Virtual event planning: How to host a successful event

You know the crackling feeling of an in-person event: the hum of excited attendees, the buzz of interactive panels, the energy of a packed venue — not to mention those glass-clinking happy hours. But with the increase in virtual events over the last few years, companies and orgs of all sizes are designing digital experiences that mimic the magic of in-person ones.

Pivoting to a virtual event experience takes a lot of planning. You may not have to haggle with venue owners and caterers, but virtual event management comes with plenty of challenges. We’re here to help.

This comprehensive guide to planning events online covers everything from attendee communication to the best event technology. Plus, our downloadable virtual events planning checklist will help you host a seamless and engaging event. 

What is a virtual event?

Unlike in-person or hybrid events, virtual events take place exclusively online. Speakers and audience members come together digitally to share in a brief session or multi-day virtual experience. 

If you’ve attended a virtual event recently, you probably saw keynote speeches, panel discussions, live polls, Slack communities — all happening via desktop, tablet, or mobile device.

The beauty of a virtual event is that event planners have full creative license to design an immersive experience because you aren’t restricted by a physical venue.
In addition, event attendees can tune in from anywhere around the world, lowering the barrier of entry for those who couldn’t travel in the past.

Use cases for virtual events

The event space is expanding — it’s not just broadcasters anymore. With so many events going virtual, let’s look at a few ways Vimeo customers have taken in-person events online.

🙌 Town halls or all-hands meetings

All-hands meetings are company-wide — everyone on the staff is expected to attend. Their purpose is for leaders to share company objectives and financial information, introduce new team members, and celebrate wins with the rest of the team. All-hands meetings are essential for remote-first companies, as they might be the only time every member of the team is in the same (virtual) room. 

A town-hall meeting usually includes a Q&A session or a more casual conversation between the employees and leadership. Because all-hands meetings are primarily hosted for internal attendees, gated or ticketed registrations are less critical than privacy features like SSO. Host stunning virtual events and town halls with Vimeo Venues, a virtual events platform designed to increase engagement.

🔥 Fireside chats

Named for the radio addresses President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered during WWII, fireside chats are meant to deliver information in an informal setting. 

A fireside chat is a two-way conversation between a guest and a moderator that usually takes place in an auditorium or other in-person setting with an audience. 

With a virtual fireside chat, however, the moderator and guest don’t have to be in the same room — or even the same country.

🏷️ Sales kick-offs (SKOs)

Usually held at the beginning of the fiscal year, a sales kick-off’s purpose is to motivate the sales team and make sure they’re aligned with company goals. 

Sales kick-offs can boost team morale and set the tone for the year ahead. 

🎤 Conferences and trade shows

Conferences are another common virtual event type. They can last for a single day or multiple days. They typically include a moderator or MC, multiple speakers and keynotes, breakout meetings, networking activities, and other experiences to keep attendees engaged.

Conferences attract virtual attendees interested in shared industry topics, networking experiences, and educational opportunities. Lead generation is essential here, so expect to see free and paid events with varying access.

⛰️ Virtual summits and panel discussions

A summit is a gathering of leaders and influencers from a particular industry or experts on a specific topic to share ideas. They are typically smaller scale than conferences and tend to be invite-only. 

Summits and panel discussions usually focus on one area — business, academic research, or problem-solving. They can include webinars, Q&As, breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and downloadable resources. 

🎬 Brand activation events

A brand activation campaign can help introduce your company to your target audience by inviting them to interact with you. These experiential marketing events are designed to create  buzz around your brand and forge an emotional connection with your prospects.

Brand activation events run the gamut — they can include both virtual and in-person elements and be invitation-only or open to the public. You might, for example, host a product demonstration or partner with an influencer or another brand to host a webinar with a live Q&A session. 

⭐️ Micro events

On their own or as part of a larger event, micro events are small-scale virtual or hybrid events — for example, VIP events, lunch & learn sessions, or short networking events.

Micro events can help you narrow your audience to a specific demographic or to people who are interested in a particular topic. At the same time, they can help expand your reach by engaging with far-away potential customers online. 

🖥️ Webinars

Webinars are the original virtual events. They usually last 30 minutes to an hour and commonly function as either a demand-generation or a thought-leadership channel. If you hop on a webinar, you’ll likely find housekeeping notes (aka “this webinar will be recorded”), speakers, a slide deck, data, and a few tools — like Q&A or live polls — to maintain attendee engagement.

Organizations and creators looking to grow their audience can leverage webinars to drive leads and increase brand awareness and education around their services.

🎊 Festivals and award ceremonies

Fast-growing categories of virtual events include performing arts programs, music festivals, and award ceremonies (like Vimeo’s previous VFA). Organizations are adapting their experiences for an online-only audience and finding innovative ways to punch up the excitement.

Performing arts events may include live talent, exclusive interviews, or other live entertainment to keep audiences engaged. They often attract a broad audience coming together to celebrate an artist, a type of music, film, or entertainment.

⚾️ Sporting events

In the last few years, sporting events have adapted to the times, which means sports content covers everything from live-streamed games, on-demand games, live interviews, and other content to keep fandom alive.

🙏 Faith-based events

Local parishes are finding new opportunities through video. Faith-based communities find a lot of flexibility by live streaming their sermons and community events. 

Whether those events are services, classes, community workshops, or just a virtual gathering — live streaming helps a congregation stay connected even when they’re apart.

What’s the difference between virtual events and webinars?

Webinars and virtual events aren’t mutually exclusive. All webinars are virtual events, but not all virtual events are webinars! 

Webinars are typically:

• One-off events
• One hour long or less
• For lead generation or education

Virtual events tend to:

• Focus on experiences
• Include multiple sessions like panel discussions, breakouts, and keynotes
• Be more creatively or brand driven

The scale of a webinar is quite a bit different from other virtual events. Webinars are usually smaller, a lower lift for teams, and typically draw a smaller registration pool. 

Virtual events are more extensive, require more resources, and attract a larger audience.

How to plan and host a virtual event

There are a couple of misconceptions about virtual events: the first myth is that you can copy and paste an in-person event into a virtual event. Unfortunately, not all in-person experiences translate in a digital space, especially when you’re competing with live events for the audience’s attention and facing the uphill battle of digital fatigue. 

The second misconception is that virtual events take less time to plan than in-person events. Depending on the content you plan to produce for your event, you’ll need to allocate enough time to prep. Planning a large event online may take more than six weeks.  

The reality is that virtual events need just as much time and attention as in-person events to be incredible experiences. These tips will help you hit the ground running when planning a virtual event. 

1. Determine your virtual event goals

Before you plan your virtual event, you’ll need to identify event goals. Establishing goals also helps determine the type of event you’ll produce.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the goals for my virtual event?
• Is this an internal or external-facing event?
• How many event sessions will we have?
• Will the event registration be free, paid, or a combination of both?

2. Identify your target audience

Any seasoned event organizer will tell you the most important KPI is the attendee experience. Make sure your virtual event hits the mark by clearly identifying your audience beforehand.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who am I trying to reach?  
• How will I reach them?
• How will my audience interact?

Once you know your audience, you’ll know what kinds of content to create. 

3. Set a budget

The costs of virtual events can vary widely, from an internal webinar that only costs what you pay for your hosting software to a multi-day virtual conference that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. 

Depending on the scale of your event, things you’ll need to account for include: 

• Software: You may have separate platforms for registration and ticketing, producing, and hosting the event, or you can use an all-in-one event management software like Vimeo Events. 
• Content production: You might have your own cameras, lights, and microphones, or you might hire a production team with their own equipment.
• Presenter kits: If you have multiple speakers from different locations, sending them each a kit with the same ring light, microphone, and webcam will ensure they are all high-quality videos.
• Speaker fees: Some speakers are happy for the exposure, but a professional or celebrity speaker could cost thousands of dollars.
• Swag bags: Sending gift bags to registrants helps amp up their excitement for the event and makes up for the giveaways they’d expect at an onsite event.
• Marketing: Don’t forget event promotion, like email campaigns, pay-per-click and social media ads, and radio, print, and billboard advertising.

Check out our free virtual event budgeting guide for more info.

4. Build your event registration page

If you’re streaming an event that you’d like to sell tickets for — or just control access to — you’ll need an event or webinar registration page. With a dedicated event platform like Vimeo Events, you can easily set up events, integrate your CRM, and create a registration flow.

“We’re intentionally building a sense of exclusivity around our live streams, so it’s not like tuning in to an Instagram Live stream with thousands of other people,” Will Steinberg, Co-President of Zinc Agency, told us. “Those elements of connection have been really important.”

“We’re intentionally building a sense of exclusivity around our live streams, so it’s not like tuning in to an Instagram Live stream with thousands of other people. Those elements of connection have been really important.”

— Will Steinberg, Co-President of Zinc Agency

5. Set up custom reminder emails

A successful strategy is critical for driving attendance. When someone registers for your event or webinar, send them a series of emails to get them excited about the event. 

Customize your emails with your logo, branding colors, content, dynamic tags, and links to make it easier for your attendees to experience your event how you want them to.

6. Create stream-worthy content

Content dictates everything when producing a live event — how you shoot it, what type of cameras you’ll use, how to light it, and even some of your encoding and technical choices.

Focus on these five components to create awesome virtual content:

• Relevance: Make sure the live-streaming content aligns with the intended audience’s interests and matches your brand voice.
• Engagement: Keep viewers engaged by encouraging interaction with the stream (we love to keep things exciting with the live chat feature). Keeping the audience entertained will make sure attendees get the most out of the event.
• Succinctness: While event attendees are willing to immerse themselves in daylong experiences for in-person events, they have much less patience for a seven-hour live stream. According to a Virtual Events Benchmark Report, only 42% of all attendees watch the entirety of a virtual session. Remember to provide only the most relevant and engaging content and keep sessions short.
• Consistency: If possible, turn the live event into a series (either annually or otherwise). “Keeping your events consistent is a guaranteed way to increase brand awareness and brand equity while engaging meaningfully with your audience,” says Vimeo’s Live Production Lead, Tom Gott.
• Takeaways: What is the call to action at the end of the virtual event? If you want to convert the audience, make sure to facilitate viewer interaction after the event is over with follow-up emails and surveys about their experience.

Once you have an idea of the type of content you plan to produce, solidify all the details in an event run of show.

7. Make it interactive

Your job is to make the viewing audience feel like they’re there in person — even if they’re watching in their PJs. To impress your online audience, make your digital experience match what you’d expect from an in-person event. Create an engaging experience with tools like Q&A, live polls, and live graphics.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival team used Vimeo’s live chat feature for their Q&As — and it worked like a charm. “I was surprised at how much of that community sensibility I felt knowing everybody was viewing it together,” said Director Leslie Raymond. “The chat brought some great energy to the online experience.”

According to Vimeo’s virtual event statistics reporting, participants believe Q&As and tutorials work best for virtual events.

8. Test everything

The first rule of live streaming? Test. Everything. Nearly 40% of marketers say they experience technical problems when hosting a virtual event. 

The best thing you can do to prevent mishaps during your online event is to test everything — but most importantly, your stream. 

Test primary equipment workflows, backup equipment workflows, audio quality, video quality, internet connection, and any redundancies. Confirm your upload speed by testing your connection at a website like Speedtest.net. Schedule time to test your video production equipment both off-site and on-site.

Wondering what gear you need to live stream? Read this.

9. Create a remote broadcast checklist

It’s likely that (in the short term) you’ll collaborate with a distributed workforce on your virtual event. Here’s a quick checklist of what you’ll need:

• Connectivity: Chances are your company’s office Wi-Fi is better than what you have at home. Check your speeds and, when possible, use a wired connection.
• Capture: How will your audience enjoy your content? Think about what cameras and mics you’ll use and how you’ll bring in remote guests to your virtual event.
• Encode: What software will you use to bring your event into the internet ether? We’re keen on Livestream Studio 6, but there are other options out there, too.
• Distribute: Where will your virtual event live? Think about whether you’ll want to secure the content (like with SSO), or spread it far and wide (think simulcasting).
• Engage: A beautiful viewing experience is only part of what makes a great virtual event. Audience engagement tools like live Q&A, polls, and chat can help create a memorable event.

10. Prepare for “Murphy’s Law”

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” Tom says. But don’t let that scare you! If you identify the things that might go wrong, you can create a plan for handling them. 

Go in with a plan, solid tech, a top-of-the-line ticketing platform, and the right support, and you’ll be prepared for anything that comes your way.

11. Follow up post event

Ideally, the post-event experience will engage registrants and attendees long after the event ends. 

Consider creating a web page or portal for on-demand webinar or event content and make them accessible for those who registered. And to keep your event content polished, plan to trim your videos and add chapters to help your viewers find the content they need quickly.

A comprehensive virtual event platform can help you plan out your presentation content, gate your experience to help you drive leads, and provide production tools to create a stream-worthy experience, all while providing analytics and automation to make it less of a hassle.

To learn more, check out our Vimeo experts on how to plan a virtual event.

5 reasons to invest in virtual events 

We get it. Pivoting to a virtual event for the first time can be daunting. Around the internet, it’s clear that virtual events are an effective way for event marketers to reach a broader audience. Here are a few reasons why your next digital experience might have even more payoff than your last IRL one.

🤳 Virtual events extend your reach

In an August 2021 survey by Kaltura, 36% of marketers said increased registrations are the biggest benefit of hosting events virtually. We’ve seen customers expand their reach 50x by simulcasting a conference stream to social channels like LinkedIn and Facebook.

Leslie noted that they were able to reach more people than ever during their first year going virtual. “We saw our audience grow from 10,000 ticket holders to 16,000 streams from 50 countries, with over 27,000 viewers for the whole week,” says Leslie.

“We saw our audience grow from 10,000 ticket holders to 16,000 streams from 50 countries, with over 27,000 viewers for the whole week.”

— Leslie Raymond, Director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival

👥 Virtual events democratize your experience

Anthony Rudolf, partner at creative agency Co.create NYC, leverages live video for their annual Welcome Conference for hospitality workers.

“We’ve used live video at the Welcome Conference since day one,” Anthony says. “Restaurant and hospitality workers are overworked and underpaid, so the likelihood that they would have the time or finances to attend was small. We looked at video as a way to really democratize the talks that were happening.”

📚 Virtual events extend the shelf life of your content

Your content will continue to be valuable once the online conference is over. Videos and talks can live on as a branded, searchable experience that can continue to drive leads and engagement.

“One benefit to hosting virtual events is that when they’re over, you have the recordings,” says Tonya Cardinali, Head of Marketing at AMCS Group. “Then you can use those to generate demand by distributing them throughout your marketing channels.”

🎨 Virtual events allow you to get creative

With an online-only experience, you can play with content formats, bring in additional speakers as remote guests, explore new revenue streams, and engage your audience in a measurable way. 

Will has discovered even more opportunities for customer engagement using virtual events. 

“We’re finding more educational elements in live streaming as opposed to what we’ve done in the in-person space,” says Will. “With our culinary events, a chef used to do a demonstration, and the guests would enjoy their dining experience at the venue. Now, we’re sending out meal kits and branded aprons before the live stream even starts, and it’s become a much more hands-on experience. That’s a huge benefit that we were never really able to take advantage of before during in-person events.”

“With our culinary events, a chef used to do a demonstration, and the guests would enjoy their dining experience at the venue. Now, we’re sending out meal kits and branded aprons before the live stream even starts, and it’s become a much more hands-on experience.”

— Will Steinberg, Co-President of Zinc Agency

Virtual event FAQ

Are you ready to host your first virtual event? Here are a few frequently asked questions that might help you with your planning. 

What are some virtual events examples?

Organizations from all kinds of industries are expanding their audience with virtual and hybrid events. A few examples from the last year include: 

• Global Virtual MarTech Summit
• Think
• Adobe Virtual Summit
• Inbound
• Red Hat Summit

What’s the best virtual events platform?

There’s no shortage of virtual event-hosting software to choose from (like Vimeo Events). Things to consider, aside from cost, when deciding on a virtual events platform are: 

• User-friendliness
• Integrations (with your CRM and email programs)
• Stream quality
• Analytics
• Audience engagement
• Customer support
• Cost

Check out our guide on the six best virtual events platforms according to customer reviews. 

How much do virtual events cost?

Beyond the cost of software, you need to consider things like marketing, equipment and production fees, and speaker fees. 

Hosting an internal webinar will only cost your time and what you pay for your hosting platform. Sponsoring a webinar on another website can cost $5,000-$12,000, said Cardinali. A multi-day virtual event can cost as much as $100,000. 

Virtual events are here to stay

The global virtual events industry is expected to grow tenfold — from $78 billion to $774 billion — from 2021 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. 

As more organizations turn to virtual event hosting, it’s essential to stand out with compelling, seamless virtual events that not only engage, but wow your attendees.

Vimeo Events can help your virtual events go off without a hitch.