Online event management has become popular for businesses to grow leads and expand their reach. Companies create online meeting tools to promote their products and services, from webinar presentations to sales pitches. With the growing popularity of online video, it’s easier than ever to host online meetings. When planning online events, it is crucial to take heed of proper meeting planning practices to ensure that the event is a success.
Online event management involves all the processes that go with organizing, planning, and hosting an online event-corporate or otherwise. Online event management is crucial to the success of an online business because it can help foster brand awareness and customer loyalty. Keeping this in mind, here are some handy online event management tips for businesses.
Online events can be very different from offline corporate events and have completely separate requirements. A traditional corporate event requires planning on-site at a venue where the event is being organized. Moreover, other than the venue, the organizer may also have to take care of sending invites, hiring corporate event catering County Durham (or wherever the event is held), ensure that the staffing is adequate and guests are taken care of. All this is not even close to how an online event is managed.
In an online event, you have to register and set up your event online with the help of event management software, send invites through emails, promote your event, and prepare the content that will be streamed online to a live audience who will be joining your event online.
What Is Online Event Management?
Event management requires a lot of planning and the proper execution of the ideas, which is why this is usually done by taking the help of experts who provide event consulting services. Since specialists can help immensely by guiding throughout the process, people often consider opting for their assistance. However, those who do not seek the help of professionals in this matter, often have to manage an event themselves through the use of technology.
That said, the most common online event management tools often provide crucial options for event registration and reporting. These tools allow event managers to quickly and easily add attendees to their events. If an event has registration, the attendees receive email or text message invites. This also allows event managers to track attendees, and their responses, and follow up as necessary.
Define your goal
Every business planning to run an online event is well aware of the importance of defining its goals. Whether it’s to gain more leads, increase engagement levels, or boost website traffic, every marketer understands the importance of having these goals clearly defined in order to get the best ROI.
Provide online event registration
Online event registration couldn’t be easier. Yet, many businesses still struggle to get customers to register for their events. Learn how online event registration can help your business, as well as some advice to help you effectively promote your events online and attract new attendees. Additionally, if you plan on selling tickets, then consider using fintech as a service to manage payments and track the finances of the event. This would not only be in line with the online theme but also make it easier for people to register.
Promote the event online
Promoting your event online starts with knowing who your target audience is. Your audience will be the ones who will see your social media posts, so you want to attract the right people. There are ways to increase your visibility as well. For example, you could even employ translation services to help you expand your reach. Events with multilingual appeal tend to be a hit across the board. Next, you want to establish your key messages. What are you trying to tell the audience?
Provide event details
Event management is a tricky business. Between planning the necessary logistics, marketing, securing speakers and attendees, sales and event managers must juggle a lot. But one element of event management that is often overlooked is providing the details. Interested people need to know where and when the event will be held, and how to access the link to the event. As virtual events are often attended by a global audience, clearly defining the time zone for your event also becomes important.
Track your event online
How many people have clicked on the event landing page and registered? How many have responded, and how many have queries? Not only should you be tracking all user activity before the event, but you should also set up data analytics for user actions during and after the event. Which attendees are leaving half-way? Who is interested in learning more about your company or offerings? You can gain a lot of insight through tracking the event.
Track RSVP’s
Keeping track of RSVPs can be a time-consuming task. Luckily, there are several online event management tools that can help. Eventify’s online event management software allows you to track RSVPs, as well as create online ticketing for your guests. Eventify also has online RSVP tools which allow you to send reminder emails to those who haven’t responded, as well as providing you with an all-in-one platform for end-to-end event management.
Send follow-up emails
A common mistake people make when hosting a webinar, live seminar, or web conference is forgetting to follow up with their participants. Follow-up emails are one of the most important parts of successful online business events. These emails help nurture the relationships you’ve built with attendees, build brand awareness, and get the word out about future events.
Utilize social media
Online event management is a fast-growing industry, with many companies taking advantage of social media to advertise their business. Social media allows companies to use one platform to reach multiple audiences, and with many different apps and platforms to choose from, businesses can create their own custom strategy to meet their individual needs.
Businesses use a variety of event management software to organize and manage online events. Online event management allows companies to not only organize and promote their event but also provide feedback to users on how well the event went, giving them a detailed account of all the action.
Plan your event online. Create a schedule with the date and time of all activities. This will make it easy for you to invite everyone from your network and beyond. Also, create an online registration form. Add attachments. Promote your event on social media. Online event management software has made all of this seamless and easy to do. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your next virtual business conference now.