Events can be broken down into pre-event planning and preparation, the actual delivery of the event and what needs to happen during the delivery, and post-event which is where a series of steps are taken to make the most of the event. Now that events are taking place almost exclusively in the virtual (i.e.- online) space, let’s look at how we can help ourselves create a great e-event program.
Below are some tips on understanding the process flow for effective event execution:
Plan key messages before planning any other event component
Having one over-riding key message and several important sub-messages worked out (and approved internally) is of crucial importance. This will drive all of the prep and creation work for your press releases, calendar news, spokesperson’s briefing docs, wrap-up release, etc. It’s a central part of all PR-based communication, and will affect every aspect of your online event.
Have a plan in place for technology or connection-related issues
You don’t personally need to be an IT expert to carry off your event in a glossy and effective way. You do need to plan out what could go wrong during a live seminar/broadcast though, and have a clear understanding of who in your team has the skills (or well-briefed connection on-site) to deal with any issues that arise in real time.
Leverage a variety of tools for monitoring & reporting post-event
It’s normal to feel a sense of relief when the event concludes and everyone seems pleased with how it’s gone. There is plenty to do in the couple of weeks immediately after, though. Your marketing team or directors will want to know which media and VIP guests were in attendance. It’s helpful too to be able to represent your digital attendance, e-newsletter registration and follow-up database activities in a visual way, for example via a dashboard or heat map, to make good sense of all of that valuable data.
Planning and delivering your own online-only events requires a lot of time, patience, energy and last-minute change planning. At Midas PR, we are highly experienced at producing e-events, and we would love to help you with yours, so reach out today by email and let us know what you need. Visit www.midas-pr.com for further information.