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Virtual Events Structure and Audience

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Event Structure

You'll need to think about the type of event you want to host and the content that will be part of your virtual event.

Will there be pre-recorded video or content?

  • Consider the audio and visual experience for your audience
  • Advantage of having more time and control over the experience

Will the event have live content or presenters?

Are there presentations or slides that need to be shared?

  • Who will share and advance the slides - the presenter or a member of your event team - and what is their comfort level?
  • Consider what the audience will see
    • Split screen between the presenter and content
    • Presentation only with no presenter video
    • Presenter smaller in the corner of the screen

What kind of audience participation and interactivity will there be?

  • Q&A or polls can be a great way to engage your audience
  • Having a brainstorming or whiteboarding session can foster collaboration
  • Some may want to have breakout rooms or smaller groups for networking
  • You will want to choose a platform with tools that allows for interactivity

Will the event be live and/or recorded for asynchronous viewing/participation?

  • Audience participation options may be more limited for asynchronous experiences

With all of these questions, be sure to keep event inclusivity and accessibility in mind.

Audience

Your intended audience should be the driver of most decisions you will make about your virtual event. Some things to consider are:

What do you want the user experience to be and what will your audience be expecting?

What are the technical skills of your audience?

  • Using a complex platform or requiring the user to download or log in may present a challenge for those who may not be tech savvy or have proper equipment
  • If your audience is more tech savvy, they may have higher expectations for the event experience and interactivity

Where is your audience joining from?

  • Many people may have limited internet bandwidth due to location, or multiple users/devices on the same network
  • This could lead to lower video quality or inability to access features and content
  • If your audience is more global than local, time-zone differences should be considered when planning your program

How large will your audience be?

  • Managing interactivity for events with large audiences can become difficult without proper tools and resources
  • Some platforms have capacity limits or higher fees charged based on number of attendees
  • The number of attendees may impact or alter the user experience for your attendees