Virtual career fairs have now presented themselves as proof of effective and cost-saving adaptation into event organization. As reported by Vfairs (2021), more than 80% of respondents developed a liking for live feeds, webinars, and virtual discussions, to name a few.
This fact raises the positive prospects that there will be increasing uses of virtual events. To bring all participants the utmost satisfaction, you will need to choose the ideal virtual event solution that can realize your vision. The following list of suggestions may offer you deep insights into how to choose the best virtual event platform for your needs.
7 Steps to Pick the Ideal Virtual Event Platform
The virtual event organizer should look into a wide range of platform choices before deciding on the suitable ones. Here are a few steps to help you make the real deal:
Step 1: Pinpoint Your Virtual Event Goals
Try to plan what you aim to achieve through the event. From attracting enough public attention to arranging the best speaker to talk on the day, every step in an event has different goals. With this in mind, choosing the best virtual event platforms to meet your requirements will be easier. The goals may vary among revenue generation, connections seeking, educational purposes, etc. Your virtual event goals are part and parcel of designing and developing the event. When the goals are properly defined, you can effectively figure out how likely you are to succeed.
The first action you should take is to think about what you would like to accomplish from the event. You may compile a list of questions concerning the scale of your event, the guests, the reasons for hosting, the expected takeaways from the event, and more. Each of these components has a direct bearing on your choice of choosing different platforms. Next, turn the answers into a set of objectives to establish your goals. You can simplify the process by preparing one main answer to be more focused.
Step 2: Figure Out What Features the Considered Platforms Should Have to Optimize the Visitors’ Experience and Productivity
2.1. Communication Features
In an online event, the ability to virtually connect with other participants is highly appreciated. Additionally, it works especially if you are hosting an exhibition or career fair where booth set-up and individual chatting space between event participants and booth attendants are required. Well-functioning and event-friendly communication features that enable said interactions are among the hosts’ top priorities. The event organizer should take the following features into account: chatting space, live broadcasting setting, recording system during the meeting, and Q&A facility for post-presentation.
Join.me is an exemplar when it comes to intuitive communication features. The thorough design of its admin panel grants quick access to major functions like recording and screen sharing.
2.2. Visual Features
Another important feature to consider is visual effects. Some solutions like Vfairs facilitate elements such as 3D booths, banners, or an entire exhibition hall. These visual elements are especially suitable for career fair events, Company Experience events for new staff onboarding, and more. Having a vibrant, life-like atmosphere can be the key to differentiating your online event from competitors.
2.3. Integration With Other Event Management Tools
As a virtual event planner, event management features are vital in keeping your project running smoothly. Managing presentations and schedules can be a chore without these tools. You can try exploring their services of event hosting registration, email deliveries, event notifications, agenda presentation, etc. It is also helpful to study various choices of event management tools to smoothly host your virtual event.
2.4. Analytics Insight Features
The availability of insight features, namely traffic patterns, overall attendance, and attendee engagement, will come in handy when you want to identify such necessary information for your following experiences as parts of attraction to audiences and areas of improvement from the metrics dashboard.
Step 3: Develop Your Expected Budget
You need to estimate the full cost of the services your considered platforms offer to see whether your budget allows for such investment.
Each virtual event platform offers distinct plans with particular functions. For example, for users’ specific purposes, Zoom provides a good variety of pricing plans, one of which is the free plan. It allows around 100 participants to join a video call for 40 minutes at most and is equipped with video conferencing and group collaboration features. Another plan, the cheapest paid one with operational meeting extensions, charges per host around $14 per month for larger capacity, longer duration limit, and additional recording storage. If you are unsure which plan is right for you, most providers have the option to request a demo.
Step 4: Determine the ideal type of customer support for your virtual event platform
It is sensible to factor in your preference for customer support. If your chosen provider has the option for a customer support team, you can decide whether you already have your team of internal support or to incorporate the third-party staff. A 24/7 support team at your request is advisable for instant troubleshooting should technical difficulties, specifically bad Internet connection and failure of device settings, arise.
This support could similarly be of use when you have backend problems, such as data gathering and analytics reporting. The attendees could also get help from a live chat support team during the event when they are unfamiliar with the features included in the virtual event platform.
Step 5: Investigate Networking Space Types for the Event Guests
An online event also serves as an ideal opportunity for specific groups to get in touch with their community. Thanks to the facilitation of networking service in your digital event, the attendees will not only navigate through each session more conveniently but also meet with other interested participants to build up their network. The host had better inform their participants that they have prepared several space types like private booths and common areas and direct them there.
Step 6: Clarify Whether Integration Will Be Serviceable From the Platforms
The possibility of integration with your marketing systems and content management via the video streaming feature, for example, will both leverage customer engagement with the event and attract a wider coverage among the community. This practice will also cooperate with your existing process to collect data more efficiently. You can spend time checking the flexibility of integration to see how comfortable the relevant parties are with it.
Step 7: Decide on the Necessary Features of Customization
Customization is one powerful form of branding when you want to send a consistent message about your event to your participants by integrating with the platform. You should consult with the solution provider on such matters. Some customizable elements to consider are your website interface, email management, registration procedures, virtual rooms, and services offered to the attendees.
Wrapping Up
The task of choosing the preferred platforms for these events never appears to be a cakewalk. Expectantly, we hope these pieces of advice will lighten your workload to find the best virtual events platform. These top 4 virtual event software may lend you a hand in visualizing your perfect event solution.
Images used in this post : Freepik