How to Host a Virtual Medical Conference: 9 Tips

Virtual medical conferences are ideal for educating healthcare professionals (HCPs), connecting with key opinion leaders (KOLs), and increasing awareness of your organization and its solutions.

But with so many demands on your audience's time, the virtual events you host must offer genuine value. That means they deserve thoughtful planning, promotion, and execution.

In this article, we'll cover how to host a successful virtual medical congress from the preparation stage to the follow-up process. We'll also explore common challenges so you can address them proactively.

9 Tips to host a successful virtual medical conference

Use these suggestions as a guide to organize your next event.

1. Get clear on the main goal for the event

Start by defining your team's main objective for the conference. For instance, you may want to:

• Educate HCPs about a new treatment option
• Discuss important industry trends
• Collaborate with a marketing partner

Once you're clear on your team's top goal, you'll have a better sense of what to prioritize and where to focus your efforts. You'll also make smarter decisions about which speakers and guests to invite.

For example, if education is your main goal, you may want to focus on best practices or case studies. And when you want to discuss industry trends, including a diverse array of expert perspectives may be your top priority.

2. Host exclusive talks on relevant topics

Next, define the topic(s) the conference will cover. While medical congresses can certainly cover a wide range of topics, keeping the focus relatively narrow often attracts more specialized attendees and deeper conversations.

Regardless of the conference's theme or subject matter, every talk should follow one fundamental rule: include exclusive material that attendees can't access elsewhere.

By making the content exclusive, your team provides unique value and gives viewers a reason to tune in. It's helpful for boosting attendance and establishing your organization as a host of in-demand events.

3. Tailor the content to the audience

Once you've decided on a topic, consider the type of audience you want to attract. Then, plan to present each talk using an angle and a format that's likely to resonate with your intended audience.

If you're catering to a new audience segment, take time to do audience research. For example, use social listening tools to learn how your audience is talking about the topic and which questions they're asking. You can also ask your audience for their opinions via polls or surveys.

4. Invite KOLs to speak or present

In many cases, your organization's executive team, research and development leaders, or sales representatives may take the lead on virtual medical meetings and lead most or all of the sessions. But you don't always have to rely on your internal team.

In some cases, it's in your best interest to recruit external stakeholders as speakers. KOLs add expertise while bringing new perspectives to the table. Plus, they can often validate treatments by sharing their experience from the clinical trial.

Keep in mind that inviting KOLs to present shouldn't be the first interaction your team has with them. Instead, invest in a KOL engagement program to develop relationships and establish trust.

5. Include a variety of presentation formats

As you plan the conference sessions, aim for variety. Instead of organizing one slideshow presentation after another, think about formats that allow speakers to engage in discussions and share different perspectives.

Here are a few formats to consider including:

• Symposium, a more informal format that focuses on presenting and discussing research
• Summit, which is like a high-level meeting in that it centers on developing solutions and action plans
• Panel discussion, which has a conversational format that encourages discussion
• Roundtable, which has a facilitator to moderate the conversation among a group of experts

Need some inspiration? This webinar by WeKnow Media explores how technology like AI and IoT enables safer, cheaper, and more effective medical treatments.

And this co-branded panel discussion by Synapse Medicine and Health Gorilla features a discussion between clinicians and technologists about balancing healthcare data with treatment decisions.

6. Add important HCPs to your guest list

Once you've created a basic structure for the event, you're ready to start building the guest list. Even if you intend to open the event to the public, it's a good idea to reach out to specific HCPs and invite them directly.

Since personal invitations make HCPs feel valued, taking this step may result in a higher acceptance rate. Plus, they increase awareness of the event among your target audience, making it easier to meet your event goals.

7. Promote the event to boost attendance

If you intend to host an invitation-only event, skip this step. But if you're hosting a public event, you need a promotional plan to boost registration. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Promote the event on social media to inform your followers
• Send an invitation to your email list
• Use video marketing to develop teasers

8. Live stream the event and offer it on demand

One of the best ways to maximize attendance is to live stream the event and make it available on demand. Naturally, you want as many people as possible to attend in real time. But by offering the event on demand, you can maximize its value and repurpose content across marketing channels.

To accomplish both, you need the right virtual conference platform. Livestorm makes it easy to live stream and record online events so you can share them with attendees afterward. You can also make these recordings available to a wider audience, even if they didn't sign up for the original conference.

9. Follow up with attendees afterward

Just because the conference ends doesn't mean the conversation has to wrap up. Keep interacting with attendees after the event with carefully timed follow-ups.

With Livestorm, it's easy to share event recordings after the virtual event. Plus, you can view analytics for each event to assess how successful it was at getting views and keeping viewers engaged.

Common challenges with online medical events

Even the most well-planned virtual conference can present challenges. Here are a few to watch for and best practices to work around them.

Lack of engagement

When event participants aren't all in the same physical location, conversations may not flow naturally. This can cause speakers and guests alike to feel disengaged, which may make them question the value of the event.

To encourage audience interactions during virtual events, use virtual event software with built-in engagement features. Livestorm offers:

• Live chat where speakers and attendees can interact
• Q&A sessions where attendees can suggest questions for the speaker
• Breakout rooms where everyone can engage in smaller groups

Schedule conflicts

Whether you plan to focus on a local audience or you intend to open the event to a global audience, you're bound to run into schedule conflicts that prevent guests from attending the event in real time.

One of the simplest ways to work around potential schedule conflicts is to allow guests to watch your virtual event on their own schedules. Livestorm lets you record conference sessions and make them available on demand. This way, a larger slice of your target audience can join the event and benefit from the discussion.

Limited networking opportunities

Networking may come more naturally at in-person events, where attendees can easily start conversations with other guests or engage directly with speakers and hosts. But that doesn't mean virtual networking is impossible.

Livestorm's breakout rooms make it easier for speakers and guests alike to network in smaller groups. Create as many breakout rooms as you need, suggest conversation starters, and let the networking begin.

Technical issues

Even the most tech-savvy presenters can run into issues with internet speed, app updates, or microphone connectivity.

Using a browser-based platform like Livestorm eliminates any potential app issues. Since there's no app to download or update, speakers can simply join the event from their browser.

Before conference day, it's always a good idea to host a dry run. This helps speakers get familiar with the platform and test their setup so they feel more confident during the event.

Fewer promotional opportunities

In-person events often allow numerous opportunities for healthcare organizations to accept sponsorships or promote internal initiatives. With online events, this process can be trickier to manage.

But with Livestorm, you can easily customize the design of any event room. Our custom design app lets you change the background and buttons, including adding company logos. By incorporating branding in any event room, your team can capture more promotional opportunities.

Livestorm for online medical conferences

To host a successful virtual medical congress, you need the right software. Livestorm is your live events platform for:

• Hosting large-scale conferences with 1,000+ participants or invitation-only summits
• Sharing events on-demand so busy HCPs can watch at their convenience
• Engaging attendees via breakout rooms, Q&A sessions, and live chat
• Using Livestorm integrations to simplify conference promotions and follow-ups

Ready to see how our virtual event software works for your organization? Book a demo to learn more about our enterprise and business plans.