How to Get the Most Impact

3 Tips for Hosting a Multi-Day, Multi-Track Virtual Event

Running a multi-day, multi-track event that keeps attendees coming back for more always sounds like a good idea — especially during the planning phase. At an in-person event, most attendees are staying at the conference hotel, have limited family obligations and have dedicated the entire event time frame (including an out-of-office message for work) to being an active participant in the event. How can event organizers translate this level of excitement and engagement to virtual events?

LoudSwarm by Six Feet Up’s team of event producers have helped organizers successfully transition what works at in-person events to the virtual world.

Three tips for hosting an engaging, multi-day, multi-track event:

1. Provide Variety

Packing a schedule is one thing, but crafting a schedule that is filled with variety and appeals to a range of skill levels is what can set an event apart. Leverage the multi-track aspect of the event and ensure there is content attendees will find value in. For example, an attendee may lose interest in the main session, but, if there are multiple options, rather than leaving the conference entirely during that time, they can stay involved by watching a session in another track. The more information and activities attendees have available to them, the more likely they are to stay within your platform and engage in the event.

Content planning is where many events struggle — be sure to rely on your speakers, sponsors and organizers for help. For example, encourage your sponsors to hold side activities in their Slack channel (e.g., live demos, polls and breakout sessions). You could also ask your speakers to host post-talk sessions where they answer questions, network with attendees and show off the content they ran out of time for.

One of the main reasons people attend in-person conferences is to network and spend time with their peers. While you can’t recreate the face-to-face gatherings virtually, you can host socials (or “after-event” sessions) once the sessions are done for the day. Socials — even the virtual ones — provide the opportunity for attendees to unwind and connect. Our advice? Develop experiences during the socials (e.g., a social hour led by a whiskey connoisseur, a virtual game of Jack Box and/or coach-led discussions through breakout rooms). Get creative with your socials to make your event unique.

2. Time Accordingly

The nature of virtual events has greatly expanded the reach of conferences. Because attendees are no longer bound by a physical location, it’s critical to consider international timezones when planning virtual events. Ensure that all attendees clearly understand what time (in which timezone) the event starts and stops.

When planning the keynote presentations, prioritize the most common timezones. For example, if the majority of your attendees are in Europe and the United States, make sure the keynote is scheduled at a time that works for both audiences.

Event organizers could also consider hosting the event for fewer hours over more days. For example, you could host a morning to mid-afternoon conference over five days rather than a nine hour conference over three days. Breaking up these time blocks can allow people to get work done in the off times, spend time with family and feel refreshed when they come back to the conference the next day.

3. Take Breaks

Make sure to build breaks into the schedule. Because many attendees are joining the conference from home, it’s important to make sure they can take a few minutes to stretch their legs without the fear of missing an important session or moment.

Breaks could come in the form of post-talk Q&A sessions that provide 15-minute breaks after each talk, a lunch break or even open networking sessions in a tool like Gather. Attendees should be encouraged to move around, grab a snack, drink water and come back to the event ready to learn and engage. Breaks also give organizers time to ensure everything is staying on track, troubleshoot tech issues or help with any questions/issues that might come up.

Could LoudSwarm by Six Feet Up be a good fit for your upcoming virtual events? Our event producers will be on hand to provide support and share best practices to ensure your event goes off without a hitch. Simply drop us a note and/or schedule a demo of LoudSwarm’s features and white-glove service.