Hosting a successful virtual networking event is not as daunting as it may seem. There are a few key steps that you can easily incorporate into your event planning process to ensure your virtual networking event is a success. From establishing objectives and goals to having the right technology and a great lineup of speakers and attendees, this step-by-step guide will provide you with ten essential tips to host a successful virtual networking event. Hope you are aware of the Benefits of Combing Virtual and Live Experiences for a Hybrid Meeting. With a little bit of planning and organization, your event will be sure to attract the right people and result in meaningful connections and conversations. So let’s get started!
Establish objectives and goals
Creating objectives and goals for your virtual networking event is an essential first step. By setting clear objectives and goals for your event, you are making sure that your event is relevant, purposeful, and meets the needs of both you and your network. Whether your goal is to grow your business, generate leads, find new partnerships or some combination of these, you must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve before you even begin planning your event.
Select the right virtual platform
When selecting the right virtual platform for your event, it’s important to consider the type of audience you want to attract, the type of conversation that you want to drive during the event, and the functionality that the platform offers. There is a variety of virtual event platform you can choose from, each with its own benefits. Some popular and widely used platforms include Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, Wiz365, and WebEx. It is also possible to host your event on a social media platform such as Facebook or LinkedIn if you want to keep the event completely virtual and avoid any additional costs associated with more robust event platforms. As you select your virtual platform, keep in mind that the platform that you select will likely play a large role in how your event is perceived and how event is remembered. If your event is hosted on a platform that is not commonly used for events, your event may end up feeling unprofessional and less formal.
Create a comprehensive event agenda
Before you begin to plan the details of your event, it’s important to first create a comprehensive event agenda so that you can stay focused and on track during the planning process. Your event agenda should include details such as the date and time of your event, the length of time each activity will last, the topics and/or themes of discussion, the time and location of each break during the event, and any other relevant details. Your event agenda is your roadmap during the planning process and will help keep you on track and focused as you work towards hosting your successful event.
Research and invite the right attendees
When researching and inviting the right attendees to your event, it’s important to consider the types of people that you want to invite and the type of conversation that you want to drive during the event. While it’s important to invite a wide range of people, it’s also important to invite the right people. If you invite people who are outside of your target audience or people who are unlikely to want to participate in your event, they may end up feeling like an outsider and unwelcome, which will likely result in them leaving early and potentially not wanting to return to future events. It’s important to select an inviting mix of guests that includes existing connections, people who are new to your network, and people who are in your network but are outside of your immediate circle.
Prepare topics and questions for networking
One of the most important aspects of hosting a successful networking event is having an engaging and interactive discussion. You can encourage guests to break off into smaller networking groups, but the best discussions take place in a one-on-one environment. When preparing topics and questions for networking, you want to make sure that they are open-ended and can be applied to many different industries and networking groups. While there are many different ways to spark conversation during a networking event, one of the best ways to get the discussion flowing is to ask your guests about their biggest challenges, their biggest wins, and their goals for the future. While these are broad questions, they are great conversation starters that will help guests feel comfortable discussing what’s important to them. These types of questions also tend to generate longer and more in-depth discussions that can be extremely valuable during an event. You must always check Tips to Make a Virtual and Hybrid Event More Engaging while planning the event.
Promote your event
Before your event even begins, you should already have a marketing strategy in place to promote your event and start driving traffic to your event page. By promoting your event well in advance of the date, you can help generate buzz and get more people excited about the event, which will help drive a higher attendance rate at your event. Promoting your event can be done in a number of different ways. You can create an event page and promote your event on social media, you can email your existing connections and invite them to attend your event, or you can even use traditional marketing methods like print advertising or newspaper ads to promote your event. The best way to promote your event will depend on your budget, your audience, and what works best in your specific industry.
Hire a reliable tech support team
Hosting a successful virtual networking event requires careful planning and attention to detail. You want to make sure that your event runs as smoothly as possible and that your guests can easily join and participate in the event. That is why it is important to hire a reliable tech support team to assist you with the technology behind your event. Whether you are hosting your event on; it is important to work with a team like Wiztales that will be able to provide you with the best technology to meet your needs and is able to respond quickly to any issues or technical difficulties that may arise. By working with a reliable tech support team, you can rest assured that your event will run smoothly and that your guests will be able to easily join your event from any device. This will help make your guests more comfortable and help them feel more relaxed during the event.
Have engaging speakers and activities
One of the best ways to keep your event interesting and engaging for your guests is to have a few engaging and interactive activities planned for the event. While it’s important to keep the focus on networking and encouraging meaningful conversations, having a few engaging activities planned for the event can help break up the flow of conversation and allow guests to take a break from speaking with others and step outside of their comfort zone. It is important to choose the right activities and select activities that will encourage guests to interact with one another. This can range from simple ice-breakers or group activities to more in-depth activities that will allow guests to get to know one another better and find out more about their profession. Having engaging speakers at your event is also a great way to keep your event interesting and engaging. By inviting speakers to your event, you can tap into their expertise and knowledge and learn from their experience while also providing guests with something to look forward to and get excited about at the end of the event.
Make sure your event runs smoothly
Even the most meticulously planned event can end up falling apart if you don’t put the appropriate attention to the small details. It is important to make sure that all of the technology is working properly and that your guests are able to easily join your event. It is also important to stay involved in the event yourself and make sure that everything is running smoothly and that your guests are being taken care of. This will help make your event more engaging and interactive for your guests and will also help you keep tabs on what’s going on and make sure that there are no issues or problems that need to be addressed. It’s also important to stay flexible during your event. While it’s important to have a general outline of the order of the event and what’s planned, it’s also important to be flexible and open to change if something goes wrong or if the event runs more smoothly than expected. No event is perfect and it’s likely that you will encounter a few hiccups along the way. It’s important to stay flexible and open to change in order to keep your event running smoothly and avoid any unnecessary hiccups that may arise.
Follow up after the event
Hosting a successful virtual networking event is just the first step of the process. Now it’s time to follow up with the guests that attended your event and continue the conversation that was started at the event. It’s important to follow up with your guests within 24 hours after the event has finished and continue the conversation that was started
