Convert your In-Person Events to Virtual in 5 Easy Steps

So many in-person events & programs are being canceled these days… turns out they don’t have to! It is way less complicated to convert your event to a virtual one than you may think.

Virtual events can be incredibly powerful, as they are much more accessible for people around the world than in-person events. And because everyone is presenting from home these days, it’s also much easier to access quality presenters for your event. Even if it’s a paid event, it’s still much less expensive for attendees because they don’t have to pay for travel and lodging accomodations. When creating virtual events, remember this:

Content is king, & Engagement is key.

If you’re a Speaker, Author, Practitioner or Event Planner who’s thinking of doing a webinar, workshop, event, conference or summit, here are some steps to help you:

1. Choose Your Event Type

Here are some virtual event ideas you can choose from to convert your in-person event to:

• Conference/Summit: Create different speaking sessions or workshops throughout the day(s) by various speakers on a common theme for attendees to choose from, just like an in-person conference. You can have virtual breakout rooms, keynote speakers, panel discussions, virtual speaker booths, networking/participant interaction sessions (in Zoom or in a social networking group), and much more.
• Webinar: A short online event that can be a great way to introduce your audience to your area of expertise, while giving them some valuable introductory info they can use now (usually involves a slideshow or whiteboard presentation, & live Q&A sessions in Zoom chat for a speaker to answer questions in real-time).
• Workshop: A workshop is a teaching lesson where you walk participants through how to do something and end the workshop with a completed project (here are a few workshop types to choose from).

Now ask yourself these questions:

• Will your content be live, on-demand (pre-recorded) or both? How will you handle connectivity issues?
• Will it be a paid or free event? How long will on-demand content be available after the event? (You can also package this content into separate products, like online courses and such)
• What networking/scheduling tools will participants have? (Also, how will you help them stay connected with you and each other after the event is over?)

2. Visualize the Space

What are the main physical elements your event has? Here are a few common ones:

1. Registration table
2. Main stage
3. Networking area
4. Handouts & Worksheets
5. Speaker booths

The next part is translating those physical areas into an”online space”:

1. Registration/orientation “Zoom room” or Live Chat window (for checking in, registration, event instructions, etc.)
2. Main Zoom room (“hosted” by you or your staff: can include live polls, Q&As, breakout rooms, slideshows/whiteboards & much more)
3. Networking can be integrated into the Zoom rooms, or you can create a dedicated Zoom room for networking before/after speakers. Or, connect your event to a Facebook, LinkedIn or JourneyIn (for personal growth events) group where attendees can network between speakers.
4. Create a Dropbox or Google Drive folder where you can upload PDFs, Event Schedules, etc. (then share a “public” link to that folder with your participants). You can create Editable PDFs for people to download and edit (instead of a workbook). It’s also important to create a guide for participants that explains how to join keynotes, attend sessions, and view recorded content & other resources.
5. Create Virtual Speaker Booths you can send people to on your website (this can include a Speaker bio, contact info, workshop/talk info, Scheduling link, Live Chat, Special offer info/link, etc.).

3. Create a Virtual Event Dashboard

Your Virtual Event dashboard is where people go to attend an actual event. You can create a Members Area to give people access to that has all your event content in one place. There are many ways to set this up, but most of them have these common elements:

• Zoom Room(s) &/or Livestream (where the event happens, & your attendees go to watch/participate)
• Event Schedule(lays out the event schedule, with links to Speaker booths or individual Zoom rooms / Livestreams)
• Media & Downloadable Resources (this can include handouts, presentation slideshows, or video recordings of sessions as they’re completed)
• Virtual Speaker Booths (if your speakers have Special Offers or other info they’d normally put on a booth at an in-person event, create individual pages for each speaker to showcase their content)

4. Build Your Recording Space

HERE are some great tips (also THESE) for setting up your video recording space that you can use and pass on to your Speakers to help them set up their own space:

• Use headphones on video calls to reduce echo from the speakers
• Make sure you have good lighting
• Get a high-quality microphone & camera
• Make sure your background is interesting, but not distracting (also, having more things in the room reduces echo)

Here are some of my own recommendations for inexpensive equpment you can get to improve audio/video quality & lighting:

• Angetube Streaming 1080P HD Webcam, Built-in Ring Light & Mic
• TONOR Computer Condenser USB Mic with Tripod Stand & Pop Filter

5. Build long-term engagement & networking

With virtual events, face-to-face engagement suffers. Virtual events cannot offer the same level of interaction as in-person events, so it’s important to offset that in as many ways as possible.

One way is to strengthen your community engagement model: Create a Facebook, LinkedIn or JourneyIn (for personal growth events) group where attendees can network between speakers, and build a plan for post-event community engagement to help your members stay connected with you and each other, and better anchor in what they got out of the event into their daily lives.

Here are a few other ideas:

• During the event, find as many ways as you can to engage people in the community, to help them more easily transition to connecting through there once the event is over
• Host a “Follow Up” sessions to address questions and discuss or review content from the event
• Share an actionable piece of information from the event in the group to help keep the discussion going

When done well, this provides a lot of value and helps attendees share what they’ve learned, ask questions, and connect with hosts, speakers and other participants. Without this, attendees may feel some value is missing from the virtual event.

• Learn how to build a sustainable support system for your event with minimal time & effort, so you can leverage existing connections to create more revenue, and stay connected with your audience after your sales funnel is complete.

Take your Event to the next Level with a Custom Virtual Event Website!

• Landing/Sales page (basic header design & brand integration)
• Virtual Event Dashboard (w/ integrated ZOOM room & calendar)
• Resources/Handouts download link (+ “editable PDFs” at custom rates)
• Virtual Speaker Booths (7-10 + more booths at custom rates)