Are you interested in hosting a virtual event, but don’t know where to begin? Feeling a bit lost when it comes to engaging a remote audience? Whether you are looking for a virtual event or conference that is designed to be as memorable and impactful as an in-person event, we can provide you with the guidance you need.

We created a comprehensive playbook just for event marketers, hosts, and their presenters, which is specifically designed for event marketers, hosts, and presenters who wish to participate in virtual experiences. There are many tips and tricks to help you launch a successful virtual event with Zoom Events, and our ultimate guide is filled with the best practices, step-by-step advice, and new ideas that can help you make your virtual event a big success.

You can find some highlights in the following paragraphs.

Best practices for your virtual event

Pre-event planning is a must

Poor lighting and choppy audio are two of the fastest ways to disengage an audience in a presentation. The worst part about a presentation that cannot be interacted with by the participants or viewed by the presenter, is that it can be very nerve-racking for everyone at the meeting. It is important to make sure that when you are planning your virtual experience, that the following elements are taken into consideration when creating a pre-show plan:

• Technology: (internet bandwidth, livestreaming platforms, operating system updates)

• AV: (external lighting, microphones, virtual mixing, and streaming software)

• Personnel: (For example, who is going to answer the audience’s questions? Will your guests have any trouble using the platform or do they know where to look? What contractors are going to be used?)

• Timing: (session length, how to avoid dead air, intentional networking breaks between sessions, cue-to-cue)

Since we understand that this process is not easy and takes practice to master, we have created a Zoom Events presenters’ guide with some of our favorite lighting techniques, script reminders, and a sample template for creating a Run of Show to help make your event run smoothly. We also offer some suggestions for how to focus on the audience instead of yourself on camera, script reminders, and a sample template for creating a Run of Show.

Show off your personality 

After you have decided what kind of technology you need and have  webinar page. Here you will see a list of scheduled a dry run, now it’s time to be creative with your marketing plan. As a virtual event organizer, you will have the opportunity to extend the reach of your brand beyond the walls of an exhibition hall or in-person headcount by using virtual events. Zoom Events’ Session Branding allows you to brand your meeting or webinar with your company logo, colors, custom banners, and backgrounds to give it the look and feel of your company. Additionally, your participants will be able to bring their own personality to an event with virtual backgrounds, wallpaper, nametags, filters, and avatars, allowing them to express their individuality.

Be sure not to overlook the importance of networking! There is no reason that attendees cannot be able to connect virtually just because they are remote. It is possible to create networking profile cards via Zoom Events’ virtual networking feature, which allows for easier interaction with peers and extends their connections after the event ends. There should be some time set aside for socializing with such breaks as icebreakers and promotional topics incorporated into the agenda for you to make your socialization events a success.

Whether you’re hosting a virtual event or are a presenter, this ultimate guide will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to brand your event, start networking virtualy, create attendee profiles, and even brainstorm interactive content such as surveys and polls.

Keep up the momentum

Data is the lifeblood of most event marketers, which is one more reason why virtual events have catapulted into the mainstream due to their data-driven nature. A number of challenges are faced when collecting data from an in-person event, as booth scans and registrations for sessions may not represent the ROI of the event in an accurate way. As a result, Zoom Events offers a variety of analytics concerning the most popular sessions, the number of chat conversations, the number of livestream views, the number of recording views, support for following-up questions, and much more!

This useful data can be downloaded as a report or used live in the form of a dashboard, making it easier for event hosts to make informed decisions regarding follow-up events and lead generation opportunities. It’s even possible to record sessions and distribute them post-event to your attendees for additional training, replays, or as gated content to capture leads and keep the momentum alive by distributing them as gated content post-event.

Become a virtual event hosting pro 

Don’t lose your ability to provide an incredible remote experience just because you are afraid to host a virtual event or learn new event software. Find out how to maximize the performance of your virtual event in the Zoom Events ultimate guide for event hosts and virtual presenters.

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