the crews and participating parties in every city. Everyone should be on the same page and ready for action the moment your event starts.
11. Test all of the setup and software at least a day before the event. You are going live, and you don’t want to have a hiccup like with Joe Biden asking if the cameras were rolling. Get everything prepped so you don’t have to worry. (Your production team should be able to help you with this.)
12. Get a team of web streaming and IT professionals on hand You’ll need several technicians available to ensure nothing goes down during the event.
13. Record streamed events so you can post and reuse later. Make sure you get permission from the presenters. This will be the best promotional marketing you can use for your brand and future events.
14. Share, share, share. Get hashtags going about your event and encourage presenters and attendees to discuss on social media and forums. Virtual events need strong marketing too. You should be promoting before, during, and after the event. Use social media, email marketing, websites, landing pages, and anything you can to share the news about your event.

And that’s just an overview! That doesn’t even include all the details and nitty gritty of it.

We know there’s a lot to navigate, figure out, and execute. That’s why a lot of companies make the smart decision not to do it all alone. The best thing you can do for your brand and your event is to hire an expert that knows exactly what every step of the production process looks like, from creative strategizing and storytelling to tech troubleshooting to interacting with audience members and beyond.

2. Time

For businesses looking to go digital for events due to coronavirus (COVID-19), swift execution is absolutely critical. Even if you’re not on a time crunch, though, time can either be your enemy or your greatest asset when it comes to putting on your virtual event. Opportunity is everything, and moving into position right now is the best way to recover from any cancellations and to prep for what’s coming next.

It doesn’t matter how smart or creative or talented you are. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to creating an incredible, experiential event, it’s going to end up falling flat. It’s important to have a strong plan, but it’s even more important to execute that plan quickly, especially right now.

If you don’t have the time required to dedicate to your event, find a partner who can do it for you. At True Film Production, we pride ourselves in working fast and making things happen.

3. Creative strategy

Too often, brands neglect to define their creative—which is why their events typically don’t go as well as they should or could.

You want to consider how you’ll make the online content interesting, exciting, educational, and branded (in your style, tone, and voice). With an in-person event, you can lean back a little more on the natural “hype” of the environment. But you’re facing the obstacle of creating an exciting environment with virtual events, so this requires extra attention.

This includes everything from how you can transform regular old PowerPoint presentations into powerful motion design and graphics, and how you can utilize video to tell a story that drives home the message of your event.

That’s our main differentiator at True Film Production. We brainstorm the creative first and foremost, and then we infuse that creative strategy into every aspect of the event process. From video scripting to content production to technology usage, our primary goal is to ensure every part of the process is unified in alignment with your brand and event goals. Don’t settle for average. Create an experience that your attendees will talk about for years, your brand will be proud of, and your revenue numbers will love.

4. Video production support

There’s a lot that goes into putting together a quality production. Cameras, lighting, audio, equipment, graphics, technology platforms, live streaming platforms, integrations, landing pages, talent scouting and organizing… The list is long when it comes to putting it all together. Virtual events take just as much planning as a regular event to ensure it’s an unbelievable, unforgettable experience that goes off without a hitch.

And the most important part of the event—the part that creates the “awesomeness” of the experience—is the content. Your content, like videos and live streams, are how you get people excited about and engaging with your event.

That means investing in production is the best thing you can do for your event.

Not only do we have the highest production quality in the game, we also pride ourselves on our extremely fast turnaround for worldwide events. Our team at True Film Production works well with tight deadlines, budgeting, long-distance production, recording video, live streaming events (in-person or remote), and repurposing content across marketing channels.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) will pass, but its effects of moving to a more digital world for business to persist. We’re thrown into a remote, online world, and this shift is exciting for the video production and event marketing industry.

Want to experience the True Film difference for yourself?

Contact us for a free consultation and quote to transition your conference or show into a virtual event that will show even greater results. True Film Production has the experience, the know-how, and the drive to take your virtual event to new heights (or launch it for the first time).

So get your free consultation now. No risk, no pressure. We know you’ll love what we come up with, and we’re ready to take your call. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to create some virtual events magic.