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You know that feeling when you’re in a meeting, and someone says, “We should have an online event to get more people involved!” And the room goes quiet. You know what I’m talking about? No one wants to be the person who takes on another project, but no one really knows how to make it happen. Well, here are some ways your next virtual event can go from zero attendees to hero! 

Create a compelling and informative event page

You need a good description and agenda of the event that includes:

· What it is- Why you’re having this event

·  What they will learn- The benefits to the attendees

·  What are the steps involved? How can they get involved?

Create brand awareness, especially if it’s your first time hosting an online event. You want to engage interested parties by getting them familiar with you and your brand. Talk about your business culture, make yourself approachable!

Use short, concise titles for your event page

Titles that are short and catchy get more clicks. For example, “How to create a professional website” is better than “The 7 ways you can make your business website more professional.”

Short titles also make the event page easy to share with friends and colleagues on social media or in newsletters.

Announce the upcoming live session on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook

You want to get the word out there that you’re hosting an online event. Don’t over-post, but do a post at least three times in two weeks before your event begins.

Don’t forget- Invite! Send invites to specific groups who would benefit from attending your virtual event.

Send an email to your contacts with the link to the event page

Email marketing is a great way to get the word out there! You can also email your contacts that you have already engaged with your business, this could include customers or people on your mailing list.

Have a goal in mind for these people- Do they fit into a certain demographic you’re trying to get more of? Are they specifically interested in an aspect of what you do?

Create a countdown timer with days, hours, and minutes left until the event starts

It’s important that people know how much time they have to register for your event! You don’t want them to feel too pressed for time, but you do want them to go ahead and sign up.

Put an RSVP link on any email marketing you send out so it’s easy for people to say yes. This way, if someone missed the first email about your event, or just wants to be sure they can attend before committing- They can easily click a link and register themselves. It makes their life easier!

Offer incentives for early sign-ups such as discounts or freebies for registered attendees

If you do an early bird campaign, it makes people feel special to sign up early. They can get a head start on preparing for the event and feel like they’re getting something extra in advance! Plus- It’s just fun to be first. 🙂

Giving incentives to those who sign up early is an amazing idea. Remember, the more sign-ups you get, the better your chances are of getting a great turnout for your event!

Use visuals to show what the event is about

People love pictures! Many people won’t read a whole text-heavy event page. But if they see a visual that encapsulates the event, they’re more likely to click on it and sign up!

Make your visuals as eye-catching as possible by using bright colors. Include an image depicting what people will learn from attending this virtual event

You can also use infographics or slideshows for maximum branding effect, but remember not to go overboard with too many images or it’ll have the opposite effect of overwhelming your attendees! Overwhelm your audience with awesomeness.

Promote your event on relevant blogs that have large followings in order to reach new audiences

Blog posts are a great way to get the word out there! You can also reach relevant bloggers by emailing them with your event details, or suggesting guest blog posts.

Be sure to give explicit instructions about what you’d like them to write so they have an idea of what type of post you’re looking for. They won’t have time to read through your whole website page- Make it easy on them by giving clear guidelines!

Invite influencers in your field to be part of your panel speakers or guests

Sponsorships are awesome but if the company is too large, their presence may push away attendees who don’t know much about their business yet. It’s important that people feel they can trust your business and that their voices will be heard.

Instead of having a panel with just one featured speaker, try to get other influencers in your field on board too! If your audience sees someone they already know is involved in the event, they’ll feel more at ease attending themselves.

Be clear about expectations up front- Do you want them to share links? Promote it on social media? Give an introduction at the beginning of the virtual event? Write a guest blog post for your website? Include testimonials from past speakers or attendees?

Share testimonials from people who have attended similar live streaming events in the past

Give people an idea of what’s in store for them by sharing testimonials from past attendees. If they trust others who have taken part in your virtual event, they’ll be more likely to attend themselves!

If you don’t have any testimonials whatsoever, see if you can get some from people who are coming to this particular event. That way, the testimonial will be specific to the subject matter of your live streaming session.

Create an after-event page featuring links to helpful resources and articles

If you provided valuable content throughout your live event, make sure that those who missed it have easy access to everything they need. Include links to blog posts that help them take action on what they learned at the event. Create a newsletter sign up form on the same page so you can continue to engage with them after the event.

You’ve got this!

Make sure you plan everything out in advance, including checklists for yourself so things can go smoothly. When it comes to hosting an event online- It’s not just about the content- It’s also about marketing and promotion. Don’t forget that it’s important to be social with your attendees throughout the event, too! You want them to feel like they’re part of a community, not stuck listening all by themselves.

We hope these tips help get more people through your virtual doors next time! Good luck with the live stream! 🙂