Virtual Conference Mistakes You Should Avoid in 2022 | Event Always

 

Poorly organized virtual conference events can damage your business' reputation. There are some mistakes that can be avoided when hosting virtual conferences. Let's look at some common mistakes made in virtual conferences and how we can avoid them.

1. Particularly if you are doing a hybrid event, it is important to talk down to your online audience.

Make sure your audience feels just as appreciated and valued online as they feel at a physical event.

Online attendees can be just as valuable as in-person attendees and should be treated in the same manner as in-person audiences. Your sponsors and you have the potential to make valuable connections with online attendees. They shouldn't feel less important than those who attend an in-person conference.

You can send an event kit by mail before the event. You could send gifts from sponsors or tools that they can use during your event. This could include a notebook tailored for your event, snacks for breaks, and even a gift certificate they can use for a lunch delivery.

2. Don't wait until the last minute to plan any aspect of your life

It is a grave mistake to procrastinate on event planning. You could lose your event.

Supply chain problems and staffing issues make timelines more complicated these days. This should be considered in every aspect of your plan.

Virtual doesn't mean you can skip logistics, staffing, or supply-chain issues.

To ensure that your virtual meetings are a success, you need to contact your sponsors and speakers in advance. They need to be able to schedule your event even though they aren't traveling. The same applies to attendees.

Although they might wait until the last day to register, it is not a bad idea to do so.

3. You may not be able to take advantage of every opportunity to interact with your virtual attendees

Make sure to offer ways for them to connect with each other and the speakers, whether it be via Q&A sessions or roundtables, or other networking features.

When planning virtual conferences, one of the most fatal mistakes is to host events or conferences that do not encourage participation.

It's hard to stay connected online, let's face it. Multitasking is common among people. They may be checking e-mails or busy with other tasks. It's a good idea to use tools such as polls, Q&A, and other networking techniques in order to keep people interacting during your virtual event.

Next, we moved to approximately 90 minutes of networking at a virtual table with speakers in the Lounge and exhibitors in Exhibits. This was a popular part of the day for many attendees as they got to interact with speakers one-on-one and build relationships with them. It is crucial to create that space and allow them to use it.

Do not over-schedule the event by scheduling too many sessions. And don't expect attendees' to be glued to their phones for more than eight or ten hours. It's just too exhausting!

Over-using features on an event platform can lead to over-scheduling and other problems. You don't have to use every feature in your event platform just because you have access.

Although it can be tempting to make the most of virtual event platforms to please your attendees, this is one of the mistakes you should avoid when hosting your next event.

This all comes down to understanding your audience and what you want them to experience. You can then look backwards to determine the type of speakers that you need to support your goal and provide the right content. Next, look at the exhibitors and sponsors to determine if they are a good match. Sometimes, it is not within your industry.

It is possible to find someone outside of your industry who targets the same audience. These can be great opportunities to sponsor someone outside your industry.

4. Relying on tiered sponsorship models

Say goodbye to silver, gold, and platinum Get creative with customized packages that are tailored to your sponsors' needs. Think of sponsorships as creative - from the perspective of your sponsors.

Think about what your event organizers want for their sponsors. What are they trying to achieve? What are their goals? Do they want visibility, engagement, or thought leadership? Each one is better suited for different types of sponsorship packages.

Sponsor educational sessions if they wish to be considered a thought leader. Sponsor an after-hours event or another event to increase engagement if they are looking for engagement.

5. Don't skip the rehearsals or dry runs before your event

Confidence is great but skipping rehearsals or dry runs doesn't seem like an option. You can identify and avoid any technical problems, glitches, or mishaps by running dry runs and trial events.

Your speakers may need to become familiar with the event platform or your event hosts might need to practice with one another to be in sync.

The bottom line: Avoiding dry runs may not be a good idea.

6. Building a community around your event

No longer is a conference for one week. Instead, make a hub for attendees that allows them to connect and learn throughout the year, in preparation for your next big event.

This isn't a new concept. It's not a new idea. Why not have a community-building event that encourages interaction with exhibitors and sponsors all year?

The Fact: Each conference produces a wealth of content that can be reused and shared throughout each year.

One virtual conference I attended was not very good but it created an amazing, ongoing community. Each newsletter had a specific theme or focus. They also shared replays of related sessions and exhibitors who are experts in the area. This was a great way for attendees to stay connected and repurpose content. They were also in the forefront of minds and hadn't lost their place on attendees' radars during those months, which was a huge advantage when it came time to prepare for their next event.

7. We are waiting for the attendees to explore the virtual exhibit area

You must provide incentives to attendees to spend their time browsing the virtual exhibits. Exhibitors must also take responsibility for inviting guests to visit their booth.

Only a few event organizers were able to successfully run a virtual tradeshow during the pandemic. They reinvented their event strategy to create an immersive online experience.

People often tell me to view it as a television broadcast. People have been tuning into HGTV, the Food Network, and other programs that combine entertainment and education for decades. Although it's still available online, they are connecting with their audience through an immersive and highly engaging experience.

Virtual exhibits are simple page that has many logos and company names. Therefore, exhibitors must do more online promotions to draw people to their exhibits.

Let's sum it all...

Hosting a virtual event can be difficult. Because the event is dynamic, even after putting in a lot of effort and time, there are always surprises. These virtual conference missteps can be learned and avoided.

We hope you find this article useful in your event planning process. So that you, your virtual hosts, and virtual teams can plan a smooth event, we tried to identify some common mistakes in virtual conferences.

For your future events, remember to:

1) Don't talk down to your online visitors

2) Don't wait until the last moment to make final arrangements

3) Don't miss out on opportunities to interact with virtual attendees.

4) Do multiple dry-runs and dress rehearsals before the main event.

5) Create experiences that encourage superior attendee engagement.

6) Connect with others through your events

7) Inspire attendees to explore exhibits at your event.

Eventalways wishes you all the best with your next event. Eventalways, is a top virtual event platform, is designed for high attendee engagement. Eventalways will help you keep your audience engaged and increase your ROI.