With businesses adopting a digital mindset during Covid-19, events might have a question mark over them. Kavita Singh shares some tips on delivering a seamless digital experience for events.
Map out the game plan
Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat delivered Flightplan, an all-day broadcast event that was derived in only six weeks. Inmarsat’s mission is to bring connectivity in the aviation industry and it felt that holding a virtual event would be a great way to achieve its goal during this time of uncertainty. Once the company confirmed it was a good idea, it formed a strategy.
Once your company has a concept in mind, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to set the foundation of the event through variables such as budget, people and technology. Inmarsat took eight to nine days to find out who was on board in terms of guests, which included: CEOs, airlines, journalists, analysts, and behavioural science experts.
When you’re creating your wishlist of people to include as speakers, really consider the topics you want to focus on first and the list should build itself.
Dom Walters, VP of marketing communications and strategy at Inmarsat Aviation says: “It started out as a virtual broadcast that would hold debate, insight and conversation, which ended up being a 7 ½ hour broadcast event. This was about how we bring everyone together from a brand perspective and that snowballed on leading airlines jumping on board.”
You’ll need to break down a timeline of the event. You should ask yourself this key question that Dom asked himself: How are we going to deliver the event in both an engaging and relevant way?
Break it down into segments, and be sure to think about these key questions:
- Is the content all live streamed? Should some content be pre recorded?
- Do I need to consider any other timezones in terms of guest speakers, hosts, etc?
- How long should the event be? Should it span more than one day?
The next natural step is to use this flatplan to figure out the appropriate platform.
Pick your platform
Your platform can make or break your event, and ultimately, is the foundation to your event’s success.
Because Inmarsat had made a loose timeframe of their broadcast, they knew what platform capabilities they were looking for, so before browsing platforms, decide what the event looks like on paper so you can find the right fit.
Dom says: “We needed a platform that was robust and could handle the views; you can’t have hundreds of people coming on and then have the system crash. It’s not a good look. So we searched for a strong powerful platform that had a live streaming service that could plugin and edit content.”
In addition to having a strong platform, make sure it’s easy to use. Bear in mind that if it’s hard for you to navigate, it’ll most certainly be difficult for your audience to use. There should be clear directions once people are given registration details, whether it’s through an email or directly on the website.
If you’re looking to include the same elements of live events, have a look at the platforms that offer surveys, polls and virtual networking functions to create that sense of connectivity people are craving. The more interactive you can make the event, the better. Some platforms include: Hopin, vFairs, and Eventbrite.
Run tests, and then run again
- Test your video and audio prior to the event: Make sure you test audio and video with ALL of the speakers. If there’s any glitches or audio issues, you’ll catch it during a test. Consider this test as your dress rehearsal.
- Brief your speakers: Anyone that is going to be live and seen during the event should be briefed on what is expected of them at the event. Just like at a conference, encourage them to look presentable and to be in an appropriate setting. Many are not accustomed to this digital setting so they might not be aware of the protocol. To eliminate any background noise, encourage your speakers to utilise a headset during the event for better audio quality.
- Make sure your connection is solid: Make sure your Wifi has a strong connection across the board. If anyone has a patchy connection, offer support or see if someone can invest in a hot spot. There’s plenty of elements you can control on the day of the event, but a poor Wifi connection can lead to unwanted technical issues.
Revamp your strategy
Before the event: Once your event is planned, you’ll need to figure out how to communicate the event to your customers. This includes content, blog posts, social media, and email marketing. Use these tools to your advantage and make sure your messaging is positive. Promote your event as a standalone event; not as a replacement for a live one. If it’s your first digital event, mention that. If you incite excitement over your event, it’ll create buzz among your customers. Make sure all your channels have the same messaging across the board. If your customer comes across something outdated on your website, they’ll be confused. Consistency and positivity are key here.
After the event: While you’ll likely be tweeting and encouraging people to join during the event, a post coverage action plan needs to be enacted. Make sure media outlets are aware and see if any content opportunities present themselves. Additionally, if the content from the event will be made available, let customers know as soon as possible where they can have access. There will likely be a trickling of people viewing post-webinars, conference sessions and broadcasts. Those engagement stats are just as important for your company to have.
Expect hurdles during the event
“These were hundreds of hurdles during the event that we needed to overcome,” Dom says in reference to Flightplan.
Regardless of how your first event went, you can only record what went right and what went wrong. If the platform you used was efficient, then great, you can use it for all your digital events, but if it fails to meet your needs, you can cross it off the list and regroup.
Even if there was more wrong than right, at least your company decided to keep a voice present. Dom says that any company that fails to adapt to Covid-19 will be a fatal mistake.
Dom says: “You don’t need to sell in a crisis to have a relevant role to play. A lot of customers are going to add criteria to the questions they ask in their procurement process. Something that will now be weighted highly is: how did your organisation handle covid-19? How strong and stable were you coming out of it, and how prepared are you for the future? That is going to be fundamental moving forward.”
