Event tech expert Jack Geddes tells CN how to run a virtual event for a fraction of the price.
Before the pandemic, virtual events had a bad reputation; now they are a widely accepted format. In fact, virtual events were not even called events, but they were called webinars.
Now technology suppliers are distinguishing between different types of virtual events and are defining webinars as ‘small’ events.
Everyone seems to be offering some virtual event solution, but do you really need to spend a pretty penny to have a memorable event?
Let’s break down what you need to make a successful virtual event:
Website
Websites are not ‘easy’; you need something that will:
1) Show the event timetable
2) Display speakers and sponsors
3) Add reviews from previous attendees
Is it possible to have all of that for free? Well no, but we can create an event page on Eventbrite.
Get creative. You can insert YouTube videos and images. Your videos can be testimonials of past attendees and the images could be your upcoming speakers.
Marketing
No one really knows where to start, there is so much to do in very little time.
Let’s leverage what is free:
1) Create a newsletter using Mailchimp’s Free Plan from the emails you have collected on your Eventbrite page.
2) Send everyone an email using Mailchimp with the calendar information using eventable.com (Eventable is a tool that allows your attendee to add your event to their calendar).
3) In the calendar information, you can insert the platform details or your LinkedIn page where the event will happen. This tool is a great addition to your marketing to make sure your potential attendees don’t forget about your event.
4) Create a LinkedIn event page where you can add the stream of the event and invite connections. Make sure to invite everyone who attends your event as a connection for future events.
5) Once you have followers, use Envited to invite them to the event. Make sure to create the hashtag of the event well in advance and use it in all your communication.
6) Use Canva’s free plan to make promotional images to share on social media.
Registration
If you are running a free-to-attend event, Eventbrite won’t charge you anything.
Unfortunately, I have not yet found a way to run registration for free. If your attendees are paying, you always will incur fees from payment processing to platform fees.
Networking
You can use platforms like Slack or Discord. I have heard from Silicon Valley VCs that they run their own private events with a mixture of Slack for their community and Zoom for the actual event.
Get a Slack free plan and let your attendees’ network. You can even create channels for announcements.
Live streaming
Whether you want to have an attendee chat and reactions visible, or the ability to easily share the stream to your followers, you have a choice of platforms from Youtube to Twitch.
My recommendation would be to use LinkedIn events if your event is for professionals.
Production
If you have no more than six speakers at a time, Streamyard’s free plan will work perfectly.
The main benefit of Streamyard is that you can turn attendees’ comments from LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook, into visible banners for all your speakers and attendees to see.
Audience interaction
For audience interaction, you must ask yourself “what is important to my event and my attendees?’”, “do I want the attendees to be able to network?” and “will I need to do polls during my event?”
Below are the most important audience interaction features that we have covered:
1) Attendee reactions – with LinkedIn
2) Attendee chat – with LinkedIn
3) Attendee networking – with Slack
4) Showcase questions or comments – with Streamyard
5) Polling – with Strawpoll
Attendee feedback
Why not use a Google Form for your post-event survey? It is free and should do the job perfectly fine.
Final verdict
You can organise an event completely for free – from your marketing to your platform. Whether you are organising a large event or a small event, you can organise events for all budgets.
You just need to get creative, test and learn.
