Checklist for Running a Successful Online Event

Checklist for Running a Successful Online Event

 

Running a successful online event is all about proper planning, not luck. There are exact steps that must be taken before any successful event. 

We have put together this comprehensive checklist for a successful online event so that you can take the guesswork out of it and ensure that your sponsors and partners get their money’s worth for teaming up with you to bring your target audience an awesome event!

 

Pre-event checklist

 

The vast majority of online event failures come about through a lack of pre-event planning. You will notice that the pre-event checklist steps are far more numerous than the during- and post-event points!

 

Understand your target market

 

Even if you are a business and think you know your target market, it is prudent to take a fresh look at it and truly understand what the target audience for that particular online event might be. 

 

Choose a relevant topic

 

Great topics must be current, applicable, and useful. People should consider that they will obtain value in their lives by attending your event, especially if they need to pay for tickets. 

 

Name the event

 

Along with a great topic, you will need a great name for the online event. It should ideally be catchy as well as meaningful. People should understand by reading the name only what the event is about. 

 

Choose an event platform

 

This is probably the most important aspect of running a successful online event because a great online events platform will take care of 80% of the things on this checklist.

 

Arrange sponsors and partners (optional)

 

For larger events, it is a good idea to find sponsors who can share in some of the costs of the event and, in exchange, be prominently featured at the virtual event venue. A good events platform will have tools in place to feature sponsors and partners at the event prominently. 

 

Consider the date and time carefully

 

An online event should be held during times when as many people across the world can attend, depending on your target market. For example, if your online event is targeted at a German-speaking audience, you would certainly need to time it so it occurs within the awake hours of where most German-speaking people live. 

It is also important to consider religious or other holidays. Again, this depends on your target market. 

 

Prepare the agenda and find speakers/presenters/exhibitors/etc.

 

Ideally, the agenda should be downloadable into the attendee’s calendar. Your online events platform should take care of this for you. 

 

Promote the event

 

You can promote the event on social media, through newsletters, and by sending event invitations to a mailing list. 

 

Sell tickets

 

One strategy is to have a free tier and several paid tiers. Then, at the event, people can upgrade as needed. Configuring ticket sales is usually handled through the event platform. 

 

Enable artificial intelligence features for the event

 

AI is one of the secret weapons of great online events. This includes networking and matchmaking AI, and conversational AI to analyze and summarize presentations. 

 

Assign event moderators

 

It happens—unscrupulous attendees will occasionally try and disrupt or troll an event. By assigning moderators for the day of the event, you can prevent this from ruining the experience for others. 

 

Test, test, test

 

Do several test runs of the entire event, ensuring that all audio and video equipment is working. Have speakers and presenters do the same. 

 

During-event checklist

 

Have a support team on hand for the day of the event (even if it’s just you!)

 

In the events dashboard, configure a message for attendees to let them know who to contact in case of bugs. 

 

Engage the attendees with gamification, polls, quizzes, etc.

 

An awesome feature of some online event platforms is the ability to add leaderboards, quizzes, polls, and live surveys to an event to keep attendees engaged. 

 

Analyze real-time analytics and take fast action as necessary

 

EventsX offers live analytics that measures user engagement and shows the most popular (or unpopular) sections of the event. With this data, organizers can take fast action if anything is not optimum. 

 

Let AI do its magic to generate leads and networking connections

 

A great feature of EventsX events is the AI-driven lead-generation and matchmaking tools it provides. You don’t need to do anything regarding this. The AI runs in the background and users get a notification when there is a potential networking match or lead that they should consider connecting with. 

 

Post-event checklist

 

Send out a survey after the event

 

By clicking a few buttons, you can create a survey for attendees to fill so you can improve on any weak areas, and reinforce strong areas for future events. 

 

Invite users to view on-demand sessions of the event

 

EventsX lets you put past events automatically on the web for later viewing on demand. Send users an email after the live event to view these presentations so as to maximize your and your partners’ ROI. 

 

Thank sponsors, partners, exhibitors, speakers, etc.

 

Send sponsors an email or a thank you card. 

 

Analyze event analytics

 

Now is the time to analyze all event analytics in detail. AI-powered reports and metrics will provide you with deep insight into the different elements of the event, letting you fix up weak spots and strengthen areas that worked well.