5 Best Practices For Hosting A Virtual Conference or Event

Online visitors and recurring customers come to your website from a link. First, they read the landing page. Then, some of them join, and the others go away. Does this scenario sound familiar to you?

You had better segment your audiences first. Of course, you would benefit from planning engaging virtual meetings also! Would you like to know how to do that? Here are the 5 best practises for hosting a virtual conference or event to enhance reach and make it stand out.

This article supposes you have already come up with a unique idea for your online event. But if that is not the case, check out the bonus section about deciding the type of event you will host.

#1 – Sell To The Ones That Will Make You Rich

Every time you make a virtual conference, you have to deal with three customer types. Do you know who they are?

• Interested buyers. (Hot customers.)
• People who just wanted a freebie. (Warm buyers.)
• Unresponsive viewers. (Cold crowd.)

Your goal may not be to amass wealth and riches. But the principle still stands. That is why I chose such a bold title for the first of the 5 best practises for hosting a virtual conference or event.

Follow The 80 20 Rule

The concept that I want you to take home is the Pareto Principle. That is, the fact that only a tiny fraction of the audience will positively respond to your event anyway. If you are planning an online meeting to pitch a hand-made product, how many products do you need to make in advance? According to the Pareto Principle, you should create as many products as 20% of the registered attendees.

Of course, this concept only works if you do everything else right. But let me hammer the message that you need to focus on the hot customers. Everything must please their expectations, or the event will not be as successful as it can be.—I’m sorry to be blunt, but not focusing on the right customers is the most common error in any industry.

What About The Warm Customers?

Warm buyers might join and buy if you give them a good offer. But that is all there is. In general, no one can please everybody. Focusing on people who only want freebies will distract you from getting the hot customers that want your product or service.

Please note: if you get enough hot customers to buy what you pitch on the spot, warm buyers may follow the crowd.

#2 – Make A Free Trial Offer For The Attendees

What makes a good offer for warm customers? Most people will buy your product or service if they experience it first-hand.

Free trial offers work in both directions. Think of them as free publicity. In like manner, you can turn them into testimonials! How? For example, by making them record a YouTube video at the end of the free trial. You can embed this step as part of the contract to get an extra discount, too.

This type of offer also works great for CPA advertising.

#3 – Invest In Advertising And Sponsorship

Sponsored content can make a poor online webinar the event of the year. Why? Because you rely on well-liked and professional individuals that speak to your audiences.

As soon as you craft the ideal ad for your webinar, you will have more people for your high-ticket product or services.

As a matter of fact, the ideal ad should highlight:

• Customers’ perspectives on the issue they need to solve.
• Some immediate benefits that come with using your product(s).
• The flexibility of payment for sought-after services. (Or again, free trial offers.)

#4 – Outsource Admin Support

Why would you spend time generating leads and answering emails when you can hire a professional for cheap?

Use the many available platforms to create eye-catching logos and compelling content for your social media and websites!

Above all, most platforms have a feedback system that will prevent you from wasting your money. You can find expert writers, graphics designers, etc. on sites like:

• Fiverr
• iWriter
• Upwork

Outsourcing admin support and creative content making will free up more time for getting in touch with relevant panellists and companies, which may lead to a joint venture.

#5 – Stay Ahead Of The Curve

Virtual events have spread in the last two years. So, make sure you have honed your communication skills before streaming.

Here are five questions that will help you stay ahead of the curve:

• What guarantees do you offer? (What is in it for them if the solution you provided does not work?)
• Do your emails and texts look like spam? (Are you tracking the effectiveness of your marketing strategies?)
• What ideas has your audience probably already heard when it comes to your niche? (If your content is not somewhat unique, people will get bored.)
• How should the typical customer you are trying to attract reply to your pitch? (What do you know about the ideal customer’s age, hobbies, tendencies, dreams, and hopes?)
• What is their most likely recent or past purchase that resembles your product? (Or, what service that is about to expire might look like the service you provide?)

Regardless, you will have to do many online events and webinars to get better levels of success. So every time, do not rush into preparing the next one. First, evaluate the results and follow up with specialists for more personalised suggestions on how to get better sales.

Bonus – Start Off On The Right Foot

Is this your first time? Beginners and seasoned hosts can benefit from better software like Eventtia to easily manage their online events.

Depending on the event type, you will need several tools to engage your audience. Such software makes everything run smoothly. So you can focus more on perfecting the event core message even more.

If you are still unsure about what type of online meeting is best for you, proceed the reverse way. Above all, think about how the hot customers would positively describe your product and/or service. See if you can create a sequence of bits that explain how to arrive at the same conclusion.

Also Read: Tips On How To Improve Your Virtual Event