Any event professional working in today’s landscape knows that planning a virtual event is no easy feat. You can’t just stream a live event and call it virtual (not anymore, anyway). Virtual events need to be engaging, interactive experiences.
That’s why choosing your tech partner is vital to success. And even then, the day of an event can be especially nerve-wracking for event producers. What if you have connectivity issues? Bad sound clarity? Unprepared speakers? What do you do then?
Stop pulling your hair out! By preparing and taking the right steps, your virtual event will go off without a hitch. How? Follow this checklist to plan a well-rounded, tech-ready event:
1. Line up technical support for the day of the event.
Planning a virtual event takes some technical know-how. That’s why you’ll want to get your IT team onboard for the event early on. But you might also want to think outside your in-house IT team—you need people who understand the ins and outs of your event platform. Zoom, for instance, offers technical support with its Event Services team. These event experts can assist with setup, planning, rehearsal and live support. When considering a tech partner, choosing one that already provides tech support leading up to the event and on the day of is a big win.
2. Run through a rehearsal beforehand, and ensure speakers join their sessions 15-30 minutes early on event day.
Making sure an event runs smoothly takes a village, so your speakers should be prepared. Running practice sessions prior to the event can help smooth out any technical issues and allow your speakers to get familiar with the process. You’ll also want to double-check that all settings like Q&A, webinar or chat are enabled. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and ensuring your speakers are prepared is critical to an event’s success. After all, the speakers are a prime focus and draw for events.
3. Have someone dedicated to monitoring the networking chat and greeting guests as they arrive.
Regardless of whether your event is an intimate audience or a larger one, designating someone to moderate chats and welcome guests will make the experience more friendly, while also reducing confusion and adding a personal touch. If you expect a larger audience, you may want to ask your panelists to help or designate more than one person to this role to help answer any questions.
4. Conduct dry-runs.
Before the event, send presenters how-to resources for using your event platform and ensuring audio and video quality ahead of time. While practice sessions the day of the event are important, performing a dry-run of the event leading up to the day will help iron out any technical kinks with cameras, microphones, lighting and other settings.
You can also refine introductions, content and transitions, while also confirming that presenters’ backgrounds work with the event and lighting. Speakers should practice with the equipment they’ll be using the day of the event. To further ensure quality video, you can even send your speakers a kit with everything they’ll need, including a microphone, headset, ethernet cable, ring light and webcam.
5. Hardwire computers into an ethernet port and test your internet connection.
No one wants spotty Wi-Fi, especially on the day of the event. By hardwiring your internet, you’ll have a more secure connection that’s faster and more reliable. Ask your presenters to also hardwire their connection to ensure a positive attendee experience.
6. Create a clear communication plan and set up chat channels so you can easily reach your team.
Leading up to the event, everyone on your team should have a timeline of all sessions, presenter information, transitions, procedures and break times. You should also define which mode of communication you’ll be using during the event, whether it’s text, an app, social media or an in-platform chat tool with push notifications. Zoom, for instance, allows event professionals to leverage its Zoom Chat feature—which allows for collaboration in real time with internal and external team members—to create dedicated channels. This way, you can stay aligned on tasks and action items with your team.
7. Set up livestreaming and recording.
If you’re interested in livestreaming your event, you’ll want to confirm which platform or platforms you’ll be streaming to and check out the integrations your event platform partner has available. You’ll also want to decide in advance who will be recording the event and how to manage sharing and distribution.
8. Get video ready.
There’s a lot that goes into making sure your video quality and presentation are up to par, and this goes for your speakers as well. You’ll want to use a standalone microphone or a good headset for the best audio quality and suppress background noise within the settings. Your video should be optimized, which means enabling it in HD. And don’t forget about your background. Providing presenters with a branded background will keep everything cohesive. But if you’re not planning on using a virtual background, only present with a clean, uncluttered backdrop.
Virtual events are hard work, and after all the time spent planning, having some sort of technical issue spoil the experience for you, your speakers and your attendees is the last thing you want to happen. While technology can be unpredictable, by taking careful steps to negate any last-minute issues, you’ll ensure your event is smooth sailing.
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