3 ways to build next generation virtual events

Hosting and running virtual events is no easy task, but they yield great results when dont correctly! As more  organizations continue to shift to virtual or hybrid events, it’s important to follow simple guidelines to ensure your next event is as successful, engaging, and fun as possible.
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While every virtual event is different depending on the types of sessions and audience segments, there are basic principles that are important to help you increase engagement and show-up rates.
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What is a virtual event? 

A virtual event is an online event that involves people interacting in a virtual environment on the web, rather than meeting in a physical location. Virtual events are typically multi-session online events that often feature webinars. Organizations can run many different types of events virtually both internally with their teams and externally with a true attendee-exhibitor experience. 
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You can host conferences, live shows, interviews, training courses, classes, and a lot more during a virtual event. With a lower cost and a larger reach than in-person events, virtual and hybrid events are a great solution for engaging your audience.
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3 Ways to Build Your Next Virtual Event‍

There are a variety of different ways to think about virtual events. With so many options available, you can find a solution that fits your team’s needs to help increase your engagement. Here’s a few ways to effectively build out your next virtual event.
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Host Live Zoom Sessions‍

Zoom is one tool that can help keep your prospects engaged when hosting virtual events. Whether you're hosting a live webinar, an information seminar, a virtual conference, a class, or anything else, it’s easy and effective to run a virtual event using Zoom.
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VisitDays incorporates Zoom right into our platform and can host an entire community with a quick and easy set-up time. You can use VisitDays as a hub to bring together your audience in a fun and unique way. Try Zoom on VisitDays for FREE and experience how simple it is to host a live event. 
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Build meaningful and engaging content‍

Creating engaging and meaningful content for your audience to explore is paramount when you want to add sign ups for your virtual event. One of the advantages of hosting a virtual event is attendees don’t have to show up to a live event. Instead, you can record your live sessions and post them separately so your content is accessible to everyone at any time. 
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User-generated content is another great way to engage your audience. User-generated content encourages your audience to share their own experiences and can include interviews, vlogs, day-in-the-life videos, or anything that allows your own community to provide a first-hand perspective. 
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Our partners at University of Pittsburgh use the VisitDays platform to encourage their audience to post and share their own videos. The community aspect in these videos is hard to replicate and can be very effective for a new audience discovering your brand. 
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You can check out what universities are doing with video content by visiting community.visitdays.com.

‍Embrace social media ‍

Social media is a great tool for building up hype for a virtual event. You can easily build engaging graphics on sites like Canva or Snappa then post them on social media and watch the interactions swarm in. 
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Plus, you don’t have to have a graphic design degree to create fun and engaging posts. Here are a few images we made in just a couple minutes to help drive sign ups for our own virtual event.

Another great way to utilize social media is livestreaming events. There are tons of social media platforms that incorporate a livestream feature including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to name a few. If you have a younger audience who live off livestreams, this could be another great way to drive engagement. 
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Livestreams are great for unscripted events like Q&A’s, interviews, or a campus walk-through. You can easily answer questions from your audience and offer more engagement than a typical closed-off webinar. 
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VisitDays has a built-in YouTube integration that makes livestreaming easy. Simply your YouTube link in the description of your event and attendees will be able to easily join in and engage during your session.
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Let's Recap‍

Zoom sessions, engaging content, and social media are all great ways to bring together your community for an effective virtual event experience. 
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With nearly an endless amount of possibilities on how to run a virtual event, it’s hard to narrow down the perfect recipe. However, these tips are sure to help you make the most of your virtual events and drive more engagement to your site.
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If you want more tips on how to create next generation virtual events, join our Community and sign up for one of our ongoing events.