virtual convening report
TRANSCRIPT
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Your Virtual Seat Awaits:Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
By Kari Dunn Saratovsky October 6, 2011
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2Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
About the Millennial Donor Summit& Convening Partners 3
Introduction 4
Visualizing the Virtual Venue 6
Online vs. Offline: Preparing forthe Big Day 8
The Date is Set, but WhosGonna Show Up? 10
Keep It Social 11
Preparing Your Speakers: Test
TestCan You Hear Me? 13
Preparing Your Participants:Hello Is Anyone There? 14
The Cost: Perception and Reality 15
Final Takeaway: Making a VirtualConference Pop 16
Table of Contents
From top: Stephanie Vidikan participates in the virtualconference; the auditorium of the Millennial DonorSummit; Barbara Bush presents on the Global HealthCorps; Jean Case interviews with Raymund Flandez
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3Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
ABOUT THE MILLENNNIAL DONORSUMMIT
On June 22, 2011, the Case Foundation, Achieve and
Johnson Grossnickle and Associates (JGA) convened aday-long virtual summit highlighting the latest trends in
giving and engagement by the Millennial Generation.
The Summit was an opportunity to bring together CEOs
and executives across sectors for a cross-generational
dialogue about how organizations can work better with
the next generation of volunteers and donors.
The virtual convening was an effort to broaden the
dialogue around Achieve and JGAs second annual
Millennial Donor Survey (www.millennialdonors.org), a
nationwide study focused on the engagement and giving
habits as well as preferences of Millennials. Through the
unique format, participants were able to attend anywhere
they had online access and watch presentations live or
come back later to catch ones they may have missed.
By the end of the one-day convening, more than 1,000
people representing 100 organizations across the
country had participated in the Summit.
The following report explores some of the biggest
takeaways and lessons learned from running a virtual
summit from the perspective of the organizers. It is
meant to be a resource and learning tool for those who
may be interested in experimenting with new
approaches to traditional conferences.
CONVENING PARTNERS
The Case Foundation, created by
Steve and Jean Case in 1997, invests
in people and ideas that can changethe world, with the ultimate goal of
making giving back a part of everyday life. We create
and support initiatives that that leverage new
technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to drive
innovation in the social sector and encourage individuals
to get involved with the communities and causes they
care about. www.casefoundation.org
Achieve is a consulting firm thatprovides expert guidance and delivers
strategies to strengthen donor
relationships and increase fundraising performance.
Achieve works with nonprofit organizations on millennial
engagement, donor acquisition campaigns and multi-
channel fundraising programs.
www.achieveguidance.com
Johnson, Grossnickle and
Associates (JGA) has been providing authentic,
strategic philanthropic consulting services to non-profit
clients since 1994. JGAs team of senior consultants
offers client-focused, highly customized philanthropic
consulting services to private colleges, independent
schools and large cultural and community organizations.
JGA specializes in capital campaign counsel, feasibility
studies, philanthropic assessments and developmentaudits.
www.jgacounsel.com
About the Millennial Donor Summit & Convening Partners
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4Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
INTRODUCTION
On the morning of June 22, 2011, laptops and desktops
across the country booted up as hundreds of people
began to fill the virtual halls of the 2011 Millennial Donor
Summit (MDS11). The Summit, a collaborative effort
between Achieve, Johnson Grossnickle and Associates
(JGA), and the Case Foundation, brought together more
than 1,000 participants representing 100 organizations.
From academic institutions to small community-based
organizations and corporate entities to nonprofits, the
Summit was created in an effort to spotlight the unique
characteristics of the rising generation and to help
nonprofit executives better understand how to attract
and engage Millennials in their work.
MDS11 was the first attempt at a completely virtual
convening for the conference organizers. While we had
all tried our hand at a variety of online and live streamed
events, from tutorials like the Case Foundations Gear
Up for Giving and CaseSoup episodes, or webinars like
Achieves Access, we knew this would be a different kind
of experiment, and one that was on a much different
scale and level of complexity. The word experiment
became our mantraand as we progressed throughout
the day we quickly realized that the participants
generally felt they were in on this little experiment with
us, which helped refine our techniques.
Perhaps it's important to note that online conferences
are not an entirely new way of convening and have been
attempted in different formats with varying degrees of
success for many years now. The American Cancer
Society hosted a virtual gala using the platform Second
Life, and last year, the American Red Cross
experimented by simultaneously convening people in-
person and around the country to focus on social media
and its impact on disaster preparedness. Today, there
are a handful of conference providers that have entered
the online market space and the technology is advancing
in ways that make it possible to incorporate nearly all of
the facets of an in-person convening into a virtual
setting.
While some will argue that an online convening could
never replace the value of the relationships built, and the
networking opportunities that stem from being in the
same physical location at the same timethere is a
strong argument to be made for keeping costs and trave
expenses at a minimum and involving individuals from a
wide spectrum of backgrounds and industries who may
not be able to otherwise participate.
Introduction
Virtual lobby at MDS11
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5Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
The Millennial Donor Survey was the perfect topic on
which to experiment in this type of virtual setting. For the
past three and a half years through the Case
Foundations Social Citizens initiative, and through
Achieve and JGAs Millennial Donor Survey, much has
been written about the rising generation and the many
ways they are changing our institutions. We knew a
virtual convening was very much in line with how
Millennials are comfortable connecting, and that often
the Millennial voice and presence is left out of more
traditional in-person conferences. The Summit allowed
us to bridge that gap and create a dialogue was inclusive
of different perspectives in terms of age, demographics,
geographic location and other important factors.
We knew a virtualconvening was very much inline with how Millennials are
comfortable connecting, andthat often the Millennialvoice and presence is leftout of more traditional in-
person conferences.
Introduction
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6Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
VISUALIZING THE VIRTUAL VENUE
If you have never participated in a virtual convening, it
may be difficult to envision what youre getting yourself
into. Technology has advanced in a way that allows fornearly all of the components of an in-person gathering to
take place online. Weve included some screenshots in
this report to help you visualize the experience of a
virtual convening, but here are the main elements that
made up MDS11:
Plenary Sessions & Breakouts: Plenaries
were scheduled so they were the only event
happening during that time period. Plenaries
allowed a speaker to present on a topic and then
invited Q&A from the full audience. Breakout
sessions were conducted in a similar format, but
several smaller sessions were taking place
simultaneously and participants could choose to
stay in one for the full 45 minutes or hop around
to different sessions. Recordings of all the
plenaries and breakouts were made available to
registrants for one year following the Summit.
Exhibit Hall: All participants had an opportunity
to connect with vendors and organizations in a
virtual exhibit hall. The booths look just like
booths you might see in an in-person exhibit hall
and featured branding and customized
structures. Once in the hall, attendees could
ask questions, video chat one-on-one or simply
browse around and pick up virtual swag like
codes for discounts or brochures and
information.
Lounges: Virtual lounges were set up near the
exhibit hall area and coordinated by different
sponsors or organizations. During a pre-
determined time, conversations on various
topics took place in the lounge area and were
open to all participants.
Virtual Briefcase: Registrants were also given
a virtual briefcase to download session
materials, PowerPoint presentations, and
contacts they could reference after the event.
Visualizing the Virtual Venue
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7Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
Sample Agenda
MDS11 Agenda
8-9 ESTCheck-In and Expo Hall
12:30-1 ESTBreak - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CASE
9-9:30 ESTMaking the Most of MDS11Angela White, JGA and Derrick Feldmann,Achieve
1-2 ESTBreakout Session: Engaging Beyond theDonationMicrovolunteering Revolution: Jacob Colker,SparkedInnovating Social Change: Erica Williams, Societyby DesignA New Generation of Philanthropists: DanielKaufman, One Percent Foundation
9:30-10 EST
Opening Plenary: Building a MovementHeidi Adams and Phil Hills, LIVESTRONG
2-3 EST
Plenary Panel Discussion: The GenerationalDivideWendy Harman and Suzy DeFrancis, AmericanRed CrossDavid Smith and Michael Weiser, NationalConference on CitizenshipModerated by Kari Saratovsky, CaseFoundation
10-11 ESTBreakout Session: Exploring the LatestMillennial ResearchMillennial Habits: Stephanie Padgett, Mojo AdMillennials and Brands: Matt Britton, Mr. YouthMillennial Donors: Angela White, JGA
3:00-3:30 ESTBreak - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CASE
11-11:30 ESTBreak - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CASE
3:30-4:00 ESTClosing Remarks: The Importance of the NextGenerationJean Case, Case Foundation
11:30-12:30 ESTBreakout Session: Leveraging TechnologyMillennials As Trust Agents: Julien Smith, Authorand SpeakerGetting Connected with Social Media: GeoffLivingston, ZoeticaSuccessfully Going Mobile: Tonia Zampieri, SmartOnlineActivating Millennials to Do Something: George
Weiner, Do Something
4:00-4:30 ESTClosing Speaker: Defining a New Generation ofLeadershipBarbara P. Bush, Global Health Corps
Visualizing the Virtual Venue
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8Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
ONLINE vs. OFFLINE: PREPARING
FOR THE BIG DAY
Anyone who has coordinated a conference or a large in-
person gathering has a general idea of what to expectand how to prepare. Inevitably there will be a few name
tags out of order, a carnivore will get stuck with a veggie
sandwich and someone's boss will have to fill time on
stage as the audience awaits a speaker racing across
town in traffic to make his keynote. These are all
nuisances, but they are also things we have come to
expect as inevitable, no matter how much attention we
give to detail throughout the planning process. Whats
more, since these things are happening in real time and
right before our eyes, there are creative ways to
troubleshoot. We found that despite the months of
planning that go into the day for a virtual conference,
there are actually more things that can end up beyond
your control than within it. And those things are of course
largely, but not completely, related to technology.
One thing to keep in mind during preparation is that
everyone has a role to play. A virtual summit is just as
much a cross-team project as an in-person conference.
We involved everyone from our marketing and
communications shops to our IT Departments to make
the day a success; we could not have pulled it off without
them. A common misperception is that hosting an online
virtual conference will be easier or less complicated than
an in-person conference; however, that is not
necessarily the case.
Here are the best ways you can help prepare your staff
for game day:
1. Identify one decision maker: While many staff
members will contribute to the development of
programming and overall conference logistics, on the
day of the event and in the preceding weeks, it is
important to have one designated person appointed as
the decision maker. Things will be moving fast,
schedules will likely have to shift and technology will not
always be on your sideso, its important that one
person be able to make last minute calls that could
impact the overall flow of the day.
2. Set up a central hub of activity: The hub will
become an in-person war room of sorts. Its where all the
activity on the backend takes place and its important to
find a location with enough bandwidth and plenty of
space to support three different stations of activity.
Above: The Social Citizens Summit webpage
Online vs. Offline: Preparing for the Big Day
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9Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
Station 1: Set up for technology
troubleshooting with participantsthis becomes
a virtual help-line so participants can call or
email with specific questions and conference
staff can either help troubleshoot or pass them
on to the conference provider for additionalsupport.
Station 2: Direct interface with conference
provider. It was important to have a constant
line of communication with the conference
provider to ensure transitions between sessions
and events went smoothly and tweaks could be
made throughout the day.
Station 3: Direct interface with each of the
panelistsensuring they are prepped, ready to
go live with presentations uploaded correctly,etc. This was also the station that monitored a
live-feed of the event so we could troubleshoot
connection delays and ensure that we always
knew what the participants were seeing (or not
seeing)!
3. Appoint chat room monitors. Each session should
have at least one monitor who can help participants
troubleshoot in real time and can also serve as a
moderator for questions and comments at the
appropriate time in each session. We found that having
one designated staff person in each room helped
contribute to the flow of conversation and facilitate
greater audience engagement. Chat room monitors
should be individuals who are familiar with the subject
matter and can help generate questions and
conversations if there seems to be a delay in
participation.
4. Dont forget to delegate. As with any conference
there are many different roles that must be filled. One of
the biggest misperceptions is that there are fewer roles
in a virtual conference than an in-person one, or that one
person can do it all. The online summit platform
EricaWilliamsofCitizenEngagementLabspeaksatthe
Summit
presents a number of responsibilities that must be filled:
panelist and speaker coordinators, technical support;
booth contacts, lounge contacts and chat room monitors
to name just a few.
Online vs. Offline: Preparing for the Big Day
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
THE DATE IS SET, BUT WHOS
GONNA SHOW UP?
Once you have selected a date and a topic conducive to
a virtual convening, it's time to spread the word. Giventhat participants will not be concerned with booking
travel in advance to cut costs, we found they are also not
so interested in registering for the conference far in
advance. In an effort to quickly get some early
excitement and begin building an audience, we deployed
a few different tactics to build participation.
1. Create a Blogging Team: Identify a core group of
influential bloggers interested in the topic and have wide
readership. We invited several prominent bloggers
(Katya Andresen, Beth Kanter, Kivi Miller, Amy Sample
Ward and Nathan Hand) in our space to form a special
MDS11 blogging team, and offered each of them free
registrations to give to their readers through social media
contests during the weeks leading up to the Summit. We
also were able to utilize the SocialCitizens.org platform
and the MillennialDonors.com site as central repositories
for guest blog posts on related subjects, resource lists,
Twitter feeds, exclusive video interviews and more.
2. Identify anchor partners and provide discounts to
their networks. In exchange for spreading the word, we
offered our partners discount codes for their members if
they registered by a certain date. In our case, we
partnered with relevant groups we thought would have
interested constituents such as Emerging Practitioners in
Philanthropy (EPIP), the HandsOn Network and the
Council on Foundations (COF) to promote the
conference. This technique not only offered a special
benefit to our partners, but also provided much needed
awareness and publicity for the event to new markets.
We ended up keeping those discounts available until the
day of the Summit to further encourage our partners
continued promotion.
3. Partner with a media outlet and find creative ways
to leverage their audience and reach. We were able to
secure a partnership with The Chronicle of Philanthropy,
which highlighted the conference in its publication
leading up to the Summit. In addition, MDS11 organizers
worked with them to host an online chat the week before
with two of our featured speakers. Employing this tactic
was another way to build interest in the conversation and
create buzz among our target audience on and offline.
Lastly, we created a targeted media list and promoted
the Summit to more than one hundred media outlets in
the hope they would either cover the Summit itself,
and/or promote the Summit to their own readers.
The Date is Set, but Whos Gonna Show Up?
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
KEEP IT SOCIAL
As with any conference these days, the key is to
encourage broad participation outside the conference
walls. You know youve been successful when people
who arent at the conference feel like they are missing
out as their Twitter and Facebook streams fill up with
highlights. The difference with an online conference is
that if you can build enough buzz in the first few
sessions, people still have an opportunity to register and
join for the rest of the day. We saw several instances of
this as on the spot registrations started to pick up
because of social media activity.
Throughout the day and in the days following the
Summit, more than 2,000 tweets were recorded using
the official conference hashtag, #MDS11. In fact, the
Twitter presence was so powerful that a subgroup of
participants created a weekly #millennialchat to follow up
on topics of interest from the Summit and turn it into an
ongoing conversation.
Here are some suggestions to help you keep it social:
1. Designate social media correspondents. Social
media correspondents were tasked with keeping the
communications happening in real time during the
conference. They highlighted interesting quotes from
speakers and participants and helped provide additional
context for people who may not be at the conference.
This ended up being a great role for our interns, as they
were able to identify interesting moments throughout the
day and help keep the conversations going on both
Facebook and Twitter.
Keep it Social
Top Tips for LiveTweeting or Bloggingan Event
1. Create & use a Twitter list.
2. Use the event hashtag as much
as possible.
3. Bloggers: keep it short,
relevant, and engaging postvideos, embed reports, etc.
4. Paraphrasing and abbreviating
are allowed.
5. Provide context with links to
relevant partners, speakers,
blogs.
6. Push out the live stream link
multiple times.
7. Do not tweet every single
spoken word or action. Go
for impact.
Keep it Social
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
2. Create, publicize and use an
official hashtag and Twitter
handle. We found that Twitter
was one of the most powerful
tools to bring the conversation to
the public and beyond those who
were watching the Summit live.
In fact, in some cases we
received on the spot
registrations from people who
wanted to join the Summit based
on the great Twitter traffic they
were seeing.
3. Blog, Blog and Blog some
more. Wed suggest finding
bloggers who have an active
presence in the space you are
highlighting and can rally their
readers to get engaged in the
conversation in the months and
weeks leading up to and
following the conference. A few
of our designated bloggers also
provided live reports from
sessions on their blogs as a way
to take the conversation beyond
the conference participants.
Keep it Social
Twitter was one of the most powerful tools to bring theconversation to the public and beyond those who were
watching the Summit live.
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
PREPARING YOUR SPEAKERS:
TEST TEST CAN YOU HEAR ME?
The success of a virtual summit is directly linked to a
speakers ability to keep an unseen audience attentiveand actively engaged throughout the session. You
should always try to schedule speakers well in advance
and make sure they will be in a location conducive to
presenting to a virtual audience on the day of the
summit. Speakers may be quick to say yes to a virtual
conference, thinking they can participate from whatever
city or hotel they happen to be in on that daybut
beware, the variables that this arrangement can produce
such as sound, lighting and connectivity can (and will)
backfire.
With that in mind, here are some tips for preparing your
speakers:
1. Ensure your speakers are comfortable
communicating without a live audience. Its important
that speakers are able to keep the energy level high
throughout the entire presentation, and doing so without
an audience to react to can be a difficult feat. Just
because a speaker has a dynamic presence in person, it
may not come across that way if they're used to feeding
off a live audience.
2. Schedule time for an A/V check: Each speaker
should do several run-throughs and at least one full A/V
check one week prior to the event to make sure they can
log in, upload their presentations, test their mics and
video, and familiarize themselves with the chat functions
and any other tools they may need to access on the day
of the summit. This could also be a good time to come
up with a Plan B scenario in case they encounter
technical issues that they cannot address on the day of
the event.
3. Keep presentations to 15 minutes and then open
the session for Q&A for another 15 minutes. We
made the mistake of scheduling sessions for far too long
and ended up adjusting halfway through the day. A 30-
minute session is about all that an online audience can
tune into, not to mention that speaking to a camera or
computer with no audience feedback for more than 15 to
20 minutes is difficult to do for even the most seasoned
speaker. Beyond 15 to 20 minutes you begin losing
people to their email or other online distractions.
Top Tips forSpeakers
1. Tell anecdotes - stories helpthe content come to life
2. Keep your energy level up, be
animated. Dont speak in the same
volume you might on the phone
3. But, be careful to take it slow
and pause for emphasis
4. Plan for segments to engage
audience solicit questions and
comments about content
5. Practice, practice, practice try
recording yourself and playing it
back so you can adapt for your big
debut.
Preparing Your Speaker: Test TestCan You Hear Me?
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
PREPARING YOUR PARTICIPANTS:
HELLO IS ANYONE THERE?
For the majority of the more than 1,000 Summit
participants, this was the first entirely virtual conferencethey had attended. With that in mind, it was important to
have staff on hand the day of the conference to
troubleshoot and ensure a good overall experience to
help keep participants engaged and happy during the
day.
1. Schedule a participant A/V check: Since this is the
first time many conference participants will be engaging
in this format, its important to schedule a session one
week before the conference begins so that participants
can log on to the conference system and ensure they
dont have any issues with firewalls or other limitations
that prevent them from hearing or seeing presentations.
We ended up doing a half hour session as an intro to the
daywhich was really an opportunity to troubleshoot for
those having difficulty accessing the event.
2. Email reminders: Send all registered participants
reminders the day before and/or the day of the
conference so they have the conference information
(including their login and password) easily accessible.
3. Incentivize participation: The ease of participating in
an online summit (from the comfort of your office or
home) can also be a curse. The curse comes in the form
of distractions and the inevitable multi-tasking that we
are all prone to do. Keeping the attention of audience
members in a virtual setting is even more difficult than in
person. While it is easier than ever to join a session, it is
just as easy to leave when the phone rings or a new
email comes through. Given this, organizers must findopportunities for audience participation when designing
sessions and panels. Think creatively about giving door
prizes during the Q&A or asking questions that
encourage participants to weigh in and recognize them
for their efforts.
Top Tips forParticipants
1. Login at least 15 minutes early
to troubleshoot any technology or
firewall issues.
2. Eliminate Distractions turn off
email, phone, and other
temptations
3. Be an active participant follow
the conference Twitter feed or
chat with other conference goers.
4. Take some time to stretch and
move around in between sessions.
5. Keep a snack and some water
handy so you dont miss out on
anything.
Preparing Your Participants: Hello Is Anyone There?
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
THE COST: PERCEPTION AND
REALITY
While the perception is that a virtual conference costs
very little to host, the reality is that well-planned and
well-produced virtual conferences can vary in cost
depending on a few key factors:
the technology providers, the pre or post-production cost
of videos, streaming costs, and the use of a conference
planner/event producer. Depending on your needs, this
could total anywhere from $18,000 to $32,500. When it
comes to the attendees, travel and lodging savings are
huge, not to mention the lost productivity that may occur
during travel.
Our price point was $75 for an individual participant and
$350 for an organization (up to five logins). While the
price point seemed reasonable, one challenge came
with individuals registering and then giving their
passwords to others. We would suggest working with the
provider to ensure that individuals can only log in one
time, trackable by an IP Address.
Did You Know? Conference space rental in
Washington, DC, for 1,000
people can cost around $40,000
Add on A/V rental for another
$15K
1,000 blank name tags for
$1,045
A typical conference luncheon
can cost $40-50 per person(before taxes)
You do the math.
Below: The Case Foundations Special Edition MDS11Newsletter
The Cost: Perception and Reality
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1Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening
FINAL TAKEAWAYS: MAKING A
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE POPReflecting back on the Millennial Donor Summit, one
thing is certain, underneath all the fancy new technology,attendees must find value in their participation. Sessions
can be packed with great content, but attending all of the
sessions back-to-back, while sitting in one place all day,
can also result in information overload. Here are some of
our biggest takeaways for ensuring a virtual convening
pops with your audience.
1. Solid planning and execution: Virtual conferences
need good planning and execution. It takes time and
effort to get this right, and without appropriate planning
on the front end you risk losing control of your
participants in a bigger way than if you were trying to
troubleshoot in person.
2. Trusted technology provider: Streaming and live
video is wonderful in concept, but it needs to have a
solid technology foundation so it will work no matter what
the participants environment happens to be. Just
because the technology works on your side doesnt
mean the users arent running into difficulty with their
own firewalls, connection speeds, etc.
3. High energy, informative and interactive
sessions. Just like an in-person convening, without
these elements, a conference can fall flat and disappoint
those who have set aside the time and paid to come
together to be inspired. The same holds true in a virtual
setting, but getting that right can be more of a challenge.
Underneath all the fancy
new technology, attendees
must find value in their
participation.
4. Rockstar panelists. To create interaction, presenters
need to be creative, well-prepared, and have a plan for
engaging the audience in the Q&A process.
Engagement cannot be left up to chance, and is vital to
the success of a session. Suddenly in a virtual format,
participants have easier access to speakersif the
speaker is responsive to comments and questions from
audience members the session will be much more
engaging for all.
5. Strong visual appeal. Just like an in-person
conference, the appearance of a virtual conference
requires attention as well. When our site was initially set
up, it featured a bunch of white men in business suits
hanging around the main entrancethat was not the
look and feel we were going for and we worked to
diversify the crowd. Signage is also important so that
participants know exactly where to go and how to
navigate to the various venues, be it the discussion
lounges, registration, expo hall, etc.
Final Takeaways: Making a Virtual Conference Pop