Plan effectively to set your event up for success
Planning is the first step in organizing and managing a successful event. Planning should include choosing a virtual event platform that conforms to your event, setting a clear agenda for the event, and coordinating with speakers and guests.
During the planning stage, run through the steps and timeframes of your event. Ask yourself if there are any lengthy time gaps between speakers, whether interactive segments are spaced out in a way that effectively engages your audience, and if all logistical details are clearly communicated. Effectively planning an event can help to avoid snafus, technical difficulties, and boredom.
Have an open line of communication with your guests and speakers
Imagine that a virtual event guest cannot log into the virtual event platform on the day of the event. Hearing about their experience after the event can allow organizers to fix bugs related to broken event links, create a more user-friendly event page, and refund a guest. Still, that guest will have missed out on the event! To avoid similar situations, ensure there are clear methods of contacting event staff throughout the event.
Ensuring that guests and speakers have a method of communicating with event organizers allows issues to be resolved in real-time. While post-event feedback is vital to improving future event experiences, real-time feedback is necessary for addressing issues as they occur.
Moderate the event
Event moderators are present to ensure that panels and discussions are enjoyable, effective, and running on time. Moderators can also field Q&A segments and provide discussion topics. Even with the best planning, events can sometimes run off course. Moderators should be confident in knowing when they can step in to steer the event back in the right direction.
If multiple panels or discussions are running simultaneously, ensure that there is a dedicated moderator for each. While it might be tempting to have one moderator jumping back and forth between virtual events, this could lead to issues slipping through the cracks.
Delegate tasks and curate a great team
As your events grow in size and complexity, you may find them impossible to manage alone. There’s no shame in bringing on additional team members who can take on tasks. When curating your team, look at areas where you fall short. Do you struggle with the technical aspects of virtual event planning? Hire someone with IT skills to troubleshoot technical issues. Does marketing your event take up way too much time? Find someone with a background in event marketing to take these tasks off your hands. For smaller events, even one or two people providing part-time assistance can make a huge difference in successfully managing an event.
Learn from your event and follow up with your audience
Your own successes and failures will always be the best place to learn about successful event management. Throughout the event, note what’s working and what isn’t. If you find yourself wishing you had an extra pair of arms during the event, that’s a sure sign that you might need more help.
After the event is complete, follow up with event participants to understand what they liked and didn’t like about your event. This information will be crucial in understanding where you can improve as an event manager. If multiple participants have a similar complaint, that’s a great place to start improving for future events.