Virtual events have gained tremendous prominence over the last few years and this trajectory was rapidly propelled by the global pandemic. Now that many have experienced the powerful potential that virtual events offer, this trend is projected to continue into the future. Whether hosting a short half-hour webinar or a large multi-day virtual summit, it is crucial that virtual events are unique, engaging and interactive for your audience.

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Here are 5 key mistakes that can get in the way of a smooth, successful and memorable virtual event experience.

Your audience attends your virtual event to gain value, be entertained and interact in a two-way cocreated experience. One of the biggest mistakes event organisers make is delivering content to the audience through a dull, one-way live stream. This will almost guarantee lower audience engagement and retention. Instead, employ technology to enable your audience to directly contribute to the event, make the event dynamic and always bring the focus back to the audience.

The modern audience is time-poor and has a shortening attention span due to an increased number of online distractions. When considering audience engagement and retention, it certainly pays to be succinct. Deliver the information your audience needs in a concise manner, respecting the valuable time they have taken out of their day to participate in your virtual event. Produce insightful and valuable experiences while omitting any unnecessary information.

Connection issues, glitches, and other unplanned interruptions can quickly derail a virtual event and make it hard to regain previous momentum. To avoid this occurring, make sure you have a reliable internet connection, prepare redundancies and have a trained technical team on standby to mitigate any potential problems that may arise.

Your audience are likely to have a busy schedule and may require different modes of participation over the course of your event. Making the event’s schedule flexible and tailored to your audience’s needs can increase engagement. You can make the schedule public, break down the larger event into smaller segments, make the segments available for playback if audience cannot attend them live, among many others.

Just because the event is virtual does not mean it should lack in preparation, production or quality. Prepare speeches, simulate audience interaction sessions, test connections and infrastructure, practice responses to unplanned interruptions and ultimately ensure a smooth and well-practiced execution of your event.

Avoiding these 5 key mistakes will give you the best chance at hosting a memorable, smooth, unique and ultimately successful virtual event. To make sure that you avoid these mistakes it is best to hire a professional team with the right knowledge and expertise.

Congress Rental can provide a comprehensive virtual event solution including:

• Expert support and advice

• Platforms and software to match your needs

• 24/7 live event support

• Pre/post event management

Our producers can help you ensure that your virtual event is a success