Virtual events can be a great way to reach a wider audience without being limited to a geographic location. In recent years, virtual events have become the new norm and audience expectations are higher than ever. As an event planner, an organized approach to planning your virtual event will help maximize attendance and participation.

Focus on content
Before you can begin promoting your event, you will need a firm grasp on the events’ goals and scope. Create two checklists of what will be achieved during the event and the event’s expected outcome—one from an event planner’s perspective and one from an attendee perceptive. Though goals and expectations will be different for both, it’s important to work toward planning a successful event for both parties. Promoting an exciting event with wide appeal is easier than promoting a boring one. If the content of the event is engaging, the event will speak for itself in promotions and advertisements. 

Promotions should be focus on the content of the event. If your event includes a remarkable keynote speaker, highlight this in advertisements. You can curate written or video interviews with the keynote speaker before the event to give your audience a sense of what they can expect. If the event’s speaker has participated in previous talks, link to them on your event website or social media pages.

If you’re planning a networking event, focus on what sets yours apart. Maybe the event focuses on a niche part of an industry or will include creative networking exercises. Whatever the strength of your event is should be the focus of your promotions. Audiences will be more excited about attending an event that is clearly well-organized and engaging.

Advertisements
Driving attendance to your virtual event requires promoting it through some type of advertisement. Depending on the nature of your event, advertising it may look very different. Here are some potential tools to advertise your event:

• Fliers can be an effective visual tool for compiling all your events’ promotional information onto a single graphic. Fliers can be posted on social media or physically printed and shared. If graphic design isn’t your strong suit, consider hiring a professional to craft a flier for the event.
• Videos can be a good way of showing the audience what to expect at the event, especially if you have video content from previous events. Videos can be posted on social media to showcase event speakers or other information about the event.
• Social media posts are a necessary tool to promote a virtual event. Audiences are often inundated with social media posts, so keep your advertisement posts succinct and engaging. Consider paying to promote these posts to a targeted audience on platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook to increase the posts’ engagement.
• Consider working with influencers for your virtual event. Influencers tend to have a strong grasp on their audience and may already have creative ideas for advertising your event. You can reach out to influencers directly on social media platforms.

Promote through existing networks

As an event planner, you should focus on curating a robust network over time. These connections are highly valuable in driving attendance and engagement to your events. Utilize these connections effectively to promote your event.  

LinkedIn connections are a great resource for promoting professional virtual events. Professional virtual events can include networking events, conferences, or talks related to a specific industry. Consider posting the upcoming even on your LinkedIn feed or reaching out to connections individually if you already have an established rapport.  

Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites are a great way to engage with your virtual event audience. Twitter and Instagram both allow you to create an event hashtag, consolidating all content related to the event in one location. This can be an effective way of cultivating a brand surrounding the event.

Depending on the event, consider investing in an event website. This is particularly important if the event is part of a series, as it will allow prospective attendees to find information related to the events in one centralized location. An event website can help create an organized and focused image for your event.