Use the following guidelines to give your virtual events the white glove treatment!

1.  Send a reminder 

Send registrants a reminder at least one day before and an hour or two before your event. By sending a reminder, you ensure better attendance.   People have very busy lives, get mixed up with time changes, and simply forget about things even when they’ve purchased a ticket to an event.  Reminders also help clear up misunderstandings about time zones.

2.  Send an agenda 

In your final event reminder, include an agenda or menu of what is going to happen during your presentation.  It adds a very special touch that can create anticipation and excitement for your event. It also helps attendees think of questions they want to ask and encourage them to invite more people as last-minute sign ups.

3.  Greet participants upon arrival 

If you were hosting an in-person event, you would stand at the door and greet visitors as they arrived. It’s important you or someone you’ve assigned greet attendees as they come into your virtual conference room. This will make them feel included and welcome and avoid the tendency for people to click in and click out if they don’t know what is going on.

4.  Explain the technology 

Before your virtual event officially begins (and most of the attendees have arrived), take the time to explain the technology to them. Just a quick couple of minutes explaining how to mute a microphone, raise your hand to speak, and how things should look can go far in making attendees feel at ease.

5.  Keep track of time 

Someone should be keeping track of time.  It’s important to keep the event running smoothly and on time to show respect for your guest speaker/s and your attendees.  This is why practicing ahead of time is a must.

6.  Have a clear closing of the event 

Instead of just stopping your event abruptly, make sure to have a planned closing that has some sort of call to action — whether that is to sign up for a newsletter, attend the next event, or to remind participants to download their bonus materials and/or handout.

7.  Follow up 

Never ignore the follow up after a virtual event. Send participants bonus materials by email, a recording of the event, and thank them for attending.  In addition, include a survey that gives you their event feedback so you can improve with each ensuing event. Follow up is a very important part of the entire virtual event experience.

Regarding Tip #1:

Reminder:  If people are not signing up and showing up (in big numbers!) for your virtual events, Virtually Fantastic Event Promotions is happening this Wednesday, November 9^th. 

Free webinar + Free event promo tools + Free marketing strategies + A special report for those who attend the presentation “live”.

Image credit:  DaizyB