Virtual Event Management Best Practices for Associations

Virtual events have a lot to offer associations. They allow you to deliver member value between in-person events in a format that’s convenient for members. If you’ve never hosted a virtual event, you may not know where to begin. So, let’s change that!

Here are some key ideas and best practices to help you run a successful virtual event for your association.

What is a virtual event?

A virtual event is an event that happens online. It can be a conference, webinar, meeting, or other type of event. For example, envision a question-and-answer session that you might host with an expert in your field. Rather than asking guests to attend the experience at an event space, you would hold it via a virtual conference platform. With this approach, you can easily connect with members who live in multiple locations. Without barriers like location or rental space costs, you can invite hundreds or thousands of people to attend any virtual event you decide to host – with no need to travel to attend.

If your organization is stepping into the virtual event space for the first time, you may want to start small. This way, you can learn which types of online events work well for you and your members.

Virtual event best practices

Here are some best practices for any type of virtual event your association might choose to host:

• Choose the right virtual event technology and technology partner.

Create a realistic timeline to select the right virtual event technology platform and prepare for the costs of a tech investment. Do your best to find the technology that supports your vision for your virtual event.

For example, keep in mind what will be most comfortable for your audience and most beneficial to your content. Do you require single sign-on (SSO), mobile optimization for on-the-go attendees, archiving of content, or distribution of continuing education unit (CEU) credits? As you prepare, the more questions you ask, the clearer your needs will become.

Give your attendees a simple process with clear insight into how the technology will work versus trying to manage too many technologies at once. When you try to incorporate your mobile app with a virtual conference solution while holding sessions in another online hosting platform, it can become work for your attendees to keep track of where they need to go and what tool to use. These technologies are all valuable, but just be sure to use them in the simplest ways possible.

Lastly, thoroughly test your technology leading up to the day or days of your event. While hiccups are still possible, you can avoid many technical errors with several practice runs. For example, check that everyone can successfully connect to your virtual conference platform and that audio, video, and other presentation elements work properly.

• Prepare well for sessions.

Prepare speakers, panelists, staff, and other attendee-facing participants. Provide training for your virtual speakers, communicate schedules, set guidelines and expectations for live content, and ensure participants have documentation to keep handy for reference.

Equally important is to avoid overcrowding the virtual event schedule. Sitting for sessions in person is a much different experience than sitting at a computer. Allot times for breaks and time for attendees to visit other parts of the event, such as a virtual exhibit hall. Offer live and pre-recorded sessions at your event for attendees in different time zones. Breaks can be supplemented with on-demand content in-between live sessions. You may even consider a virtual happy hour for a fun engagement session.

• Encourage attendees to participate.

Passive content doesn’t work well in a virtual environment. There are too many possible distractions. So, aim to engage your audience with interactive content. Keep sessions between 20-45 minutes. And include sessions with socialization and networking opportunities to encourage attendee engagement.

Polling, live Q&As, panel discussions, and quizzes work well for session content. Break up heavy content sessions with movement and game breaks to lighten the day. Chat, audio, and video capabilities are a must for networking and exhibits.

Also, encourage audience feedback or collaboration. Tying in live social media streams, open discussion forums, gamification, and challenges all give your attendees a chance to step into the spotlight and be recognized and remembered at your event.

• Incorporate a human element.

In some ways, hosting a virtual event can be a bit of a disconnected experience. So, if you host a virtual event, it’s important to ensure that it still feels as close to an in-person event as possible. Otherwise, you might receive feedback from attendees that the virtual event feels like they are scrolling through a slideshow rather than receiving valuable information from the content and experience you worked hard to put together.

Always work to make digital experiences as personable as you can. Personalize event messaging. Segment lists and use targeted messaging about event content and speakers. Encourage attendees to interact with each other in chats and breakout rooms. And if you have teams joining from the same place, ask them to participate together rather than joining the digital event from their individual offices.

Use virtual events to grow your association members’ careers

Association industry research shows that job opportunities and help with career advancement are among the most important benefits to members of an association. And while your online career center can be a great way to connect your members with job opportunities and career development tools, you can do even more for your members by hosting virtual career fairs.

Virtual career fairs offer your members a convenient, dynamic, low-cost way to network and engage with employers. These virtual career events also offer value to your association and employers in your industry.
With virtual career fairs, employers purchase branded online booths where they spotlight open jobs, company information, videos, and other related materials. Job candidates visit these booths during the virtual career event to chat with prospective employers. All interactions can be recorded, rated, and stored for detailed post-event reporting. Employers develop their pipeline of talent, and professionals grow their networks – with your association’s brand as the facilitator.
Here are other ideas for virtual events to advance your members’ careers:

• Online résumé review – Offer your members and industry job seekers free résumé reviews and online coaching given by expert résumé writers and career coaches. You can even tie this event into your annual conference or a recruiting event.

• Online mentoring event – Plan an event that connects mentors and mentees. Provide an online space where the two groups can engage one-on-one. Offer a public forum for group conversations, and allow conversations to be saved for future reference.

• Virtual networking event – Networking is one of the primary reasons members join an association. Invite members to connect after hours in a casual online setting by hosting events that can be run by region, job specialty, or other themes. These events can also be mobile-optimized so that attendees can log on from anywhere in the world.

• Online learning event – Consider hosting a topic-focused event that’s relevant to your industry or profession. This type of event can help you engage members in a meaningful new way by providing an online venue for members to learn and advance their careers.

• Online membership event – Offer an event that’s solely focused on your association. Provide a venue for professionals in your field to learn about your association and all it has to offer. Set up booths dedicated to membership, learning and education, and careers, while giving yourself an opportunity to engage with prospective members and increase your membership.

• Multi-focused virtual event – Bring together the benefits of two or more of these types of events by hosting an all-in-one event that combines different themes that complement each other. For example, you might have a combined membership and networking event or a career coaching and résumé review event.

10 ideas for growing your career center through virtual events

In addition to hosting career fairs and other virtual career events, you can use virtual events to grow your association’s career center. Here are 10 ideas:

1. Include an ad or page highlighting the career center and its benefits on the microsites for your virtual events.
2. Display banner ads during your virtual events that promote your career center.
3. Include a virtual booth in your events’ virtual exhibit halls to promote your career center.
4. Host career skills sessions at your virtual events. Brand them as “sponsored” by your career center.
5. Host online networking or résumé review events and invite industry experts and career coaches to provide insights to your members.
6. Host virtual career fairs at your virtual events that are “sponsored” by your career center.
7. Offer a virtual career fair booth as a benefit or paid add-on opportunity for your virtual event sponsors.
8. Package job posting credits with your virtual event sponsorships in which job posting credits increase with higher levels of sponsorship. For example: Silver Sponsors could receive five job posting credits, Gold Sponsors receive ten, etc.
9. Give sponsors and exhibitors of your virtual events a coupon code for a career center discount (for sponsorships, job postings, or other fee-based items).
10. Offer employer branding opportunities – such as banner advertisement and “featured employer” status in your career center’s job alert emails – as a benefit or paid add-on opportunity for your virtual event sponsorship packages.

Learn more about how to plan successful virtual events for your association

Discover more tips and strategies for virtual events: Read the guide, Grow Your Members’ Careers and Drive Revenue Through Virtual Events: A How-to Guide for Associations