A Comprehensive Guide to Hosting Virtual Conferences in 2024

Are you thinking about hosting a virtual conference? Say no more.
This guide is your one-stop shop for understanding the steps involved with
planning, promoting, and running the best virtual event experience imaginable.

(15 min read)

Table of Content

What is a virtual conference?

A virtual conference is an online business-driving event that brings people with similar interests, and industry leaders together to share information, ideas, and new innovations. It involves presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities, allowing participants to learn, network, and stay up-to-date with advancements in their fields.

How do virtual conferences work for businesses?

By definition, a virtual conference works the same way very much as an in-person conference. Generally speaking, a business will invite speakers to present their viewpoints or learnings on a particular topic or industry. These presenters are carefully selected by the business to pique the interest of their target audience and drive as many registrations as possible.

Businesses will use virtual conferences as an opportunity to achieve specific business goals and KPIs, which might look like the following: 

  • Building brand awareness 
  • Building topical authority
  • Building pipeline
  • Strengthening customer loyalty and retention
  • Increasing product adoption and lifetime value

This means looking at how you approach and maximize three key parts of any event:

  1. Sign-ups and registrations—in addition to gathering registration data, how are you engaging potential attendees and getting them excited for the event?
  2. The main event—providing a customized experience, connecting people together, and nurturing relationships to drive new accounts and build your sales pipeline. 
  3. Continued engagement—events should not be a one-off spike in your calendars. Smaller, more focused, and more frequent events can help you maintain long-term momentum and keep prospects engaged. It is also about focusing on your follow-ups based on the data you gather. Also, understanding how you can repurpose the event content to keep nurturing attendees.

Once you have those three parts worked out, you need a virtual conference strategy to pull them off. 

Enter: Your event-first growth strategy.

This type of strategy helps you discover, engage, and grow customers through a connected series of events across the entire customer journey. As a result, you can generate better engagement, develop customer affinity, and nurture prospects further down your sales pipeline. 

This leads us to a frequently asked question…are virtual conferences effective?

Why Host Conferences Online?

Hosting conferences online brings many perks to businesses. It is much easier to plan and host it, compared to an in-person conference. Online conferences save significant costs in venue rental fees, catering services, traveling, speakers costs, and other expenses that are, typically, associated with in-person conferences. 

One of the biggest benefits of having a virtual conference is that it allows global participants to attend the event, as long as they have a stable internet connection. It keeps participants fully engaged since online conference platforms come equipped with high-impact interactive & networking tools such as live chat, polls, Q&A, breakout rooms, social lounge, and more.

Virtual conference platforms enable you to record the entire session so that you can add it to your content library, and use it for future reference and marketing purposes. Overall, conducting a conference online saves your time & money, allows you to reach a broader audience, and makes your event more lucrative and successful.  

Are virtual conferences effective?

In short: they absolutely are! But it’s also like asking, “is marketing effective?” It’s effective, but there are many ways to tackle marketing, just as there are many ways to tackle a virtual conference. 

Understanding the advantages of virtual conferences will help paint a clearer picture of why so many businesses prefer planning virtual conferences.

Advantages of virtual conferences

Debating virtual conferences vs. in-person events? Here are some of the main advantages of virtual conferences and why they have become so popular. 

Hello, global reach

Are you looking for ways to reach global audiences? Then virtual conferences can be really effective. Imagine no complex logistics, travel arrangements, or limits on venue capacity.

Welcome, ROI

Virtual conferences are more efficient at solving business problems than their physical counterparts. The investment per attendee is usually lower.

Greetings, communities

Conferences bring passionate people together and closer to your brand. They make a great starting point for building passionate communities around your brand and your industry. When you keep up the engagement momentum after your annual conference with a year-long calendar of smaller, more frequent events, you turn your audience into a community.

But does this mean you should completely avoid in-person events? Not always. Sometimes it’s wise to consider a combination of virtual and in-person for your business conference (we call these hybrid events). Other times, you might like to make the complete pivot from in-person events to a virtually-exclusive conference.

 

In summary: It’s about protecting the event experience you want to deliver. On that note, here’s how to host and plan a virtual conference.

Top 6 virtual conference goals and KPIs

Deals Won 

Measure the number of successful deals closed as a result of the virtual conference, indicating its effectiveness as a sales and lead generation platform.

 

Opportunities Created

Track the number of new potential business opportunities generated through the conference, highlighting its ability to attract and engage prospective customers.

Pipeline Acceleration: Evaluate the speed and efficiency at which leads progress through the sales pipeline, indicating the conference’s impact on accelerating the sales cycle.

 

Product Adoption 


Monitor the increase in product adoption rates among conference attendees, demonstrating the event’s influence on driving customer interest and usage of the product or service.

Advocacy

Assess the number of conference participants who become brand advocates, measuring their willingness to promote and recommend the company’s offerings to others.

Brand Awareness

Measure the extent to which the virtual conference increases brand visibility and recognition among its target audience, as reflected by improved brand recall and familiarity.

Community Engagement and Retention


Evaluate the level of engagement and participation within the conference community, ensuring strong connections are fostered and attendees are motivated to remain involved even after the event concludes.

How to host a virtual conference

As the old adage goes: fail to plan, plan to fail. Effective virtual conference planning requires a combination of a clear vision, a solid strategy, and the right mix of virtual conference technology to execute and bring this vision to life.

Set your business goals and objectives for the event

Before you plan the agenda of your virtual conference, make sure you know your event goals and objectives. Set SMART goals, and ensure the whole team understands what you want to achieve. Also, think about the audience you want to attract to this event.

Identify the goals of your attendees

Are your attendees looking forward to networking, thought leadership content, or entertainment? If the primary motive is to network and build connections, then it will make sense for you to tune your conference’s plan to facilitate it.

Decide a theme for your virtual conference

Your theme will determine the entire content of your conference, the kind of sessions you will host, the speakers you will invite, and your audience for the event. 

It makes sense to fine-tune your conference’s theme according to your business goals and attendee expectations.

Plan some unique and engaging activities

Virtually engaging activities like a virtual photo booth or a virtual wine night will allow your attendees to feel entertained and stay engaged. 

Find high-energy hosts for your event

According to a Forrester study commissioned by Airmeet, around 44% of event organizers believe that a high-energy host is a key to event success.

Work on your speaker line-up

Today, you need to orchestrate a content experience that supports and enhances a customer’s journey at each step. You achieve success when different moving parts and content assets join together to offer the right information at the right time and in the right manner.

Build a content experience strategy (more on this soon)

The right line-up of speakers can add credibility to your event, rope in more registrations, enhance your event’s content and keep your attendees engaged throughout.

Narrow down sponsors/partners you’d like to approach

With the right event sponsors onboard, you get the budget to plan a better experience and experiment with new ways to boost reach.

Find the best time and date to hold the conference

Holidays, festivals, and events hosted by your competitors can affect attendee turn-out. As a general rule, don’t host events near major holidays and festivals like Christmas, and Thanksgiving as people are busy with their families.

Get the word out

Start promoting your conference well in advance. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have all the nitty gritty details. As long as you have the event time, speakers, moderators, and the general gist of the event worked out— you’ve got something to promote!

Start engaging your attendees pre-event

On top of your promotion, go the extra mile and send some swag to your attendees. Why? Because it gets them excited to attend your event and helps you get their mindshare. It motivates them to return the gesture or thank you by attending your event—Shannon Wright, The Forem’s Director of Community

Perfect your run of show

This needs to include a to-the-minute rundown of your event’s progression covering speaker presentations, performance times, audience breaks, etc.

Begin troubleshooting

Technical glitches happen, but you should still do as much as possible to avoid them from happening. Conduct multiple dry runs, and build a Plan B for unforeseen interruptions.

Allow your speakers, and host to test the technical set-up and get accustomed with the virtual conference platform.

Follow up post-event

Think about maintaining the momentum post-event. What can you send to them that may help assist—a summary email recapping the main points, an exclusive deal, a feedback questionnaire, or simply a warm thank you? 

Review success & take down learnings

Let’s assume your virtual conference was a raging success. It’s still important to consider what you can do to improve aspects of your event next time. How can you make planning more efficient? Could you have facilitated networking better? Did the results help you achieve your business objectives?

How do you plan the virtual conference content experience?

Attendee empathy is the key to building and tuning the content experience of your virtual conference to your attendees’ liking. You should know what provides value to them, what makes them thrilled, and what makes them feel accepted. 

Other than that, you should think about curating a delightful content experience at every touchpoint. 

At a top level, these content touchpoints could be: 

  • Sign-up page
  • Emails (pre and post-event)
  • Keynote sessions and speaker presentations
  • Fireside chats 
  • Performances by artists, magicians, and comedians
  • Research findings
  • Product demonstrations and launches 
  • Post-conference downloadable assets
  • Virtual breakout sessions

As you can see, there’s a mix of tangible and intangible content touchpoints. It’s your job to tie all of these together into content that considers and boosts attendee engagement.

Now, that you know all the content touchpoints, let’s dive deep into planning a content experience for the day of your virtual conference.

Tips to curate an energizing virtual content experience for your virtual conference

 

 

The answer—emotions!

Emotions drive attendee satisfaction. Thus, your event’s content experience should make your attendees feel these emotions: 

  • Hopeful
  • Adventurous
  • Active
  • Accepted
  • Motivated

Now, let’s talk about curating event content and virtual conference script that can evoke these emotions, and spur deeper audience participation and engagement. 

  • Icebreaker: Include fun virtual icebreakers and games in your content to energize the audience. 
  • Ditch the presentation format: Only a presentation won’t cut it in 2023. Your audience needs to feel involved and excited. Go for something more engaging like a fireside chat, ted-talk-style show, keynotes, and more. You can also include quizzes, and leaderboards to take it to the next level. 
  • Incorporate interactive elements: Engage attendees by including interactive elements within the content sessions. This can involve live polls, audience Q&A sessions, virtual networking opportunities, gamification elements, or interactive workshops.
  • Present content that excites your audience: Depending upon your audience, you can either choose to present thought-leadership content, revolutionary ideas, detailed research to help decision-makers, an inspiring case study, or product service training. 
  • Include visually rich streams: Your virtual conference needs to be visually exciting too, so make sure to have a great background or some animations that can keep your attendees excited.
  • Design content for two-way communication: Design your content and presentations in a manner that fosters interaction like discussions in chats, Q&A, polls and more. You can also assign breakout rooms for attendees to share their opinions with each other on a particular topic

6 Ideas to make your virtual conferences more fun and engaging

Consider how you’re going to create networking opportunities, encourage audience sharing, introduce different content formats, and how you’ll give your attendees a break from information overload. 

Lucky for you, we’ve got some ideas to get you started: 

  1. Open up a pre-event forum to generate buzz—encourage interaction by using event hosts (or invite your guest speakers) to start conversations in a forum that you open up a few days leading up to the event.
  2. Use Virtual Event Gamification—spice things up with a bit of virtual competition, incentives, and prizes for the most engaged attendees
  3. Facilitate interactive experiences with special event hosts that leave attendees with a story to tell—invite a bartender to run a virtual cocktail-mixing session, a famous chef to teach a cooking class, or a comedian to do stand-up comedy. These are the experiences your attendees won’t forget!
  4. Send some swag to attendees—a notebook, t-shirt, or snack box that can create a sense of community during the event. 
  5. Add interactivity wherever possible—encourage attendees to actively participate with live Q&A sessions, polls, or quizzes throughout presentations, networking sessions, and performances.
  6. Consider having a dedicated social media team ‘working the room’ (aka, live tweeting or live streaming)—this is a great way to keep the engagement up pre, during, and even post-event as attendees like to reply or post their own threads and learnings from the event on their preferred social media platforms.

Once you’ve brainstormed your ideas, it’s time to execute them!

How to promote networking at your virtual conferences?

Enriching your virtual conferences with delightful and meaningful networking opportunities requires thoughtful planning and execution. 

Here are a few ways to take networking at your virtual events and conferences to the next level. 

Pre-conference communication

Prior to the event, encourage attendees to create profiles on the conference platform. Use virtual lounges and other dedicated virtual spaces like breakout rooms, and open up a chat to allow attendees to introduce themselves and meet new people. This helps attendees find like-minded individuals and initiate conversations early.

Create dedicated virtual spaces for networking

Some platforms like Airmeet can let you create dedicated virtual spaces like virtual lounges, Fluid Space, and breakout rooms that allow you to replicate a life-like networking experience at your virtual conference. Encourage participants to join these lounges during breaks or dedicated networking sessions.

Facilitated introductions

Implement a system that pairs attendees with similar interests or complementary backgrounds. You can use AI-powered matchmaking algorithms or manually assign networking buddies. Share these introductions with participants before the conference, allowing them to schedule meetings or join virtual rooms together.

Interactive sessions

Incorporate interactive elements into presentations and panel discussions. For example, include live polls, Q&A sessions, or breakout rooms where attendees can collaborate on specific topics. By encouraging active participation, you create opportunities for attendees to engage with each other, ask questions, and exchange ideas.

Virtual exhibitor booths

Offer virtual exhibitor spaces where attendees can explore different companies, products, or services. Provide chat features or video call options within these booths so participants can interact with exhibitors directly. Encourage exhibitors to share resources, conduct demos, or host live presentations to engage attendees.

Networking-focused sessions 

Dedicate specific time slots for networking activities during the conference agenda. These could include virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, or networking games. Consider hosting structured activities like speed networking sessions or roundtable discussions, where participants can connect with others in a short amount of time.

Social media engagement 

Encourage attendees to utilize conference-specific hashtags on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook. You can also create a social wall with Airmeet to ramp up the engagement

Attendee profiles 

Choose a virtual event platform that allows attendees to create profiles to find and connect with like-minded individuals. 

Post-conference community sessions

Empower attendees to reconnect with their meaningful matches after the conferences and continue the networking momentum and foster deeper relationships.

Best practices to host your virtual conference

Giving yourself the best chance of flawless event execution comes down to a combination of factors. So, let’s discuss.

Choose the right virtual conference platform

Virtual conference platforms have unique capabilities to facilitate networking and attendee engagement in an online environment—even some that you never thought was possible other than in a physical event. But not all virtual conference platforms are created equal. Nor is the virtual conference technology that comes with them!

Conduct dry runs before the event

There’s nothing worse than watching all of your months of hard work come undone with a single technical glitch. Even worse, if you find out that the allocated times don’t work out and you’re left having to cut a presentation on the day.

That’s why having a rehearsal before the main event is important. It’s a chance to bring everyone together to ask questions and provide critical feedback to help you deliver a flawless event. Be sure to schedule tests of each set-up with speakers, moderators, entertainment, and interactive sessions.

Make sure all team members know their roles during the live event

In addition to the preparation leading up to the event, you also need to assign responsibilities for different aspects of your event on the day. Be sure to assign specific responsibilities and roles to key people within your event management team for the live event to keep things running smoothly. That way, if a problem comes up on the day, there is immediate accountability to get things back on track quickly.

Schedule your reminder and invitation emails

Just because you have the date of your event etched in your mind doesn’t necessarily mean your attendees do. After you’ve crafted the perfect line of communication, automate this process as much as possible to take one less thing off your plate. Email communication can be easily scheduled in advance or edited on the fly if something changes. The goal here is to keep actively communicating with attendees before the event to keep engagement and attendance levels high.

Keep redundancy for operations

Kind of like a plan C, D, or E—this is when you need to think about all the worst-case scenarios that could happen. Then, you plan out what your course of action will be to keep things running as smoothly as possible. One example is ensuring you have a backup internet connection if the WIFI completely drops. Or a backup activity if a speaker unexpectedly drops out.

Send your audience thank you/missed-you swag

Nothing says ‘thank-you’ or ‘missed you at the conference’ better than a surprise package arriving in the mail. Consider this your final ‘surprise and delight’ gesture to keep your business front-of-mind for the attendees. It’s truly the cherry on top of a well-executed virtual conference.

While it’s all well and good to know how to run a brilliant virtual conference, what’s the point if you don’t have maximum attendees there to enjoy all your hard work and planning? Let’s dive into some tips to get maximum registrations at your future virtual events.

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How to promote a virtual conference: tips to get maximum registrations

Promoting a virtual conference is a no-brainer. Without some form of marketing, you will be hard-pressed to hit your registration numbers and, subsequently, build attendee engagement and buzz around your virtual conference. 

But, is there a best practice way when it comes to virtual conference promotion? Follow these tips.

  • Be guided by your target audience: Let your target audience (and the type of experience you want to provide) lead your event marketing plan. Once you know your target audience and the experience you’re aiming for, you’ll narrow down what channels will be the most effective. For example, email, social media ads, or direct mail are all viable options. 
  • Nail down your key messaging: You want this to focus on the most important aspects of your virtual events. Think about your event’s biggest drawcards: is it the entertainment? The amazing speaker line-up? Or a completely different way of networking?
  • Send some share-worthy swag: What do people do when they receive cool gifts? They share it. Increase your chances of promotion by sending some epic swag to your already registered attendees. It might be the extra sweetener someone needs to register.
  • Encourage event hashtags to create FOMO: Don’t let this one be an oversight! Encourage your attendees to always use your event hashtag across social media platforms anytime they post updates before, during, and after your virtual events. If potential attendees didn’t make it this year, this is one way to remind them not to miss the next one!
  • Promote teasers of your virtual conference: Send event agendas, teasers, or even exclusive offers to those who have signed up. For those who haven’t, a key tip for virtual conference promotion is to draw them in with curated marketing content that will whet their appetite. 
  • Offer early bird discounts for early registrations: Offering a small incentive like a discount for registering by a certain date could be exactly what your attendee needs to take action quickly. It will also help you get an idea of numbers ahead of time and give you more opportunities to start engaging with them before the event.

So you know the kind of experience you want to create, but how do you bring your vision to life? An important part of your virtual conference planning journey is having the right technology to support you. That’s where a virtual conference platform steps in.

How does sponsorship work for virtual conferences?
 

Just like an in-person event, virtual conferences can also offer multiple avenues for sponsors to engage with the audience. It may typically include different sponsorship packages with various benefits and price points. For example, keynote speaker slots, branded sessions, logo placement, digital advertisements, virtual booths, and more. Organizers tailor these opportunities to attract sponsors and provide them with visibility and engagement with the conference audience.

In return, sponsors can offer cash, or in-kind benefits to the organizers and enable them to deliver a better experience to their virtual attendees.

What is a Virtual Conference Platform?

A virtual conference platform is a live event hosting software where event organizers engage and connect with the audiences digitally in a virtual room. A digital conference platform replicates the in-person conference experience for virtual attendees. 

Interactive features like live streaming, breakout rooms, live chat, and virtual lobbies make the event entertaining and memorable. With ease, organizations can plan and host a flexible, dynamic, and engaging online conference for their employees. Such online meeting platforms are specifically designed to enhance the interaction level between event administrators and virtual attendees. 

The platform is built as both a website and a mobile app, allowing audiences to attend as per their preferences. 

How to choose a virtual conference platform

Different virtual conference platforms suit particular use cases, while others are all-rounders. So, how do you choose the right one for you? 

Here are some key questions to think about:

  • Is the platform user-friendly? 
  • How can the platform help you drive engagement between speakers and attendees?
  • What features does the platform provide to help you create virtual impromptu conversations and networking opportunities? (i.e., virtual booths, breakout rooms, and speed networking sessions should be driving indicators to select a platform).
  • What integrations does the platform include to help you facilitate end-to-end event planning across registration and ticketing, event website, event app, promotions, and more?
  • What other flexibility does the platform provider have to ensure you can host any and every kind and size of the conference you wish? For example, can you schedule multiple tracks and sessions to cater to different groups of attendees?

 

Now that you have the questions prepared, it’s time to speak to the vendors who have the best virtual conference technology.

In the list below, we have picked the best virtual event platforms that are rich in features and capabilities to run an amazing virtual conference.

  • Registration and ticketing
  • Event website
  • Event app
  • Event promotion
  • Sponsor/speaker management
  • Agenda builder
  • Networking and attendee engagement
  • Data analytics
  • Integrations
  • Virtual production services

You can get all-in-one virtual event platforms that come with a number of integrations to work with the tools you are already using in your business.

For example, improve your event registrations by integrating Zapier, export registration data to Mailchimp, or gain a holistic view of your attendees by integrating with your Salesforce dashboard. Or choose browser-based, no-download virtual events and webinar software solutions to broadcast your event on multiple platforms without any additional hassle.

Key Features a Virtual Conference Platform Must Have

Certain advanced features of virtual conference platforms have changed the way the event industry delivers online conferences and meetings. They allow for an incredible diversity of events and hyper-personalization, providing a great virtual meeting experience to virtual attendees and organizers alike.

Let’s see what key features a virtual conference platform must have, so you can host a seamless and impactful virtual conference event:

  • Registration & Ticketing: Registration and ticketing key features of a virtual conference platform. This is your event attendees’ first interaction with your event. 

If the event registration and ticketing process runs smoothly, it helps create a positive impression on your guests.

  • Branding & Customization: A great virtual conference platform must provide a range of features that support branding opportunities and customizations, for businesses to make their corporate event stand out and reflect a unique brand identity.

This is vital for creating a professional environment and for giving attendees a taste of the brand at every touchpoint.

  • Live Streaming: Live streaming is a must-have feature of any virtual conference platform. Live broadcasting allows event attendees, speakers, hosts, and exhibitors to engage with each other in real-time.


  • Multiple Virtual Spaces: An online conference platform should offer multiple virtual spaces to recreate the feel of an on-site event. 

Multiple virtual spaces such as the auditorium, exhibition hall, lobbies, and networking lounge let attendees move around and engage effortlessly throughout the course of the online conference.

  • Interactive Features: The best virtual conference platform comes loaded with a suite of interactive elements to ensure a seamless virtual event experience. 

Interactive tools like live chat, Q&A sessions, and polls are crucial in keeping attendees actively engaged and involved with the event content.

  • Automation: Automation is an absolute must-have in today’s day and age, and a reliable virtual conference must help minimize manual efforts. 

Airmeet has an automation tool to enhance the event efficiency and workflow. You can automate the number of tasks such as registrations, attendee data, engagement metrics, and more.

  • Social Media and Email Integration: One fantastic feature of virtual conference platforms is the social media and email integration feature which increases the reach and engagement of virtual events.

    Integration of social media with the virtual conference platform helps event organizers to seamlessly promote the event on various social channels, reach a larger audience pool, and attract more attendees.

    Airmeet offers live streaming integration with popular social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, allowing event organizers to broadcast their events live on social media channels.

    Email is a great communication channel to send invitations and reminder emails to attendees. The email integration feature allows you to automate the pre-event and post-event follow-up emails.

    Airmeet has a CRM software that automates tasks and enhances the webinar capabilities such as Hubspot, Mailchimp, Zapier, Eventbrite, Salesmate, and more.

  • Networking: Networking is an invaluable component of any event, whether physical or virtual. Networking features allow attendees to build new connections with peers. 

They also enable organizations to discover new business prospects to expand their business opportunities.

  • Data Analytics: Analyzing data is important to gauge the success and return on investment (ROI) of the online conference event. 

The ideal virtual conference platform should have robust data analytics and reporting features to track key metrics such as attendance rates, attendee engagement, and more. 

These insights help you assess the performance of your current event, so you can make data-driven decisions to improve your subsequent events. 

  • Live Technical Support: The platform must have a technical support team readily available to address any technical issues that can arise suddenly, during the event. 

Timely and reliable customer support is important to minimize disruption and ensure a smooth and hassle-free event experience.

  • Security: The platform should have strong security capabilities to protect attendee data and information. 

Sharing some critical and sensitive information like financial data, personal details of attendees, etc is common while hosting or attending online events. 

To protect them from cyber threats, virtual conference software needs to have best-in-class data privacy and security features.  

10 Best Virtual Conference Platforms to Try Today

The following virtual conference platforms are some of the more popular ones to consider:

Airmeet

Airmeet

Airmeet is a highly recommended platform for hosting virtual conferences, events, and webinars. It empowers you to host any event with ease and also encourages your audience to participate in the conversation. 

Airmeet is committed to delivering highly interactive and engaging experiences. The platform is trusted by 4000+ organizations including Walmart, Volvo, GrowwAngel One, Airbus, Capgemini, Trinet, Spotify, Axios, and more. Every month, many brands worldwide choose Airmeet to host their events. Because of its user-friendly interface, global businesses love hosting events with Airmeet.Airmeet 2

Some noteworthy features of Airmeet, such as:

  • Live streaming capabilities with HD video & audio
  • Registration & ticketing option
  • Virtual lobby
  • Branding & customization
  • Exhibitor booths
  • Interactive tools
  • Breakout rooms
  • Networking longue
  • Event marketing & email customization option
  • AI-driven customization and content recommendations
  • Advanced analytics & reporting
  • Integration with other platforms like Slack, Hubspot & more

Why Airmeet should be at the top of your list to host a virtual conference. Here’s why.

Airmeet is undisputed when it comes to virtual conference technology. Airmeet has the world’s first Event Experience Cloud that gives full control over the way people want to organize their events. An all-in-one event experience solution that comes with four products AirStudio, AX360, AirControl, and AirIntel. 

 

Zoho MeetingZoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting is an online video conferencing software that helps you host virtual meetings, digital conferences, online webinars, and more. It is a secure online conference platform to connect, collaborate, and engage with your audiences. 

Zoho Meeting is the perfect platform if you want to schedule online meetings, host virtual conferences, and stream live webinars. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, Zoho Meeting empowers you to host cost-effective online events with ease. 

vFairs

vFairs is an end-to-end event management platform that helps businesses plan, and manage stress-free in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. The platform is known for its immersive virtual environments. 

It offers a range of features to make your digital event engaging and exciting such as immersive 3D environments, customizable virtual booths, networking, live chat, polls, and gamification, enhancing attendees’ overall virtual event experience. 

vFairs is recognized for its user-friendly interface and excellent customer support, making it a popular choice among organizations of all sizes seeking to create engaging virtual event experiences.

Remo

Remo

Remo is a virtual event management platform, perfect for hosting virtual conferences and webinars. It focuses on building interesting and interactive experiences that simulate in-person events. 

The platform supports multiple event formats such as job fairs, trade shows, networking events, etc. The platform is trusted by over 1000+ organizations worldwide including SONY, IBM, Honeywell, and more. 

With Remo, you can create stunning online events easily. It empowers you to effortlessly organize and execute amazing online & hybrid events. 

BigMarker

BigMarker

Bigmarker is a great platform to create, host, and manage virtual conferences from your computer or mobile device. 

Bigmarker offers all the tools you need to host successful virtual and hybrid events such as customizable registration pages, email builder, ticketing, webinar types, custom landing pages, engagement tools, recording options, networking, and more. 

It is a good event management software for enterprises hosting webinars, virtual conferences, and hybrid conferences.

Whova

BigMarker

Whova is a comprehensive event management solution that offers a range of tools to help businesses plan, execute, and analyze their online events. 

It supports all types of formats such as in-person, virtual, and hybrid, and ensures your event runs smoothly. 

Their mobile event app allows you to get attendee insights in real-time. Whova is a one-stop solution for managing seamless virtual events.

Workcast

Workcast

Workcast, a cloud-based platform, is widely utilized for hosting virtual events, webinars, and webcasts. You do not need to download software on your laptop or computer. Just connect to the internet and host an event & access its data through a web browser. 

Webcast offers a simple setup process as well as customization options for creating and managing events. They feature a powerful reporting tool that provides real-time insights into event registrations and attendee engagement. 

It is a good solution for businesses looking to host and manage online events & webinars.

Spotme

Spotme

Spotme is an all-in-one event management solution that allows you to host in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. With Spotme, businesses can host seamless events with branded and compliant event apps. 

This platform is trusted by Fortune 500 companies and boasts over 10 million users. Spotme offers numerous features to host a stress-free event such as event builder, event registration, attendee tracking, audience engagement tools like live chat, polls,  Q&A, analytics & reporting, and more. It has everything you need to host a successful event.

Demio

Demio

Demio is an all-in-one platform designed for hosting webinars and virtual events. The platform is known for creating impactful digital events that engage the audience and elevate your brand. 

It offers features like real-time chat, polls, Q&A sessions, and audience spotlighting, all designed to boost participation and keep attendees fully engaged in the event. 

Demio also provides analytics to track attendee behavior and engagement.

ClickMeeting 

ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is a high-quality software for scheduling online meetings, webinars, and events. Its user-friendly interface and wide range of features enable you to host large gatherings with ease. 

With ClickMeeting, you can hold a product demonstration, run online business meetings, and share your expertise through online courses & training sessions. Plus, it allows you to host huge online events with up to 10,000 attendees.

16 Practical Ideas for a Successful Virtual Conference

A successful virtual conference requires careful planning and execution. If you wish to achieve your conference goals, engage your audiences well, and deliver a seamless experience, you must plan the event in a way that your audience will always remember. 

The following ideas will help you host an effective online video conference meeting.

1) Make the registration steps easy and simple

With the platform’s customizable solutions, design a simple registration form.  Only collect essential information like their name, email address, contact information, and job profile. This will contribute to higher form completion rates.  Also, instruct users on how to register for the event with easy steps.

2) Send a reminder email before the conference

Send out a reminder email a few days before the conference event with essential details like event name, date, time, agenda, and more. A well-written reminder mail will help increase attendance at the conference. Along with this, also share tips on how to use the virtual conference platform.

3) Send out a swag bag well in advance

A swag bag is a collection of promotional items often given to attendees at in-person and virtual events. It is like a welcome gift or a thank-you package, filled with goodies. You can express your gratitude towards guests for attending your digital conference event with a digital swag bag. 

Here are some things you can add to your digital swag bags:

  • eBooks
  • Exclusive access to an online course
  • Podcasts
  • Free software trials
  • Online coupons
  • Gift cards from Amazon or Starbucks

4) Allow guests to use the event mobile app

The event mobile app will allow your attendees to easily access the entire event schedule. Participants will also receive real-time updates on scheduling changes, session reminders, and important announcements. The conference app will enhance their overall event experience.

5) Provide high-quality content

High-quality content plays a big role in your virtual conferences. It is what attracts attendees, provides value, and keeps them engaged throughout the session. Remember, investing in high-quality content will significantly help achieve greater results in terms of attendee satisfaction, brand reputation, and overall return on investment.

6) Engage attendees through interactive elements 

Use multimedia components such as Q&A, live polls, and surveys to keep guests involved and interested in the event. Also, encourage participants to use live video chat to make their active involvement in the conversation. Utilizing interactive components will effectively engage guests, allowing them to retain information and remember the event.

7) Use the gamification feature

Gamification encourages attendees to actively participate in the event. It is one of the best ways to engage people in a virtual summit. You can easily engage your guests with the platform’s standard gamification features such as leaderboards, points & badges, challenges, and more.

8) Leverage breakout rooms

The breakout room is a separate space within a meeting where guests can engage in focused discussion.  It also helps exchange knowledge and brainstorm ideas in an innovative manner.

9) Provide networking opportunities

Networking helps in building connections, knowledge sharing, and idea exchange. Allow attendees to interact with other attendees so they can expand their professional network. 

10) Engage audiences on social media

Social media is a powerful tool to engage audiences during virtual events. Create an event-specific hashtag and encourage guests to use it to share their updates and views on social media. Posting live social media feeds during the event will help create a sense of community.

11) Engage guests in team-building activities

Engaging guests in virtual team-building activities is essential for fostering connections, & collaboration, and in ensuring a positive conference experience. You can choose from a wide range of team-building exercises such as virtual escape rooms, trivia contests, checkers, online scavengers, and more.

12) Share key takeaways from conferences

Post the virtual meeting, share a brief summary of the key points and action items discussed. It will help participants remember essential information from web conferences.

13) Include short-form content 

At the virtual event, attendees have shorter attention spans. Offering short-term content like bite-sized videos or infographics can help engage your guests in conferences and increase their satisfaction level.

14) Offer on-demand content

Offering guests a playback of virtual conference events is a wonderful idea. Almost every virtual conference software allows you to record the sessions and meetings. You can let your attendees revisit sessions at their convenience through the recording capabilities. This way, you can make event content available for attendees after the live event ends.

15) Ensure speakers’ content is impactful

The first few minutes of your speaker’s content and interaction are crucial to grab the attention of your audience. Make sure the speaker starts the speech with a compelling hook and has an engaging presentation that is well-prepared. Encourage them to bring in engaging aspects such as stories or interactive Q&A, wherever possible.

16) Try some fun virtual meeting themes

Incorporate a fun and engaging theme into your virtual conference. It will help you create a memorable experience for guests. You can try the below themes to brighten your virtual events. 

Dress-up themes

  • Costume party
  • Favorite movie characters
  • Superhero theme

Game show themes

  • Jeopardy
  • Wheel of fortune
  • Family feud

Interactive themes

  • Virtual escape room
  • Online trivia
  • Virtual talent show

You’re all set to host your virtual conference

If it wasn’t made clear enough, virtual conferences allow your business to remove borders and build meaningful connections with thousands of attendees at scale, all while accelerating your sales pipeline. 

The first step is understanding the type of experience you want to provide and building your virtual event strategy around that. 

If there is one thing you should take away from all of this: you should have the best virtual conference platform to help you execute your strategy and deliver an unforgettable experience.

FAQs

A virtual conference is a virtual event that brings together like-minded people in an online environment. The entire virtual event experience is centered around providing a rich attendee networking experience that provides the same value (if not more) as in person events. 

Develop a detailed agenda and assign roles and responsibilities to key people within your event management team and your event hosts. Then, choose a virtual conference platform to help you run a virtual event easily, and deliver the virtual event experience you envision. 

To make virtual conferences more engaging, consider incorporating interactive elements like live polls, Q&A sessions, and breakout rooms for networking. Utilize multimedia such as videos and visuals, and encourage audience participation through chat features.

Leverage gamification techniques and offer incentives to boost engagement and create memorable experiences for attendees.

In this order: Define the purpose and goals of the conference, choose a date and time that will work for the majority of your potential attendees, find a suitable virtual events platform for hosting your conference, promote your conference using all the channels at your disposal, and plan for technical difficulties by conducting a dry run of the event before d-day. 

Define the goals of the conference, choose a date and time that will work for the majority of your potential attendees, find a suitable virtual events platform for hosting your conference, promote your conferences using all the channels at your disposal, and plan for technical difficulties.

To attend any virtual conference meeting, first register for the event. Once you register, you will receive your login credentials. On the day of the conference, log in to the conference platform with the login credentials shared with you, and join the event. Before joining, ensure you have a stable internet connection. 

Use the virtual meeting platform’s gamification features to make your virtual meetings fun and entertaining. Also include some light-hearted and interactive games to keep your audience engaged during the event. Two Truths and a Lie, Trivia, Skribble, etc are some of the popular games that can add a bit of fun to your virtual conference. 

Each virtual conference platform has a different pricing protocol. It depends on the features and elements they offer. Typically, the virtual summit platform’s cost starts from $100 dollars. Compared to other virtual conference platforms, Airmeet offers personalized pricing plans to suit the specific needs of your virtual conference and events. We also provide a 10-day free trial, with a limit of 25 attendees per event, which is perfect for organizations who want to explore the platform’s capabilities.

To promote your virtual conference meeting, make a strategic marketing plan. First, identify your target audience and define their needs. Then create a compelling event landing page. Following that, leverage online and offline channels to market your event – social media, email campaigns, internal and external newsletters, etc are all channels you can count on for your event’s promotion.  

Airmeet is the undisputed king of virtual conferences

But don’t take it from us! See for yourself

Make your webinars 10X better with just 10 simple questions

Make your webinars 10X better with just 10 simple questions

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform

Incredible Companies Use Airmeet

Most loved Virtual Events Platform