In this guide
Use this comprehensive step-by-step actionable guide to discover how to: plan, promote, host, and analyze your virtual conference.
If you’re looking for ways to maximize your brand efforts while still connecting closely with current or potential customers, consider hosting a virtual conference.
Planning and promoting these events requires a sharp eye for detail and a video platform tool that simplifies the organization process and helps you mimic face-to-face interactions.
To make it easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of steps, tools, and tips to guide you through the planning and execution of a virtual conference.
A virtual conference is a large online event used by professionals to share knowledge, network, and sometimes generate brand awareness. Industry experts and professionals are usually invited as keynote speakers or panelists and will discuss topics relevant to their industry and audience.
Virtual conferences can be used to generate leads, but it’s not the main purpose. Otherwise, it would be considered a marketing event!
The difference between an in-person event and a virtual conference is where it’s hosted. The in-person conference is held at a physical location, while a virtual one is hosted online using
virtual event software.
Meanwhile, virtual conferences have a broader scope including knowledge sharing and networking. They may involve multiple keynote speakers and panel discussions with industry experts to explore a few different angles on a wide subject.
A virtual conference works similarly to a live one but attendees watch it via the internet instead of being physically present in the conference room. The platform that you choose to host your video conference will have a big effect on the event’s success because it determines how you get people to join the virtual meeting room, interact with the speaker, and connect with each other.
Since virtual conferences are highly accessible, brands can also reach more people and effectively raise brand awareness at scale. Here are all the benefits of virtual conferences in detail:
Attendees can join from anywhere, so no travel arrangements need to be made for speakers or audience members. It’s much easier for people with limited mobility, time, or resources to attend, which may make the event more appealing.
You don’t need to pay for a conference room, catering, or transportation. Plus, since you can reach a wider, global audience, you can increase the number of participants and lower attendees’ acquisition costs.
Since virtual conferences are highly accessible, brands can reach more people and effectively raise brand awareness at scale. You can also use it to build topical authority and thought leadership on industry-specific topics. With Livestorm, you can automatically record your event to create evergreen content that continues to boost your brand even after the event is over.
Virtual conferences tackle niche, industry-specific topics, so attendees are more likely to be qualified leads - unlike the leads you get from other marketing efforts like social media giveaways. If you’re using Livestorm, you have access to event analytics and attendee contact details, so you can reach out later. You can also use the built-in CTA button to move leads through the funnel during the conference.
If you use corporate communication software with plenty of engagement features, you’ll be able to create opportunities for people to participate and collaborate in ways that are even more dynamic than the in-person experience. For example, if you’re on Livestorm, you can use live polling to gauge audience reactions and spotlight results on the screen.
Your virtual conferencing platform should automatically capture information about your event, meaning you can analyze and segment your audience according to registration and engagement data. With Livestorm, you have access to an analytics dashboard to review your conference metrics and review attendees’ information.
Your virtual conferencing platform should automatically capture information about your event, meaning you can analyze and segment your audience according to registration and engagement data. With Livestorm, you have access to an analytics dashboard to review your conference metrics and review attendees’ information.
If you already use a video conference platform like Livestorm as your daily online meeting solution, and you’re using internal speakers and a design team, the cost could be as little as zero. Of course, that price will go up if you hire external speakers and go with paid advertising.
However, if you’re hiring vendors and paying for an additional tool to hold all of your attendees, costs can go up to +$50,000. You’d need to pay for:
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Hosting engaging virtual conferences is a big undertaking. Done right, it can supercharge your marketing efforts and generate hyper-interested, actionable leads.
Use the following tips to organize a killer virtual conference that gets results:
Define your content strategy, set an agenda, and reach out to potential speakers. You need to do all this before you take further actions like inviting attendees and promoting your event.
To make engaging events that resonate with participants, you should have a clear definition of what the conference will be about and who will be your primary audience. Use this time to decide if you’ll be hosting a hybrid panel discussion or if it will happen purely online. You also need to define the purpose of the event:
Create slide decks or marketing materials that are hyper-relevant to your target audience. Make sure any visual media, presentations, videos, social posts, etc., are on-brand and provide value to your audience.
As soon as you define the conference topic, list and reach out to potential speakers. They don't necessarily need to be famous or niche influencers. They can be experts, customers, or internal speakers. It’s okay to get creative with the speakers, but make sure they’re properly briefed and have good presentation skills. They also need to be available for your planned date and time!
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Creating and setting an agenda will ensure your virtual conference follows a steady progression of speakers and content that makes sense to your audience and doesn’t go over time. It’s a virtual conference best practice to send the conference agenda to the attendees along with the registration email. Then, share the agenda with your speakers including clear indications of timings and slots to help them plan ahead for the big event.
Setting achievable KPIs will help you measure the event’s success. You can define metrics that measure attendance, attendee engagement, virtual experience score, or number of sponsorships. Be clear about the expected targets so you can compare after the event.
Now that you’ve planned your virtual conference, you’ll need to promote your virtual event to boost attendance and spread brand awareness. Do this by finding the right partners and utilizing the power of social media.
You’ve covered the first step and have a clear topic, speakers, and agenda. It’s time to define when it’ll all happen and get all the brand assets ready to invite your audience.
Pick a date and time when your target audience is most likely to attend. For instance, don’t choose to host a big conference when your target companies are closing their fiscal year (that’s usually a busy time). Also, if you’re hosting a global conference, set a time that’s accessible for people in most time zones.
The registration page is one of the first touchpoints that your audience will have with your brand and the event. Make sure that it:
The platform you’re using for the registration page should also send emails automatically after each participant signs up. Customize the copy of the email and include:
After that, they just need email reminders to keep attendance rates high. If you’re using Livestorm as your video conferencing platform, you can create the registration page using a template, edit the copy, and set the frequency for the email cadence through the same web app.
6 Email Templates for Successful Virtual Events
Access these 6 email templates to drive attendance to your virtual events.
The only way to get attendees is to promote your online event) and spread brand awareness. Do this by finding the right partners and utilizing the power of social media.
Consider which (if any) partners make sense to include in your virtual conference. Partnering up with a similar or bigger brand can expand your promotional reach and secure a better turnout. This will also help reduce the out-of-pocket costs of the conference.
It’s good practice to find brands that are aligned with the conference topic or non-competitor brands and share your audience. For example, if you sell yoga mats, you could either partner with a yoga studio or with a mindfulness online courses brand.
Harness the reach of social media event marketing and post Instagram countdowns to your event using Instagram Stories. Or post speaker lineups and content sneak peeks on relevant social media channels like LinkedIn and Facebook to attract a more targeted, professional audience.
With Livestorm, you can share your event on LinkedIn and allow users to automatically register using their LinkedIn profile information. Use little hacks like this to give your audience a super simple user experience and drive attendance rates.
One of the biggest challenges of hosting a conference online is to keep the participants engaged. Be sure to incorporate a human touch, make any introductions and closing remarks relatable to your audience, use visual media and presentations, and utilize your video engagement platforms’ engagement features.
There’s nothing more boring than a long-winded speaker offering zero visual support. Use visual media and presentations throughout the conference to help support speakers’ talking points more effectively. Engage the audience by changing up their visual and auditory experiences. Do this by using colorful presentations and adding videos.
Test your presentation and videos with others in different locations a few days before the event.
Depending on the video engagement platform of your choosing, you should have a feature tricks up your sleeve for keeping things interactive. With Livestorm, you can livestream virtual events or moderate virtual panel discussions and engage participants throughout using:
It’s important that your participants have the same context as you do. If you’re talking about a particular paper or research and you’re not sharing it on your screen, you should share those files with them. If you’re using Livestorm, you can use the Handouts plugin to share downloadable files quickly and easily with your attendees in real time. This is also a great feature to use if you want to share an eBook or more information at the end of the call.
Your connection with attendees doesn’t end as soon as you log off. It’s important to follow up with registrants to send them the replay of the event and gather feedback.
You can ask for feedback from attendees during the meeting, but also do it again through email. Allow them to give feedback anonymously so they can be truthful about their experience. Your surveys should:
Thank your attendees for showing up and participating in your virtual conference with a thoughtful thank you email. Use this email to send a video replay of the event for those who couldn’t make it to keep up their initial interest in your brand.
With Livestorm, you can easily record and send replays of your virtual conference to remind participants of your great event. You can also create on-demand videos of your virtual conference so it’s always available to qualified leads–keeping your pipeline filled with opportunities.
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Your conference is over and you’ll get to relax pretty soon, but first, you need to review your analytics. Use your analytics dashboard to compare the predefined success measures to your actual results.
This step is what allows you to reflect on what you should remove, keep doing, or improve for future events. If you’re using Livestorm, you can easily track things like engagement and participation rates, attendee contact information, and chat messages. Use this data to evaluate your engagement efforts and make changes accordingly.
Use your previously defined virtual event success metrics as a baseline and the feedback results to review your scores. For example, if one of your success criteria was to get a score of over 4/5 in attendees' overall review, then you’ll compare that number to the actual result and see if you met or missed the mark.
Your virtual conference platform is your most valuable player. Choose the one that will hold your expected audience, has good reviews, and invites your attendees to interact. Here are three of the best virtual conference platforms for large events.
Livestorm is a video conferencing tool that allows you to handle the planning, execution, and review of your conference in the same place. You can host online video chats, create registration pages, engage attendees during the meeting with interactive features, and analyze the meeting metrics.
Livestorm is one of the best virtual event platforms as it holds up to 3,000 attendees, enables true engagement and brand building from day one with:
Plus, as Livestorm is web-based, your attendees won’t need to download any app.
ClickMeeting is a video conferencing tool for webinars, conferences, and large events (up to 1,000 attendees). Users like this platform because it allows them to create automated webinars, which means they can use pre-recorded videos to get leads and increase sales without manual intervention.
ClickMeeting offers white labeling, so you can add your branding to the conference room. Using the PayPal integration, you can host paid virtual conferences, charge through the app, and get the money directly into your PayPal account.
Zoom is a widely known video conferencing platform that’s mostly used for internal daily meetings. However, depending on your Zoom plan, you can invite up to 10,000 attendees, which makes them a suitable tool for huge virtual events.
People like this tool because it also comes with a large suite of interactive and engagement features like:
Here are our top virtual conference engagement ideas:
When done right, your virtual conference can help you effectively market your brand. Plus, you’ll generate networking opportunities and solidify the perception of your business as a thought leader in your industry.
But virtual conferences can be challenging as you’ll need to keep your attendees engaged through a screen. That’s why using a video conferencing tool that comes with a large list of interactive features to promote engagement (like Livestorm) can make it easier.
Unlike many other popular video conferencing tools, Livestorm allows you to plan, invite, host, and analyze your event without using multiple apps. It’s also super easy to sign up and use.
What is the purpose of a virtual conference?
The purpose of a virtual conference is to connect with a large audience to:
What do you need for a virtual conference?
All you need for a virtual conference is:
How to price a virtual conference?
To price a virtual conference you’ll need to do a cost analysis. List all the incurred costs, set an estimated attendance and a profit margin. For example, imagine you’re hosting a 3-day virtual conference and these were your expenses:
Total: $35,800
You have a large prospects list and you’re expecting at least 500 attendees with a 40% profit margin. You need to divide your total costs by the number of attendees and multiply by your desired profit margin. So,
= (35,800/500)*1.4
= 71.6*1.4
= 100.24
In this example, you can charge $100 per ticket.
You can also decide to host these conferences for free and get sponsorships to pay for the event.
How long should a virtual conference be?
A virtual conference can last anywhere from one to three days, depending on the topic covered, industry, and the number of speakers or panelists. Sessions should be around 45-90 minutes to keep the audience engaged.
What are some tips for attending a virtual conference?
Here are some tips if you’re attending a virtual conference:
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