Getting Started with Virtual Events

Although they require less preparation than a physical event, getting started with virtual events still requires work. Your aim should be to deliver the most rewarding experience possible to your customers, and this demands a certain level of preparation.

Things to consider beforehand:

Will your event be live, on-demand, or a mix? 

Live events offer many more possibilities for interaction with your customers, Q&A sessions, product launches and demonstrations. However, on-demand events are more flexible in terms of time. A common approach is to stream your event live and then make a recording available to access later.

Make it as easy as possible for people to attend and get involved. 

You want to maximize participation and engagement in your event. Send out information beforehand through a range of channels like email, social media, and your website. Try to remove as many obstacles to joining as possible.

The best place to run virtual events is directly on your brand’s website. This way, all you have to do is redirect traffic to the site and anyone can watch, without having to even register. If you have a good amount of existing traffic, this is a really easy way to generate high levels of attendance.

Plan Timing and Structure

Like all events, the best virtual events run seamlessly. They appear effortless and smooth and rarely hit any issues.

Timing and structure might be even more important for virtual events because you don’t have the luxury of a captive audience.

Fortunately, Whisbi Broadcast makes the process incredibly easy. Setting up a presentation is as simple as downloading the app and having the product on hand to talk about. Even showrooms can be set up easily — you just need to dedicate a section of your shop to it. If you want to learn more about Live Broadcasting, read our dedicated guide.

Anticipate problems

Part of rigorous planning is anticipating potential issues. Some of the problems to look out for are the same as physical events, such as equipment failure. Others, like connectivity issues, are unique to virtual events.

Test your equipment beforehand, but also make sure you have a back-up plan for every possible eventuality. Your goal should be to keep things running and keep your audience engaged even when things go wrong.

Set and measure KPIs

It’s important to track the performance of your events so you can identify problems, make tweaks, and deliver even better experiences in the future. This is possible with platforms such as the Whisbi Deck or Google Analytics, which we’ll explore in more detail later on.

Here are some KPIs to track for virtual events:

• Number of Viewers 
• Number of questions asked
• Number of engaged viewers that stay longer than 3 minutes
• Average viewing time
• Broadcast duration

With Whisbi Broadcast, it’s easy to set up and deliver an effective virtual event that dazzles customers and leaves a lasting impression. If you take care of these simple steps, it’s hard to go wrong.

How to Prepare

Preparation for a virtual event might seem straightforward or even easy compared to a physical event, but there’s still a lot of work involved. Here’s just some of what you’ll need to do:

Decide on a space. Yes, the event is virtual, but you still need a physical space to set up your equipment, record your speakers, and carry out demonstrations. The space doesn’t have to be huge, but it should look professional and have enough room to do everything you need smoothly and effectively.

Source all the right equipment. Fortunately, you don’t need much equipment to run a Whisbi Broadcast. You just need the app on a tablet or phone and a presenter. Still, you’ll need to spend some time making sure the background and lighting are set up correctly. 

Practice with your host and presenter(s). Running a broadcast is actually much easier than you might think. The key is to be natural and use your usual pitch to sell the product. It’s no different to a normal sales process, but it’s still worth running through once or twice beforehand.