Today we’re talking online event tips. Although restrictions are easing, it’s still unclear where we’ll be in 6 months, let alone a year. With that in mind, we’ve compiled some tips to help you make the most of your online events.

Don’t put an event online for the sake of it.

Is anyone else sick of the word pivot? Because same. But unfortunately, we’re going to have to talk about it for just a little bit longer. It’s tempting to panic and move all events online through fear of depleting revenues and losing your audience. But it’s essential to consider the practicalities of running anything online, as if incorrectly executed, it will cause more damage than good. We’ve tuned into some online events which have were slated for boring content and faulty tech. Those businesses now have a PR clean up operation.

Make your first event free.

We’re seeing a change in the attitude of audiences and their willingness to pay for online events, but it’s imperative to understand that if someone is parting with their cash, they will be expecting a value exchange. We highly recommend for your first event, while you’re finding your feet, you don’t charge people to attend. Your audience will be much more forgiving of your company getting into the swing of things if they haven’t paid to attend and will be more willing to overlook a technical glitch or two.

Test your pricing

We don’t think they’ res a magic formula for calculating the correct price for online events. There are a lot of theories being passed around, which suggest the method is to take the live ticket price, times it by your age, add ten and divide by the number of siblings you have. There is little evidence to support any of those theories.
Different industries can price differently, it’s all entirely dependent on your audience. So doesn’t it make the most sense to ask your audience what they would be happy with? Depending on your business, a simple survey would suffice, or even an Instagram poll. Audience feedback will be invaluable in helping you decide on a pricing strategy.

Make your content available on-demand.

Everyone has a different relationship with online content. Rebecca, for example, likes to tune into a webinar while doing the housework and treat it as a podcast whereas Rianna would rather sit at a desk and tune in with a cup of tea. Having your content available on-demand will help your guests make their own viewing decisions, and this will ultimately result in more views. On-demand content can become evergreen if correctly optimised for SEO, and will also allow you to access audiences on different time zones which may not have tuned into live events.

Keep it short

It’s much quicker and simpler for someone to close a browser screen than it is to walk out of a room at a conference, so keeping attendees engaged is perhaps at the top of our online event tips list. You can make an event as interactive as humanly possible, but it will still be challenging to hold the attention of attendees for any more than a few hours tops. We recommend lots of short sessions filled with fun and interactivity as much as possible.

Hire the right people

Just like a live event, finding the right people is vital to the success of an online event. If you want to produce something which is of a high-quality professional standard, admitting your skill gaps and finding the right people to fill them is a great way forward. Production companies and planners are precious at the moment, as they can help you find all the right components to pull together a great event. From event hampers to the right kit and the right website. It all has a massive impact on the final product.

Brief your speakers

Being asked to speak at an online event can be nerve-wracking for even the most rehearsed professionals. There are a lot of fears which surround tech cutting out, not knowing when to speak, and what happens if there’s a power cut! Briefing your speakers is crucial to helping them feel relaxed and comfortable enough to deliver a fantastic address. Having a test run behind the scenes will help ease any nerves and uncertainty around using a new platform.

We hope this article on Online Event Tips has been useful to your event planning. If you’d like further assistance from our team on ways you can make your online event drive more revenue and engagement, our team will gladly help.