The online events space has skyrocketed in growth over the last twelve months. For many event organisers, this has been the only way for their business to stay afloat. It’s almost impossible to plan live events around the constant lockdowns and restrictions on public gatherings. The good news is that online events have become more popular than ever. In fact, it has never been easier to run an online event and make it a roaring success.
This isn’t to say that running an online event is as simple as sending out a zoom link and cashing in on registration fees or product sales.In fact, Zoom is probably the least optimised platform to run events. Running your events on a platform like Klyk is actually designed specifically with paid events in mind. There is a straightforward formula to running an online event and making it a success. By the end of this article, these five tricks will help you run an online event that will make a lasting impression on your attendees.’
1. Create interactive moments
There is nothing worse than sitting through an event that feels like the speaker is talking right through you. Bringing an interactive energy to your events will keep the audience engaged and hanging on your every word. Creating interactive moments is not just about asking your audience questions either. You can gamify activities, run polls, offer challenges, have giveaways and let the audience tell some of their own stories. This ensures your audience will walk away with fond memories of your event and excited to attend the next one.
2. Write a script for your event
Don’t get the wrong idea here. Having a script to your event doesn’t mean you need to read word for word off a piece of paper. That is a bad idea! An event script is just a simple set of instructions for how to run your event. This gives you a rough plan of how to structure your event and includes moments for stories, games, challenges and activities. Having a script ensures you are running to schedule and don’t miss anything out. There is nothing worse than running an event off the cuff and finding out you missed several important stories or ran over time.
3. Engage in storytelling
Stories are a great way to engage with your audience. Stories allow you tap into their subconscious mind and activate their emotions. Humans have been telling stories since the discovery of fire because it is such an effective method of passing on information. Having several stories intertwined into your event will bring the audience’s attention back to you. This will also prevent them from drifting into a haze as their mind goes elsewhere. Stories don’t have to be from your perspective either. You could be telling a story about a client, friend or colleague. You could even tell a fictional story as long as it gets the point across.
4. Be aware of timing
Timing is important for your events. You don’t want to run overtime, have an event too long that people can’t make it or have it so short that people don’t get much value from it. Keeping your event around 30 – 40 minutes (don’t forget that Zoom’s free plan has a max session length of 40 minutes) is ideal for keeping the attention of your audience and delivering maximum value. This is where it helps to prepare a script so you can make sure you don’t go overtime but still cover everything for your event.
5. Be savvy with marketing and promotion
It may not be the most important but if marketing and promotion isn’t done right, your event will inevitably fall short. Marketing and promotion is all about letting your audience know your event exists. You will also be highlighting the value they will get from attending. There are several ways you can do this. Social media is key simply because this is where most event organisers will connect with their audience. It is important to start promoting your event a week or two out. This gives attendees enough time to plan around the event and it’s not too long that they might forget they even signed up. Using a platform like Klyk can help because it has integrated event notifications to remind attendees when an event is coming up.
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