Virtual Event Planning 101: Getting Started
There are three main types of virtual events. Fully Virtual, Hybrid and Livestream. Let us guide you through these different types to give you a better understanding of what makes each one unique.
Virtual and hybrid events are here to stay. As events around the world shift to reflect the new regulations and restrictions from COVID-19, virtual events offer a way to connect and move forward. We believe even after this current challenge is behind us, the convenience of virtual events will transform them into a mainstay of event production.
Much of the process and equipment to plan a virtual event matches that of in-person events. You want to execute virtual events with the same professionalism and organization you would prioritize for any event. This includes professional equipment, organization, production, and great content.
There are three main types of virtual events. Fully Virtual, Hybrid and Livestream. Let us guide you through these different types to give you a better understanding of what makes each one unique.
The very basic definition of a fully virtual event is that the attendees experience the entire event and its content completely online rather that in-person. This is usually accomplished through video-conferencing sofware such as “Zoom”, and can be either pre-recorded content, or a live experience.
In any form, keeping your attendees’ attention and involvement during virtual events is the biggest challenge. A way to approach that is by making sure your content connects and engages with your attendees.
At Sight & Sound Productions, we use our own in-house studio to create an entire virtual show for you and your attendees. This means we will manage your content such as slides and videos, create the background and overall ‘look’ of your virtual event, and handle the virtual connection of guest speakers and attendees between the main segments and breakout sessions.
Pro-Tip: Alongside great content, keeping your virtual event short and concise keeps the audiences’ fatigue at bay.
A hybrid event is an event which is prepared to host attendees in-person along with a fully virtual experience online, most often providing unique content for each. A hybrid event has the same components as a fully virtual event, except with the added live audience. The inclusion of a live audience requires onsite event planning and production which has propelled Sight and Sound Productions to become the leading live and virtual event production company in Florida.
Hybrid event planning requires a specific focus on making sure the attendees joining remotely feel valued and are as equally engaged as the live audience. One way to accomplish this is to provide exclusive content to virtual attendees, such as giveaways, contests, and Q&As with guest speakers.
Pro-Tip: While your in-person attendees are eating a dinner or enjoying drinks, give your virtual attendees sponsored content to watch. By selling the virtual airtime, you bring in revenue while also creating exclusivity for your remote audience.
Livestream events include camera streams of a live event without any unique content or interaction for virtual attendees. While you are hosting a live event, your attendees are acting as flies-on-the-wall. They are simply watching remotely and there is no unique content or interaction created.
Livestreaming your event is a great way to increase future attendance by showcasing the best your event has to offer. According to Associations Now, up to 30 percent of people who attended a live-streamed event have gone to the physical event the following year. This allows you to target a larger audience, including dormant members that may have never engaged in an event physically but who may watch online.
Pro-Tip: Archive your livestream so that it can be embedded on your website and posted on social media. This allows for new potential sponsors or new attendees to look back on past events and learn about your company message and/or culture.