Building Virtual Event Agendas That Feel Like Shots Of Espresso
You’ve made the leap. You’re making this virtual event thing happen. Your company has set a goal for 1,000 attendees over two days. Now for the hard truth: online events are no less complicated than live events. In fact, they’re often more complex. If you want to guarantee an experience that can make you proud and do service to your brand, it pays to construct an agenda that works in a virtual world where content is king.
Let’s take a look at a few of the top dos and don’ts of agenda building for online events.
Disclaimer: Every event is different. You know your audience and one size does NOT fit all. However, we’ve found several factors that will lead you to success. The key: never take your live, in-person agenda and try to squish it to fit a virtual platform.
How to Build Winning Agendas
Provide Variety
It’s the spice of life, but what does variety mean for an event agenda? Consider the fact that your event is now taking place entirely on-screen, without the same personal interaction or in-person experience. You must also contend with the fact that—at best—everyone shows up in either a head-and-shoulders Brady Bunch-style box, as an avatar, or simply as a name in a chatbox. Here are a few ways to keep things spicy:
Offer Snackable Content
When it comes to virtual events, attention spans are limited. If you don’t keep your audience engaged, you’ll lose the average adult viewer in less than 10 minutes. We recommend that you break up sessions into smaller “bites.” Shake up your agenda with keynotes presentations and panels, feature surprise entertainment, switch from pre-recorded content to live Q&A with a dash of stretch breaks. If your budget allows, throw in some celebrity appearances; it doesn’t have to be a Hollywood A-lister, just someone who your crowd will swoon over. Try adding a bit of custom animation to tell a story or produce a video that sizzles. Vary the length of each segment to keep the energy high and eyeballs on your event, not their watches. Don’t forget to ask your audience to participate with polling, Q&A sessions, and Ask Me Anything (AMA) with experts. (We actually have a vlog post all about these audience engagement techniques!) Mix up these elements and you will have snackable content that is certain to engage your audience.
Mix Pre-Recorded Sessions with Live Presentations
Why feature pre-recorded content for virtual events?
Pre-recorded content “takes some knives off the table,” as our Senior Producer Shelly Kim puts it. It provides a sense of security that some of your content will go off without a hitch—minus potential issues like interruptions, spotty wifi, a condensed video that hiccups and pauses, poor lighting, or audio that garbles.
With pre-recorded sessions, your content will REALLY shine. Video provides additional opportunities for branding and polish, from adding graphic intros and titles to including reminders above or below a presenter. When an expert producer records and edits a session, they can also make more sophisticated switches between content and presenters; providing more visual interest than just an on-screen head and shoulders shot. For the best in the business, contact us for video production that will make your presenters shine.
Pre-recorded sessions are a key ingredient in reaching more people in both a time and a way that they want to be reached. (More on this later!) It makes it possible to offer content on a schedule that works across numerous time zones.
Last and possibly of most value, pre-recorded content is the gift that keeps on giving. During your event, sessions can be offered on a set schedule and also be provided as a “watch anytime” option throughout the duration of the conference. They can also be offered as “watch forever” for attendees to digest at their leisure, for future clients to consume as an introduction to your brand, or cut up into bite-sized takeaways to be served up as digital content for months to come.
Offer Asynchronous Learning (or the “Book Club” Model)
Have you ever been a member of a book club? Typically, participants read a selected book independently, then meet together to discuss what they thought. With a mix of pre-recorded content and live Q&A, you can offer a similar approach for your conference content. Publish a learning video prior to your event then market it to your attendees to watch and learn ahead of the event day. This provides an opportunity for a corresponding discussion breakout to discuss the subject, including questions and prompts—or a Q&A with the video presenter!—to ensure it’s lively and engaging.
Frequent Breaks are a must
This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget when you’re not seeing your attendees in a large auditorium or event space where you have a coffee bar or outdoor space for gathering. It’s important to be empathetic to your audience when they’re viewing from home. They need breaks to use the bathroom, grab a bite, re-caffeinate, attend to people in their house, or just take a quick break for their brain and eyeballs. Consider programmed breaks that people can either do together or step away from to attend to their own needs. Here are just a few fun and useful examples of programmed breaks to add to your agenda:
offer a short guided meditation
provide instructor-led stretching breaks
play gentle live music while everyone grabs coffee or upbeat afternoon music before heading into the home stretch
provide several of these options simultaneously as a “choose your own adventure” break
Need a Little Help Building a Winning Agenda?
The team at Kennedy Events knows how to create agendas that pack a punch in the virtual world. We’ll work with you to develop content that grabs your audience’s attention and doesn't let go. Schedule some time with us to learn how we can bring our expertise to your next event and keep your attendees in their seats.
PAIGE BUCK
Paige has been herding cats, err, masterminding details for more than 20 years, and been partner at KE since 2011. As a natural in front of and behind the scenes, she discovered her talent for coordinating large productions during her undergrad theatre days. Paige is an East-coast native, but made her mark on the Bay Area nonprofit and tech scene with her mad logistical and fundraising skills. Paige goes sailing on the SF bay every chance she gets, and especially loves when she can bring her pibble pup (the best word around for Pitbull mix). Kennedy Events is lucky to have Paige and her caffeinated smarts on the team!
About Kennedy Events
Kennedy Events began with one goal in mind—to produce high-level corporate events with just as much strategy as style. Maggie founded the company in 2000, found her match in Paige, and in 2011 the two became official partners. Since then, these two resourceful and brilliant creatives have pooled their strengths to build one one of the most the most sought after corporate event companies in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.
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