Hosting a virtual event in the 21st century has become the norm for most companies, businesses, and organizations. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s affairs have increasingly shifted to the virtual space.
Enterprises that have kept running despite the physical restrictions have had to rely on virtual fairs, virtual meetings, and others to run their affairs.
Although the restrictions have been lifted, virtual company events remain a popular choice for many companies than physical events. Hosting a virtual holiday party may not be the same as a physical one.
It isn’t as stressful as a physical event but requires preparations also as companies and event organizers cannot set it up with a single press of a button.
Technology will play a very vital role in the success of your company’s virtual event. More importantly, specific tech tools become indispensable. For any organization or company looking to host a virtual event, the following tech tools are the must-have tools and keys to a successful and well-executed virtual event.
1. An Event Website
Do you wish to have your event’s details concentrated in one single source for easy access by your participants? If so, you need an event website. An event website serves as the home base, the platform where all information related to and associated with any company virtual events can be found.
A virtual event website becomes the home where attendees can find information on the event title, past events hosted by the said company, reactions, attendees, clear purpose of the event, when and where the event will take place, details about the organizers, feedback from previous events, etc.
2. Event Registration Software
To ensure that you not only have a well-planned event, but people to attend the event, you need event registration software.
The software should be reliable, secure, and user-friendly as it’s also a means of advertising the event. It should allow participants to register without hassle while providing preferences to ensure a satisfactory event experience.
It should also keep a record of all registration details inputted into it and allow room for a seamless payment process with a receipt for proper record keeping. Also, it must include suggestion areas or question areas for improvements in future registration and event-hosting engagements.
3. Event Marketing Software
To get people to attend your virtual event, you need to promote it with an effective strategy to reach your target audience. Event marketing software is designed to help you create suitable promotion strategies and carry out your promotion steps with little or no monitoring.
The software must feature email marketing tools to create and schedule your attendee-pleasing marketing emails, social media posts, paid ads, etc., to spread the word about your company’s virtual event.
In addition, the software also tracks performance and engagement, sends out automated reminders to attendees, keeps a record of all emails sent, opened, and much more.
4. Live-Stream/Webinar Platform
Depending on the number of participants and attendees you hope to have at your event, some video streaming platforms can accommodate more participants than others. If you prefer a live-streaming option, you can host your event on several live-streaming apps like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Livestream, Vimeo, and others.
On the other hand, if you desire an interactive virtual event that gives room for attendees to input, network, or communicate, you can subscribe to webinar software or apps like ClickMeeting, Zoom, GoToWebinar, etc.
Depending on your desire, your platform should be well-equipped with all the necessary tools to present your points, clear video and audio quality for proper communication, and a feedback area.
5. Participant Engagement Tools
Whether you’ll be using a live stream or webinar platforms to host your company’s virtual event, you need to keep your participants engaged to ensure that they are at par with all that is going on in the event and allow them to have a say in it too.
A good participant engagement tool to use is the audience interaction feature. Many virtual events hosting platforms offer Q&A, polls, and live feeds where attendees take a pulse on particular actions within the event or drop questions for their moderators and speakers.
Other platforms also offer additional features like quizzes, voting capabilities, games, and others for a more immersive experience.
You can also utilize apps that are designed for up-to-date details of the event, and networking sections where attendees can reach out and connect.
Conclusion
Running a virtual company event may sound like a lot of work, especially for those who are not tech-savvy. But with specific essential tech tools like those mentioned in this article, your next virtual event will surpass your expectations.
In addition to the tools mentioned here, your team must also engage and manage other digital technologies necessary like the use of quality video and camera equipment, reliable and stable network facilities, recording of the webinars for future references and needs, and others.
With these in place, your company can host a successful virtual event.