It’s pretty much inevitable at this point that if you’re planning to host an event anytime soon, you gotta go virtual. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Unless you have R checklist for creating top virtual events in Nashville, of course!
A Virtual History Lesson
We get it; nothing truly replaces the experience of meeting face-to-face with prospects, clients, and colleagues, but since COVID-19 began virtual events have been as much of a necessity as our daily coffee fix. In fact, virtual events have been around for longer than you may think for that very reason. The first webcam was actually created in 1993, by University of Cambridge computer scientists who were too ‘busy’ to physically check to see when the coffee, located in another lab, was ready. So, they created a webcam to livestream its progress. Priorities, right!?!
Virtual Events Today
In all seriousness, today’s virtual events can range from small groups to thousands of attendees, and the most common types of events include:
- Question and answer sessions
- Tutorials and/or classes
- Training
- Tours
- Interviews
- Performances
- Conferences
- Networking events
R Top Virtual Events Checklist
Anyone who’s ever planned an event knows how much goes into it. Success doesn’t come easily with virtual events either, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t look seamless! Here’s how:
Get a Game Plan – And start early! Think about:
- What you want to achieve
- Who your audience will be
- The experience you want to offer
- What content would be relevant to them, whether you want a live or on-demand event or both
- If you’ll require registration
- If you want to partner with advertisers and/or sponsors, as well as how you define success and how you will track those metrics.
And don’t forget to create an event budget.
Work Out the Right Time – From working out time zones to ensuring you’re not competing with other similar events to doing some research on when your audience is typically online; choosing the right time and date is much more important (and much more involved) than you may initially think.
Pick the Right Platform – This really depends are what type of event your hosting. For live-tweeting events, you might use Reddit or Slack (don’t forget the hashtag!). Webinar platforms include Zoom, as well as Livestorm and YouTube Livestream. Social livestreams include Instagram Live, Facebook Live and LinkedIn Live. For conferences there’s 6connex, HeySummit and Run the World.
Promote, Promote, Promote – There’s so much competing for your audience’s time, including other virtual events. So, make sure potential attendees know the details and WHY they should attend. Then promote far and wide using email, social media, and on sites like Eventbrite. What’s more, ramp up your efforts starting 2-3 weeks out as many won’t commit until then. And don’t forget to enlist speakers as ambassadors for the event in addition to creating an event hashtag and a dedicated landing page.
Test Things Out – Rehearsals are super important because it’s far too easy for attendees to bail if your virtual event is a pain. Test internet connections, prepare backups of presentations, and make sure your speakers are comfortable with the platform. Depending on the size of the event, you might even have some tech support available for attendees should they run into trouble.
Create Opportunities to Engage – Of course we’ve never done this ourselves, but we’ve all ‘heard’ of multitasking or social media surfing during a virtual event. Gasp! The easiest way to avoid people tuning out is to keep them engaged by incorporating a poll or chat tool (make sure to have a moderator) and/or encourage live-tweeting. Don’t forget to ask for feedback at the end of the event so you can improve for next time too!
Virtual Events That Got It Right
With so many virtual events out there right now, there are plenty of hits and misses. But, here are some of R favorite successful events:
- Skift’s Online Summit – Travel’s Path Forward – The first in their series of travel summits, the event had multiple speakers and guests had the opportunity to ask questions. Recordings of the series can be found here.
- Lululemon has been hosting a monthly online book club with live discussions on Instagram that feature the authors. Each book club pick focuses on a health and wellness topic and the discussions are moderated by one of their global ambassadors.
- Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood hosted a series of free livestream concerts on Facebook Live with the hashtag #GarthRequestLive where they played requests that fans put in the comments. We simply had to include a Nashville success story right?
- Silverado Vineyards came up with the concept of a virtual wine taste test to unveil a new product. They sent wines to their best customers and invited them to a virtual tasting while their experts discussed the wines.
- Washington Performing Arts Gala – Their gala was scheduled for March and instead of canceling it they turned it into a virtual livestream experience in only 3 days! And even created a webinar to document how it went!
Top Virtual Events in Nashville Coming Up
- Music City Bandwidth – 30 livestreamed concerts between September 14 – October 31
- R clients at Liquor Lab have gone full-on virtual with their cocktail events—that’s right, the happy hour you always dreamed of, without leaving the house or your PJs!
- Nashville Area Chamber and Partnership 2020 Annual Celebration – Tuesday, October 13
- Nashville Zoo Virtual Programs – Multiple Dates, October – December
- 2020 Revenge of the Bird Virtual 5k Turkey Trot – November 1 – December 12
- Nashville Public Library Literary Award Gala – Saturday, November 14, 2020
- Virtual Nashville Vacation Package – Not necessarily an event, but a virtual experience all the same. What a cool way to explore Nashville!
For R help in planning your virtual events in Nashville or beyond, click HERE to schedule a FREE Discovery Call today!
