The Ultimate Guide to Planning and Hosting a Virtual Conference
Are you scrambling to figure out how to plan and host your virtual conference now that in-person events are off the table (for the foreseeable future)?
Back on March 11, just three weeks before the Sheer Impact Conference was scheduled to take place in Denver, I made the difficult decision to pivot and host the event as a virtual conference.
While the thought of figuring out the technology, logistics and systems involved with hosting an online event with multiple speakers, sessions and sponsors gave me serious angst, it was a far better alternative to cancelling.
The process of planning, learning #allthethings, and then hosting a virtual conference with just three weeks’ notice felt like a firehose strategy… but it worked!
And now, I practically feel like an expert(ish) and am excited to share with you everything I learned to minimize the learning curve as you plan and host your own virtual conference.
Here is how to host your own virtual conference (even if it’s on short notice).
CHOOSE A THEME OR TOPIC
If you are pivoting an in-person event into a virtual conference, you’ll likely already know this. But it’s important to revisit this theme or topic in the context of a virtual experience for your audience.
What will your virtual conference cover, generally and specifically? It’s important to be as specific as possible so your potential attendees see the value in dedicating time and resources to signing up for your event.
The content and community we cultivate are geared towards small businesswomen and solopreneurs in service-based industries. So, if you’re a coach, consultant, healer, therapist, artist, photographer, influencer or in another service delivery industry - this conference is for you.
CURATE AN IMPRESSIVE GROUP OF SPEAKERS & PREPARE THEM FOR SUCCESS
Once you determine the topic, make a list of speakers you’re interested in recruiting to speak at your conference. If your event has historically drawn upon local talent, a virtual conference is a nice way to expand your reach and pursue speakers elsewhere.
I always pull together a blend of well-known industry experts and other rising influencers to create a mix that highlights familiar and fresh faces.
What makes a good speaker on stage doesn’t always translate into the digital sphere, so be sure to ask for speaker reels, scope out any live videos they’ve previously done, and interview them via video.
Once you have confirmed your speakers, onboard them with everything they need to know to be successful. Let your speakers know what you want them to cover, how much you will pay them, and the length of time they have to present. Be sure to cover the technical details like what technology is being used and how they will log on to participate. You may even want to review their slide deck or presentation notes with them.
Setting up your speakers for success will help them shine, and when they shine, you and your event shine too.
DETERMINE YOUR BUDGET
There are countless ways to execute your virtual conference, so it is important to know your budget before you get further into the planning process. As you will find, the range of options runs the gamut, starting at $100 and heading upwards of $10,000.
What expenses can you anticipate? Will you pay your speakers? A tech team? Who will create all your event graphics and marketing materials? All of these items - along with others - will help you determine pricing for your virtual conference.
Grab our virtual event budget calculator
TECH + TOOLS
The first thing you need to know is that there is no one-stop-shop perfect solution, so do your research and due-diligence to determine which virtual conference platform and technical equipment is right for you to use.
If you’re not tech-savvy or comfortable managing various platforms, livestreaming, chats, etc simultaneously (hand raised here!), you may even want to consider hiring a production manager or team. That’s what we did.
Here are a list of questions to consider that will help guide next steps:
Will you stream speakers live or play prerecorded sessions?
What features do you want and need to have? Rank them in priority order.
Who will support the tech side of the event?
How many sessions and speakers will you have? Are these sessions led by one or more facilitators?
Where will you stream your virtual conference: onto your website, via social media or on a live streaming platform?
That last question is the biggest of all, as identifying the benefits and drawbacks of the various platforms and options can be the most overwhelming part of planning your virtual conference. But answering those first few questions will help you identify what you need out of your conference platform.
While there are benefits of using an all-in-one platform, the costs of these programs are typically out of reach for solopreneurs and small business owners.
After tons of research and multiple conversations, we chose to host the Sheer Impact virtual conference in a private Facebook group - streaming into the group using Switcher Studio - due to its cost and value. (We also paid a team of techies to run production on the back-end. Thank you, Jimmy!)
MARKETING YOUR VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Whether you’re hosting an in-person event or working to plan and host a virtual conference, the event brand is one of the best tools for building awareness and creating momentum.
Consider who can serve as ambassadors for your virtual conference to help you spread the word. Your speakers? Sponsors? Team members? Other event attendees? You can tap into so many different audiences by partnering up on your marketing.
As you develop your virtual conference marketing strategy, there are numerous ways to build a magnetic presence that creates buzz before and during your event. We compiled the top eight marketing strategies all in one post.
THE ATTENDEE EXPERIENCE
It’s game day! One of my favorite parts of hosting an in-person conference is the opportunity to connect with so many of the attendees.
When we made the switch to a Virtual Conference, determining how to bring community together online was our #1 focus. Since Sheer Impact was held in a private Facebook group, we invited attendees into the group as soon as they registered. That way, they could start meeting and engaging with other attendees before the conference and then turn those new contacts into familiar faces by event day.
What else can you do to ensure a positive and fulfilling attendee experience? Post prompts for engagement throughout the day. Invite people to share their social media profiles. Promote meaningful conversation in topic-specific forums. Invite attendees to share takeaways.
Whether you are here to learn how to plan and host a virtual conference by choice or by the Covid-imposition, there are many ways to make your big event meaningful and memorable for attendees.
We’ve simplified everything you need to know about planning and hosting a digital event. Grab your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Virtual Conference below and get started today!