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Welcome back to the ongoing discussion on key success factors for hosting a virtual event. This week, I would like to share a few more tips on this topic.

1. Not all vendors are equal; so do your homework: Focus on experience, reputation, system strength and solid service offering. If you need a lot of coaching and handholding for your first event, avoid vendors who offer deep discounts as their service operations will be highly limited.
»Attend a few virtual events held by various vendors: Even if the subject matter isn’t reflective of your industry, it will give you a fair understanding of what each vendor has to offer.
»Stability, Stability, Stability: If the platform isn’t stable, it won’t matter how appealing or engaging your content is. Therefore, it is paramount to pick a vendor who has a robust and field-tested platform.

2. Include funds from partners when setting a budget: When thinking about budget, don’t forget your ability to invite partners from your extended ecosystem that can help with monetization. This is a common practice observed by most event organizers.

3. Don’t forget about promotion: This is perhaps one of the most important elements to ensure a successful event. Promote a virtual event just like you would a physical event. Promoting it will undoubtedly increase the awareness of the event and maximize user attendance. Take the following tips into consideration when planning the promotion piece:
• Determine a reasonable cost per registration that encompasses all costs (promotion plus event execution).
• Get commitment from your sponsors to promote the event.
• Decide if you will you promote from your own database or buy media.

4. Be careful when you pick speakers: Finally, when it’s time to live up to the expectations that have been set for the event, it all boils down to 2 critical factors: Content and Delivery. No matter have thought provoking or high quality your content is, if it’s not delivered in an effective way that engages, captivates and grabs the audience’s attention, it will not create the impact that you might have envisioned. Therefore, it is absolutely critical to Train and coach your speakers, and enlist experienced professionals who are eloquent speakers and comfortable in front of the camera, to deliver the message and create the necessary impact with your target audience.

If you found the content in this posting useful, please leave us a comment. We would love to hear from you. To find out more, please visit us at www.virtualevents365.com and come back to this blog for more exciting discussion on virtual events.

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