We’ve all attended our fair share of virtual events over the past year or so. Because of our newfound familiarity with virtual spaces, it seems like we’ve seen (or used) every trick in the book to transform a run-of-the-mill virtual event into one that rivals an in-person event.
Don’t worry, though; there are always more great options to make your next virtual event a dynamic one. Keep reading to learn about five ways you can create compelling content for your next virtual event.
1) Curate Your Content
The impact of the actual content of a virtual event can’t be understated. There are a lot of ways to switch up how you present and enhance your content. Jon Finch, for example, has mastered the virtual magic show. Look at hosting a virtual event as an opportunity to think outside the box in terms of your presentation and your engagement.
2) Re-Examine Your Content Delivery
Despite being confined to a virtual space, there are several content delivery options to consider. We recommend considering these three factors to switch up the way you usually deliver information on an app like Zoom:
- Will your event be pre-recorded, or will it rely on real-time reactions from your audience?
- Should you use a presentation overlaid with the audio or directly view the presenter?
- How interactive will your event be?
3) Choose Your Event Host Carefully
Just because a host is successful with audience engagement in person doesn’t mean they will thrive in the virtual environment. If you end up needing a host, make sure you vet their abilities. Just as with physical events, you’ll need your virtual host to be experienced and dynamic.
It’s helpful to ask if your host has experience on Zoom and if they’re comfortable delivering dialogue to a camera rather than a live audience, as the two experiences are different.
If you are hosting the event yourself, go through a few practice sessions to get used to the virtual format. Just like with giving a presentation or performance in front of a live audience, the more you practice, the more comfortable you become. This will translate to your audience, making them feel entertained and happy with your service.
4) Enhance Your Content Marketing
Don’t wait until your virtual event begins to create excitement. Using marketing tools on social media, you can tease engaging content through social media posts, polls, speaker videos, guest blogs, and more.
Not only will this increase engagement for your current event, but you could also potentially increase your social media presence and following. The more successful you are at this step, the more likely you’ll host additional events and build up your portfolio.
5) Audit Your Existing Content
Once you have a clear idea of what you want your event to look, sound, and feel like, have a small test run with a few people to audit what you have. It’s helpful to have fresh eyes on a project to point out things you may have overlooked or haven’t considered from the audience’s point of view. An audit is a great opportunity to fine-tune what you have before adding the finishing touches.
Final Thoughts
Adjusting to virtual events, both hosting and attending, can be difficult. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to make virtual events as entertaining and dynamic as in-person ones by creating compelling content.
As long as you take advantage of marketing your content, choose a great event host, examine the delivery of your content, curate your content, and then audit your content, you’re more likely to host an event that is a great experience for everyone.
