The beginning of this year saw many of our favorite conferences and in-person events
postponed or canceled, and it’s unclear when large gatherings will be able to happen
again.
While it’s not quite the same as being in-person, you can provide a valuable and memorable online
experience, but there are some important things to remember.
In this video, I’ll take you through a checklist you can use when planning for an online event,
so you can provide a great experience for your presenters and participants.
Let’s get into it.
Hello creators!
I’m Ben Toalson from Podia where we empower creators like you to make a living doing what
you love.
A common misconception is that hosting an online event is somehow easier and takes less
planning.
While there are unique challenges that come with coordinating in-person events, online
events come with challenges of their own.
As you’re planning your online event, there are some important things you’ll need to
consider, and we’ve compiled them in the following checklist:
Number 1: Consider different time-zones in your scheduling
With an in-person event, everyone is obviously in the same time-zone, but if your virtual
attendees and speakers are from many different time zones, it’s important to make sure
the scheduled events work for as many people as possible.
Here are three things to consider for scheduling
- Find times that will work for the most people - This may seem obvious, but it means you’ll
have to do some work collecting information about the locations of your attendees to determine
which time zones have the most representation.
You may also need to figure out which attendees are participating in specific breakout groups
or sessions.
For example, if you have a session where a majority of participants are in time zones
that differ from the majority in the main sessions, you might consider re-arranging
the schedule to match.
- Put important events in a prime spot on your schedule - Try to schedule the most important
keynotes or sessions for a time with the most time zone overlap.
Where you might have normally scheduled a specific speaker for a late afternoon slot,
a morning session might be best for all of your attendees.
- Include margin - Just because your event is digital doesn’t mean you don’t still
need transition time between sessions.
Remember that people still need time to shift gears, grab refreshments, or visit a speaker’s
website.
Make margin a part of your schedule and no matter what time zone your attendees are tuning
in from, they’ll appreciate it.
Number 2: Provide instructions for presenters and participants
With any conference, it goes without saying that folks need to know when and where things
are happening, but for online events, there’s an added layer of complexity.
Technology.
Attendees and presenters could be logging in from a number of different devices or browsers,
using any number of different types of audio or video tools, and will come with varying
levels of technical savvy.
Consider the following when providing instructions:
- Have links, instructions, and schedules in one place - Putting everything in a single
place and pointing to it every time you communicate with your participants is the easiest way
to ensure everyone will know where to look if they get lost or stuck.
- Account for the least tech-savvy attendee - It may seem tedious, but consider the challenges
your least tech-savvy attendee might face and write your instructions with a level of
detail that would help that person.
- Make it easy for people to find the info they’re looking for - While it’s good
to be detailed, it’s also good to make instructions skimmable for more tech-savvy participants.
Add a clear structure to your instructions, like headings and sections, so participants
can easily find the part of the instructions they actually need.
Doing these things won't prevent every single issue, but putting together well structured,
detailed instructions will save a lot of headaches and make for a much smoother digital conference.
Item number 3: Supply support staff for technical issues
If you want your event to go even more smoothly, recruit a team of tech support staff to help
participants and presenters work through technical issues.
Specifically, have designated support staff to provide a technical run-throughs with presenters,
have some on stand-by in-case of major technical failure, and have some available to get on
a chat or call to help attendees who are having issues connecting.
Technical issues can be the biggest threats to a successful online conference.
Having some extra support that can put out the technical fires is one of the best ways
to ensure everyone has a great experience.
Item number 4: Have backup plans for everything
You would certainly do this for an in-person event and a digital event is no different.
Consider the following for your digital conference back-up plan:
- Have an alternative method for recording and distributing presentations - This might
mean having your presenters do their own local recording, which means you’ll need to provide
instructions and support for that.
It could mean that you record the live video remotely somehow, or maybe you record both
locally and remotely.
- Reschedule group or one-on-one sessions or provide an alternative experience - If
you’re not able to connect folks to special sessions, have a plan for rescheduling or
offering some kind of alternative of equal value.
And be sure to check with any presenters or facilitators who may need to be available
for a rescheduled time so you don’t end up booking someone who is not available.
- Communicate your backup plans with attendees - Let attendees know ahead of time what your
plan is should you encounter technical failure.
Even if everything goes smoothly, your attendees will appreciate your thoughtfulness and it
will reflect well on your brand.
You may not be able to account for every possible issue, but having a backup plan will ensure
you’re able to provide value to your attendees, and have more peace of mind, no matter what
happens.
Item number 5: Collect digital materials
This is likely something you would also do for an in-person event, but is especially
important for an online event.
Make sure you gather any digital materials that might enhance the experience of your
participants and make it easier for them to get as much as possible out of the event,
especially the following:
- Presentation slides - Make sure all presenters provide a copy of their slide deck.
It may also be a good idea to convert slides to a single format but have both the original
and converted formats available along with instructions for participants who wish to
download and view slides.
- Supporting documents - If you presenter offers a checklist, framework, or guide, see
if you can get that from them in a digital format you can make available for download,
or at least a URL where the participant can go to download the digital version.
- Links for more info - Be sure to collect links to websites, social media accounts,
and any other resources like videos, podcasts, or articles provided by presenters.
You want to make these digital materials as easy to find as possible, so be sure to also
put these in one place and organize the content so participants can skim through and locate
the specific resources they’re looking for.
Item number 6: Script out key information
Because of the unique technical challenges that come with hosting an online event, you’ll
have to include segments in your introductions that help set expectations for your participants
and equips them with the information they’ll need to get the most out of the event.
Rather than memorize all of this information, script out these sections so you’ll be sure
not to omit anything important.
Consider writing scripts, or at least making an outline, for the following items:
- Instructions for watching and engaging in Q&A - Depending on how you have your digital
broadcast set up, you may already have control over who is muted, or whether or not people
can chat or ask questions, but take a moment to provide specific instructions and help
participants understand how to properly engage in the presentation.
- Potential technical issues and backup plans - Let folks know about potential technical
issues that could arise or that they may experience, who to reach out to and what the plan is when
or if that happens.
- Instructions for and following events or activities - Give folks a brief run-down of
any events or activities that will follow the current event, and where and how they
can access them.
Having all of this scripted out will take a lot of pressure off of your presenters and
hosts will ensure your participants have the information they need and make for a more
enjoyable experience all around.
And that’s our checklist for a successful online event.
In a future video, we’ll walk you through the specific tools and software we recommend
for conducting an online event.
In the meantime, is there anything you would add to this checklist?
Please share below in the comments.
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Thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time.