In 2020, working from home became much more common than ever before. While the pandemic is less dangerous now, it remains common to work from home. There seems to be a permanent shift towards remote work that won’t end with the pandemic.
The shift to more online work is very positive. Employees can avoid long commutes that they don’t get paid for. Employers can save on expensive office space. Remote work can also help people find work in areas with high unemployment.
People run virtual events for countless reasons – they are not only for remote workers. You can run a virtual event to give information about and sell a product. People also sell tickets to virtual events that work as classes or seminars. There are also virtual social events, hiring events, fundraising events, and more.
Remote work requires software and hardware for hosting virtual events. People need computers, cameras, and microphones that are up to the task. You also need online event management software that has the features you want and is easy for everyone to use.
Tips for Running a Virtual Event
Before you can think about what virtual event software to use, you need to know how to run an event. Don’t rush into it without doing a bit of reading and planning first.
If you have ever participated in a poorly run virtual event, you know how badly these events can go. Don’t be the one running an event that falls apart. Having a plan, being familiar with the software, and knowing what can go wrong is the best way to make your event go smoothly.
Set Specific and Time-Based Rather than Vague Goals
A vague plan almost isn’t a plan at all. Know how long each part of your event will be in minutes, not roughly. Rehearse what you will say first. Otherwise, your event can drag on for too long. One of the easiest ways to botch an event is to run out of time long before you are finished.
Make Sure the Event is at a Good Time for Everyone
Different countries have different time zones and different holidays. People have different schedules. Tell your employees/participants when the event is more than a little in advance so that they can schedule some time for it. Otherwise, a lot of people might not show up.
Don’t Be Afraid to Kick a Few People Out
Some people will show up to your virtual event just to be as disruptive and cause as much trouble as possible. If your event is open to the public, you are most likely to face troublemakers. Give them one warning, and then kick them out. Don’t let them wreck your event.
If you have a huge event with hundreds of people, you may need a few moderators to help you police the crowd. If your event is large, open to the public, and free, you can expect troublemakers. You might not be able to deal with them all yourself if there are too many people there.
Have the Audience Participate
The last thing you want to do is bore your audience. If you stand there and give a lecture for an hour or more, most people will be bored and won’t pay much attention.
This is bad if you are talking to employees and much worse if you are trying to sell a product. Even if you can entertain an audience, that might not be good enough on its own.
Have a Backup Plan if There are Technical Issues
Technical problems can kill your whole event or make a lot of people unable to participate. Sometimes, you can save an event by switching over to another platform. You should also be familiar with the software before you start to avoid technical issues.
Use a Good Virtual Event Management Platform
Not all virtual event platforms are just as good as all of the others. Some event platforms lack important features, are unnecessarily hard to use, or have bugs. It can hurt your company to use shoddy software that causes problems for you and your workers.
What are the Best Virtual Event Platforms?
BigMarker, Hopin, HeySummit, vFairs, Eventtia, GotoWebinar, and SpotMe are all great platforms for hosting virtual events. All of these platforms work properly and do not have any heavy flaws that make them inferior choices.
BigMarker is one of the most popular choices. It is what huge companies like Google use when running virtual events with their employees. It is sort of expensive ($80 to more than $300 per month), but it has plenty of features and is very easy to use.
GotoWebinar is best for large virtual conferences with 1000 or 2000 people. HeySummit might be the best choice if you want something that is as easy to use as possible. It works for people who dislike learning new technology.
There is also Hopin (good if you want to add polls and interactivity), SpotMe (great if you need a lot of two-way communication, but expensive), and vFairs (great in-depth reporting during the event). Any of the platforms we recommend are good, with different platforms being better for different people.
Eventtia May be the Best Virtual Event Platform
Eventtia is an extremely well-rounded virtual event platform with all of the essential features. It is also easy for people to use, even if they are somewhat tech-averse. If you aren’t sure which platform to use, try Eventtia first.
More than anything else, Eventtia is easy for the person running the event to use. Some virtual event platforms make it easy for participants to use but hard for the manager.
This is not the case here; there is a single dashboard that gives you most of the information and options. You won’t have to search through many different menus to find what you are looking for.
Eventtia also has great virtual networking tools to help participants in your even communicate with each other while the event is running. Eventtia also works well on mobile devices and helps you market events. Eventtia also lets you try the software for free.
