How to successfully host virtual events with help from a VA
Hosting virtual events is an excellent way to connect with a wide audience in a low-cost, accessible way. Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, generate leads, or strengthen relationships with existing clients, virtual events can deliver incredible value. However, no matter your goal, it’s important to be aware of common challenges and how to avoid them.
As a team of virtual assistants (VAs), we’ve helped plenty of our clients host virtual events that go smoothly, and successfully reach their goals. That’s why we’re sharing our top tips on what to do to ensure success – and how a VA can help you avoid the common challenges of virtual events.
Different reasons to host virtual events
Why do you want to host a virtual event? With people generally becoming more accustomed to online events post-COVID, there’s a wide range of reasons and styles to suit your business goals, and they’re not all financially driven. Your goal could include:
- Expand audience reach
When you host virtual events, you can tap into a global audience rather than just people who can attend in person. This opens the door to a far wider audience, offering a better connection between people from different regions.
In a 2022 vFairs report about online events, almost 65% of survey respondents decided to host virtual events to boost global reach, and 77% said they prefer virtual events because of their ease of attendance.
- Boost brand awareness and credibility
You can showcase your expertise through thought leadership panels, talks or workshops to establish your brand as an industry leader. When you host an online event, you have the opportunity to partner with well-known experts to gain attention and increase your own brand awareness as a result.
- Launch or promote your products/services
Are you looking to showcase new offers? Virtual events are powerful tools for generating buzz with features like live demonstrations, interactive Q&A sessions, and real-time chats. These elements build excitement and foster engagement with potential buyers, giving you valuable insights into your customers’ thoughts and preferences.
- Generate leads and sales
Webinars and workshops are a great way to educate and sell to your audience. You can host virtual events tailored to your customer’s pain points by offering them a solution or some quick wins. You can upsell or cross-sell your relevant offers both on the day of the virtual event and afterwards by leveraging attendee data to send targeted post-event marketing campaigns.
- Build a sense of community
If your goal is to get to know others, host events that bring like-minded people together around a specific topic or cause. This could be a community mixer or networking-style online event, where attendees have the chance to connect.
- Improve company culture
To drive employee engagement and increase the sense of company culture, you can host awards ceremonies, online team-building activities, or deliver internal training via a virtual event format.
Knowing your goal before you start planning will greatly impact your success, and means you can get more productive support from a VA because they understand your goals.
5 common challenges of virtual events – and how a VA can solve them for you
Regardless of your goals, people hosting online events often face the same difficulties. A skilled virtual assistant with experience in event planning can significantly reduce the stress and common challenges of hosting virtual events, allowing you to focus on strategic tasks while ensuring a seamless experience for all participants.
Let’s explore what issues you might face – and how a VA can take the headache away.
1. Technical issues when you host virtual events
Even after years of people using Zoom and other online event-hosting platforms, it’s still likely you will encounter connectivity problems, platform glitches, or attendees struggling with the technology. A VA can ensure smooth operation by offering tech support, including:
- Setting up and testing virtual event software and platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams ahead of time to avoid hiccups
- Providing real-time assistance and troubleshooting to attendees and speakers during the event
- Creating guides or tutorials for speakers and participants unfamiliar with the platform, so everyone has the best chance of success with the technology on the day.
2. Becoming overwhelmed with event-planning admin
Hosting virtual events often involves more admin than anticipated, all of which take time. From coordinating speakers to managing schedules and logistics, a VA can take this off your plate:
- Managing registrations, confirmations, and attendee lists
- Organising and distributing event materials like agendas and recordings
- Tracking attendees and maintaining records for follow-up and analytics
- Scheduling and managing calendars to keep participants informed of key dates
- Communicating with speakers about deadlines and requirements
- Maintaining detailed plans to ensure tasks are completed on time and the event runs smoothly.
3. Keeping virtual event attendees engaged
Compared to in-person events, it’s difficult to keep attendees engaged in a virtual environment. You have to put more effort into your communication – before, during, and after the event. A VA can both elevate your customer experience and keep attendees engaged with:
- Pre-event communication support – sending reminders, teaser content, and instructions to build excitement
- Supporting the live event with interactive features such as managing live polls, Q&A sessions, and chat moderation to improve interaction
- Sending personalised thank-you emails, post-event surveys, and upsells to maintain engagement and capitalise on attendance.
4. Marketing to get sufficient reach and attendance
Just like in-person events, you need to ensure enough attendees register and participate in the event to make it worthwhile and successful. Many people underestimate the marketing time and effort this can take. A VA can support you with:
- Social media management to promote the event on various platforms and respond to queries
- Drafting, scheduling, and sending promotional email campaigns
- Monitoring and adjusting paid ads for optimal reach and ROI.
5. Losing the personal touch
And last but not least, virtual events can feel impersonal compared to in-person ones, so it’s important to keep the personal touch. To help with this, VA can act as the main point of contact for all parties, corresponding with multiple sponsors, speakers, and vendors by:
- Sending personalised emails and messages to speakers and attendees so everyone is informed of changes or updates while maintaining excitement for the event
- Planning breakout sessions or small-group activities to foster connection
- Creating digital welcome kits or branded materials for a more personal feel.
Get support to host virtual events that smash your business goals
As you can see, a VA can play a vital role in ensuring your virtual events run smoothly and successfully.
At Virtually Priceless, we love supporting our clients with event management, helping them achieve their goals faster and with less stress – we handle the details so you can focus on delivering an unforgettable experience.
Get in touch to discuss how we can support you in hosting amazing virtual events.