5 tips for running virtual events at scale

Conferences and events don’t transfer easily to the web but the PRCA, Provoke Media and the Virtual PR Summit have thought hard about how to create successful virtual events.

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Events were among the first business activity to be hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Conferences and meetings started to disappear from diaries in February. It is unlikely that many will return before 2021.

After coming to terms with the initial impact, organisers have taken three approaches. Events have either been cancelled, moved directly to the web, or rebuilt from the ground up.

We’ve learnt during lockdown that physical events do not transfer well to the web. No one wants to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary watching a web browser. You may as well stream content via a YouTube channel.

In the PR sector we’ve seen three brilliant examples of innovation over the past two weeks by the PRCA, the Virtual PR Summit and Provoke.

Conference: The PRCA International Summit

The PRCA International Summit was split over two half days in a TV format with Provoke editor Maja Pawinska Sims and former Weber Shandwick boss Rachel Friend as hosts.

Presenters and panellist were introduced by Maja and Rachel with questions submitted via a chat box. There was a lively Twitter conversation and a private community ran in parallel to the event. The professionalism of the hosts, content, and production quality, meant that the event was a huge success. 750 delegates attended over two days.

Learning and development: the Virtual PR Summit

The Virtual PR Summit saw 1,000 delegates attend keynote sessions by industry practitioners including myself.

Sessions were recorded in advance in a webinar format and followed by a discussion with host and founder Philippe Borremans. The summit was incredibly well thought out and built from the ground up on the Zendler learning platform. 

In fact Phillipe had been planning the event long before the COVID-19 crisis. The content will remain available for 12 months and a community is in the works.

Industry awards: Provoke North American SABRE awards

Provoke is the first organisation in the PR industry to move an awards event to the web. It created a virtual awards event for its North American SABRE awards.

750 guests joined from the comfort of their home offices for presentations by the editorial team. Winners collected their gongs as avatars. Many attendees made the effort to dress up in black tie and shared images via lively Twitter conversation.

5 tips for running virtual events at scale

Thanks to the organisations that have led the way in the PR profession. I think the success of these three events and others, means that virtual events are here to stay. Here’s what we’ve learnt so far.

1. Community

Think hard about engaging your community in an event. The content and speakers are often a small part of why people attend events. Random conversations, ad hoc meetings, discussions in the coffee or lunch queue and workshops, are often the most value part of a conference for me.

2. Experience

Event design and platforms need careful thought. Do not default to Hangouts, Zoom or YouTube. There’s a developing tech stack for events and production teams have been quick to shift to this new market. I’d encourage you to seek advice from the teams behind successful events.

3. Content

Virtual events provide an opportunity to attract fresh voices, introduce content and attract a larger audience that would ever be possible for a physical event. There are no excuses for not addressing issues such as gender balance and diversity.

4. Scale

There’s no limit to the number of people that can contribute or attend a virtual event. 750 to 1,000 delegates attended each of the events that I’ve cited. That in itself brings challenges but it’s an opportunity for organisers to rethink both approach and business model.

5. Production

Running an event on the web should not be an excuse for poor quality. The production values of each of the events that I have cited are excellent. Presenters have rehearsed and been well supported by technical teams.