Virtual and Hybrid Events

LEARN TO CREATE VIRTUAL & ONLINE EVENTS

The world of events is changing and developing all the time, but no more so than the last few years when circumstances meant that the events sector had to turn themselves in to a virtual sector. 

This course provides an excellent insight in to how this has happened, and covers lots of different areas including:

• Event design
• Delivery of virtual and online events
• Marketing and sponsorship
• Financing 
• Resources and technology
• Presenter selection
• Audience engagement

Experience in events can take you in to many different sectors, do you want to work in any of these:

• event companies
• marketing and communications
• universities and colleges
• hotels and restaurants
• travel and tourism
• international trade
• training and development

It has been written for a variety of different people, including:

• Existing event industry operations staff wanting to understand the virtual world of events
• Event organisers expanding their offering to online options
• Marketing advisors needing to change their approach to event marketing
• Anyone who has an interest in event delivery

Enrol now and discover how events can be delivered successfully online both for the audience and organiser. 

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Scope and Nature of Virtual Events
   • Recent changes in event sector
   • Virtual events
   • Advantages and disadvantages of virtual events
   • Hybrid events
   • Advantages and disadvantages of hybrid events
   • Difference between in person and virtual events
   • Challenges of delivering events
   • Attention span
2. Creating a Virtual Event
   • Goals of creating the event
   • How and when to host the event
   • Promoting the event
   • Audience engagement
   • Event planning process
   • Event Concept/purpose
   • Staff
   • Budget
   • Technical Resources
   • Activities
   • Invitation and promotions
   • Marketing
3. Creating a Hybrid Event
   • Internal and external hybrid events
   • Goals
   • Marketing the event
   • Registration
   • Time zones
   • Virtual attendee's content
   • Venue selection
   • Technology and equipment
   • Transportation and logistics
   • Food and Beverage
   • Health and Safety
   • Cost
4. Content Creation
   • Creating engaging content
   • Visual aids
   • Developing an agenda
   • Presentation selection
   • Trade shows and exhibition
   • Creating a stand
5. Building preparation
   • Challenges of maintaining participation online
   • Presentation skills for online events
   • Networking
   • Using visual real rooms
   • Social media
   • Social media applications
   • Success pointers
6. Marketing
   • Digital marketing
   • Virtual tours
   • Linking to education
   • Sales techniques
7. Managing Finances
   • Cost for virtual and hybrid events
   • Develop revenue streams
   • Sponsorship
   • Advertising
   • Ticketing
   • Pricing
   • Developing packages
8. Technology Requirements
   • Importance of Technology
   • Connectivity
   • Security
   • Preferences of clientele
   • Sourcing technology suppliers
   • Attendee technology
   • Communicating with audiences before event
   • Technology During the Event
9. Evaluation
   • Event evaluation
   • Evaluation tools
   • Managing feedbacks
   • Stakeholder engagement
10. Special Project
    • Design and deliver a remote event.

Aims

• Discuss the scope and nature of virtual and hybrid events.
• Explain how to create different events that are delivered 100% virtually.
• Describe how a variety of live and virtual event components can be delivered and linked together.
• Construct content for a virtual or hybrid event.
• Demonstrate how to build participation for a hybrid or virtual event.
• Determine marketing for a virtual or hybrid event.
• Explain financial management for a virtual or hybrid event.
• Explain the application of different technologies to deliver virtual or hybrid events.
• Analyse a virtual or hybrid event.
• Design and deliver a remote event - the ultimate goal where you can bring it all together.

CREATING A VIRTUAL EVENT

Arranging a virtual event can feel daunting, but it can be made easier if you consider the following –

Have Clear Goals from The Start

Before throwing a virtual, hybrid or any event in fact, it is important to be sure that it is clear what the event is trying to achieve. Everyone working on the event should also be clear on what the goal(s) are.

Goals should be SMART –

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timely

An example –

• Specific – Launch a new line of dresses
• Measurable – Result in £1000 worth of sales
• Achievable - Yes
• Realistic – Yes, £1000 in sales is realistic
• Timely – The webinar should be arranged within one month

A specific goal is essential. What are the reasons for doing the event? Sell more, raise more money, raise awareness etc? If the event organisers are not clear on what they are trying to achieve from the event, then it will most likely not succeed. Using an example from social media, many individuals and businesses will post informative articles. For example, an author specialising in romance may write short posts about how to meet your ideal partner. However, a person looking to meet their ideal partner may not be looking for a romance book. Social media posts should be relevant to what the person is trying to achieve, here, they are trying to sell more romance books.

The same applies with an event. What is the event trying to achieve? If it is to sell more books, the event should focus on how they will do this. If it is to raise awareness of a social issue, again, how will they do this? The focus should be specific and clear. 

How Will the Virtual Event Be Hosted?

There are many ways to host a virtual event. It is important to consider which platform will be right for you and the attendee, getting this right is very important to the success of the delivery. More on this later in the lesson.

When Will the Event Be Hosted?

When the event is hosted will be determined by different factors. For example –

•  If you are planning to offer a global event, or an event open in different countries, you will need to consider the different time zones when planning when an event will take place. If it is a work-related event, it would be useful to try to plan it as much as possible within traditional work hours, say 9am – 6pm. If it is an entertainment event, perhaps try to plan as much as possible for early to late evening. Careful consideration will need to be given on when it is arranged.
•  When deciding on a time, also consider how many people you expect to attend. For example, if 90% of the audience is expected to be in the UK and 10% in Australia and it is an entertainment event, it could be useful to plan the event at a time more suitable to people in the UK.
•  Also, when considering a time, it is important to consider the people who are organising and running the webinar. For example, say it was a launch of a new book by a best-selling author, they may be very specific on when they are available, which would then determine when the event was arranged.    There may also be additional staff, such as technical support, camera people, staff answering chat questions etc. Again, when the webinar is offered will be affected by when they are available.
•  Remember to also consider bank holidays, religious holidays etc as different countries have different holidays. 

So, it is important to consider –

•  When are the people doing the webinar available?
•  When is the audience(s) likely to be available?
•  Are there any religious or bank holidays to take account of?
•  Are there any similar events taking place at the same time?
•  What time would be most suitable for most of the audience? 

WHY STUDY WITH ACS?

There are lots of reasons why you should sign up to do this course with us, including:

• The course is detailed to ensure that you have the level of knowledge required to apply the practices in the work place enabling you to create and deliver virtual events
• Within each lesson you have the opportunity to apply your learning to activities which enables you to practice different concepts and expand your own research in areas of interest
• Knowledge of virtual event creation will enable you to stand out from other applicants when it comes to applying for jobs, it will also give you greater confidence
• Having the knowledge of different event delivery techniques will enable you to work in many different sectors and business types, giving you flexibility now and in the future
• Our subject specialist tutors will be there to support you throughout your course, they are only too happy to share their industry knowledge and experience with you
• When studying with us you set your own deadlines, meaning you study at your own pace enabling it to fit around other commitments

TAKE THE NEXT STEP AND ENROL NOW!

You can enrol on the course now, but if you have any questions about the content of the course or studying with ACS, then please get in touch with us today - use our FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE to get in touch with our expert tutors. They will be pleased to help you!