Nigerian event professionals may need to start exploring virtual events optimally in order to start creating a whole new event experience for their audiences.
A virtual event is known to provide several benefits, ranging from being a good channel for gathering attendees’ data to helping to analyze data to gain insights into certain behavioural traits of the attendees. It is also a good platform for increasing engagement among attendees and providing a platform for them to express themselves freely.
Get ready to discover great insights by considering the simple ways of planning and executing virtual events that are expressed below, and you’ll be on your way to ensuring the attainment of your event goals.
Identifying the goals of the Virtual events and the target audience
Experience has shown that when virtual events are not aligned with the right kind of audience, there are chances of failure, especially loss of resources such as time, money, and effort. So it is essential not only to define the goals but also to link them to the right audiences to achieve success. The goal is itself a road map that will set limits and target what you want the audience to deliver to you before, during, and after the event.
You must ensure that these goals are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound); whether it is about getting your brand known, driving sales, or initiating networking opportunities, they all must obey the rules of smartness.
These goals will have to be consistent with the types of audiences you would have identified, as they reflect a proper understanding of the audiences, their characteristics, their preferences, their interests, and their needs. All these efforts are to ensure that the virtual event is purpose-driven and that it meets the expectations of the audience.
The event manager must understand that since the event is virtual, the objectives and the audience’s preferences must align with conditions that will encourage or enhance successful virtual event participation.
Selecting the appropriate technology and format for virtual events
The next crucial step is to carefully select the proper technology and format for the virtual event. There are several technological platforms, formats, and features that are available out there, each of which has some very unique properties that make it more relevant than the other, depending on the format and conditions you desire.
It is important for Nigerian event planners to know that, when selecting the appropriate technology for the virtual event, the set event goals must be the driving force, the audience they have targeted and the rate of interaction they want.
In essence, the virtual event platform must be one that aligns with the interests of the audience and will offer convenience and a simple interphase for interaction. In the long run, it is these features that will help to keep the attention and interest of the attendees for as long as you may want.
Promoting the virtual events and engaging attendees
To promote your virtual event, you must create a buzz around it. It is all about creating awareness to initiate attention, interest, desire, and action from the audience.
To effectively make this happen, the event manager must take these messages to the environment where these audiences can be found, which may include social media, groups and communities, associations, etc.
Equally, to engage your attendees, you must initiate or encourage active involvement by incorporating elements that will resonate with their interests. These may include live Q&A sessions, surveys, networking opportunities, games, wellness, mindfulness, etc.
Getting speakers and presenters ready for online delivery
For virtual events other than weddings and celebrations, it is very important to prepare speakers and presenters who will facilitate webinars or conference sessions. It is worth noting that speaker interaction with attendees is crucial because it is part of the experience being provided, and consequently, it can make or ruin the attendee’s total experience.
In this vein, and In order for speakers to become acquainted with the virtual platform and the tools available to engage the audience, event organizers must provide them with thorough training. This training may cover techniques for enhancing audio and video quality, controlling screen sharing efficiently, and utilizing interactive elements like polls and Q&A sessions.
However, technical support must also be provided for them while they are presenting their content for seamless presentation and engagement.
Finally,
Making use of post-event evaluation for continuous improvement
Post-evaluation is a very necessary activity and step for event managers with a growth mindset. It may interest you to know that built into a few virtual event platforms and technologies is the opportunity to evaluate the already collected data.
It provides the organizer with the essential format with which they can analyze data based on what they desire. Most importantly, the event manager is armed with enough data to make an immediate decision.
As a result of tackling the flaws of this present event, the event organizers are better positioned to make the next event better planned and executed, and the improvement continues with better analyses of the data.
Conclusion
On the whole, although the use of virtual event technologies and formats is on the rise in Nigeria, considering these essential tips can have an immense impact on the success of the event’s outcome.
