Six Phases of Virtual Event Creation
Planning and producing a virtual event can be difficult, particularly for associations forced to convert an education portfolio heavy on in-person events to digital formats for the first time. Moving forward, associations must be better prepared to offer high-quality, but efficient virtual and hybrid meetings that serve the changing needs and preferences of members.
Professional development remains a mission-critical offering for most associations, often delivered through in-person meetings. But as a result of the pandemic, something significantly changed this year: Annual conferences could no longer operate on autopilot.
Up to the challenge, associations turned on a dime to offer learning and networking programs that met or exceeded the relatively low expectations of members. But with limited prior experience, technology gaps, strained budgets, incomplete checklists and reduced timelines, associations were building the bridge as they walked across it.
As we look ahead and more proactively prepare for the future, associations are now faced with a number of enlightening realizations:
- A comprehensive virtual event strategy must be developed and adopted.
- Future virtual events will need to be more sophisticated to meet the changing needs and preferences of members.
- Learners are becoming more protective of their time and less forgiving of events flipped last-minute from in-person to virtual.
- Planners are identifying their own professional development needs relative to virtual events and technology platforms.
- The future of hybrid events means that the skills necessary to create virtual events will be relevant for a long time to come.
Because virtual events can vary widely – from a few attendees to a few thousand and from one session to weeks of activities – there is no one-size-fits-all approach to conducting a virtual event. However, based upon the rapid prototyping of hundreds of association meetings, we’ve found the following six phases of activities are common across all virtual programming.
-
Planning
Careful and complete planning is the key to a successful virtual event. There will always be time constraints impeding the amount of time you allow for this phase, but the planning phase needs to be methodical and thoughtful. Time spent in planning is saved later in the process. In this initial phase, establish the team responsible for the virtual event success, select the event date(s) and times, define attendance and other goals, project expenses and revenue, solicit exhibitors and sponsors, and create a detailed plan for the remainder of event-related tasks.
-
Platform
Selecting a virtual event technology platform that meets your needs and helps fulfill your vision is a crucial decision. Most platforms offer limited custom feature capabilities, so it’s important to prioritize the features that are most important and seek out platforms that offer the best functionality within your budget constraints. Platform research is never done as the landscape of providers is always changing and the expectations of attendees are always evolving.
-
Promotion
Converting an in-person program to a virtual event creates opportunities to reach incremental audiences that were geographically distant or otherwise unlikely to attend when physical attendance was required. But registering those new audiences will require new marketing approaches. In the promotion phase, segment your audiences, establish messaging, place media, engage the press, mobilize your communities, and plan your in-event coverage.
-
Production
Partnering with the talent, gathering the content and producing the virtual event can be the most challenging – and rewarding – phase of the work plan. You will need to support your speakers, ensuring they prepare content and focus messages in alignment with your learning objectives. In the production phase, you also develop content guidelines, finish the full schedule of activities, prepare your technical platform, establish customer service, and conduct the actual virtual event.
-
Packaging
The work isn’t over after the virtual event ends, despite the inevitable relief and exhaustion. The event content is a valuable asset for your organization that needs attention, along with completing contractual requirements for your vendors. In the packaging phase, complete an analysis of the event performance, archive content, follow through on education credential requirements, fulfill financial obligations, and communicate with the event registrants and other key stakeholders.
-
Playbook
With the virtual event obligations all complete, the playbook phase creates time and space to review successes and learnings. You’ll take the opportunity to organize materials and lessons learned into best practices that will be helpful for future virtual events or replication by regional or state components. This phase also completes the full financial analysis of the event, ending the entire project.
Event Garde and Ricochet published The Complete Guide to Virtual Event Creation with input from event organizers and virtual event platform providers. An overview of virtual events, the six phases of virtual event creation, and the 147-item checklist are available now for free download.
