So, you’re seriously considering a virtual event or a hybrid event that will make virtual a major part of your live event strategy. How do you get started? Now that virtual is making waves in the industry, resources and information on doing virtual “right” abound. Earlier this year, the Virtual Edge Summit, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, featured two jam-packed days of sessions featuring the leading minds in virtual events. EXPOwas on-site, and we culled the 22 best tips for creating and executing a virtual event.

GETTING STARTED

Be Relevant. Just as much as in a live event, content is king in the virtual space. Even when it’s free, it still requires an effort for attendees to log on and take time out of their work day to tune in. Think in advance about how you’ll provide content. Will you be able to leverage a relationship with an internal asset like a magazine? The key is to find what will fill an unmet need and resonate in the workplace. “You need to identify the key opportunities and challenges in your market where digital assets can provide a solution,” says Michael Kushner, President and Founder for Virtual Media Strategies.

Identify Your Business Model. There are two principal business models in virtual events. The first, and most popular, is a model where the event is underwritten by sponsors and exhibitors. and attendees come free or pay a nominal charge. Another model is the pay-perview model, which relies heavily on attendee registration fees. Before opting for the latter model, consider whether you will be able to deliver the content necessary to drive attendees to pay a significant fee to attend. The pay-per-view model is used most often when the educational component has a certification or education unit to it that attendees can tout to their employers to get an internal sign-off for attendance.

Timeline. Just as with physical events, a timeline is critical. And be forewarned — there’s no real time savings in producing virtual events. They’re just as much work and take just as much time as physical events. Consider what internal and external deliverables are needed and when those needs must be met. One of the more frustrating elements of producing virtual events is that, since they’re not traveling, many people — exhibitors and attendees — will wait until the last minute to make decisions. Try to build in incentives for speeding the process. “You really need to create a project status report,” Kushner says. “The dates you pick are very, very important. You need time to do research in the marketplace. When you build a timeline, it’s important to pick the date of execution and go backward.”

Keep It Simple. When choosing a provider and customizing a virtual experience, don’t get too distracted with a flashy user experience. Instead of a Second Life-esque experience, most attendees these days want something relatively easy and user-friendly and that doesn’t require much on their part to get going.

Establish Benchmarks. Set your criteria and benchmarks for success, even for pre-event measurement of your internal efforts. For example, set a number of minimum sales calls that your sales team has to make and figure out how many exhibitors or sponsors have to sign-on before you decide whether the event is truly a “go” or “no-go.” Make sure to set that date before you incur significant costs to your technology provider.

Allocate Internal Resources. Whether you’re creating a standalone virtual event or a virtual event as a supplement to your live event, know that just because it’s hosted online doesn’t mean that it’s a mere fraction of the work. For example, while exhibitors at your event may be used to setting up and tearing down, creating a booth in the virtual event space might be a totally new experience for them. Even though most of the tools are very user-friendly, some handholding will be required. Make sure you have the internal support necessary in advance to take on these problems.

ATTENDEE ACQUISITION

Partner Up. Finding and bringing in the appropriate partners will lend credibility to your brand and event and pique attendee interest. Further leverage those relationships by offering key partners something of value at the event (like a partner booth) in exchange for having them cross-promote your event to their own lists. With this approach, more attendees will be receiving new and varied messaging about the event from a number of sources. “Even if you have a great brand and a great event, you can get the benefit of having those partners cross-promote you,” says John Grosshandler, Director of Virtual Engagement for Maritz.

Get Online. Online communities are key to promoting and generating buzz for online events. Connecting your event with an online community (either a private, proprietary one or one on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter), will give attendees and exhibitors more places to connect. “It empowers your users to start creating and participating in the content,” says Eric Olsen, Associate General Manager of ActiveEvents. “It allows you to extend the experience far beyond the actual event.” One key to success: Have a single sign-on in your registration page that allows registrants to join the group immediately and invite others to join them as well.

Give Attendees a Taste. Sure, it’s tempting to play your content a little close to the vest before an upcoming event because letting too much information out might deter potential registrants from registering when they can access the content freely. But think about how offering a bit of your content in advance might push reticent attendees into following through. Consider a couple of Webinars a few weeks or months in advance of the event to attract attendees.

Narrow Your Targets. One of the benefits of virtual events is that the marketing occurs primarily online. E-marketing gives you opportunities to learn more about attendees than just about any other marketing strategy. Use behavioral factors and data from e-marketing efforts to tailor your approach. For example: After a potential attendee clicks through an e-mail to your event page, you can see what page or pages she checks out. Why not send targeted follow-up messaging about that topic?

Turn Attendees into Promoters. With the advent of online social communities like Facebook and Twitter, sometimes your attendees can be your best promoters. “Turning your attendees and partners into attendance drivers becomes even more important virtually,” Grosshandler says. Harness their know-how and energy by providing them with the tools they need, including links to Facebook groups and pages as well as Twitter handles and appropriate Twitter hashtags.

TARGETING COMMON PROBLEMS

Knowing the Technology. Don’t assume that your presenter knows how to use the virtual event technology. Worst-case scenario: She won’t be able to figure it out and you’ll be left with an empty session and scores of upset attendees. Make sure to do a run-through with all presenters in the days leading up to the event. First-timers will likely need more training than others who are familiar with virtual environments or Webinars. “For someone who has done a Webinar or a virtual event before, the focus is on briefing them on the specific technology for this event,” says Dennis Shiao, Director of Product Marketing, InXpo. “If they’re a firsttimer, you’re going to want to do more of a ‘101’ education strategy.”

Consider Pre-Recording. A way to avoid many technology problems altogether is by pre-recording sessions. This will give presenters more flexibility in scheduling their time for the presentation and may also alleviate nerves about participating in the virtual environment. Bring in the speakers at the end of the session for a truly live Q&A so attendees can interact with the presenters as they would at a live show.

Schedule a Sneak Preview. Schedule a sneak preview (attendance mandatory) for exhibitors to get used to the virtual environment. This will give exhibitors a chance to see how they’ll actually engage with attendees during the event. “Open up the virtual event just to the exhibitors and the presenters a few days before the event,” Shiao says. “Keep it open the entire day, and give them an opportunity to familiarize themselves.”

Monitor Networking Chats. Most virtual events have a common area, like a networking lounge, where people can chat. Keep chats going (and on target) by leveraging relationships with subject-matter experts; having either a knowledgeable industry expert or your staff externally monitoring the sessions and positing questions at the appropriate times can keep the conversation going all day long.

ENGAGEMENT

Get Interactive. What are new and different ways you can involve attendees before, during and after the event? Think about games or contests that will get attendees involved and create buzz for your event. A contest that allows attendees to collaborate on content for the show is one easy way to get people involved.

Prepare Exhibitors. Engagement between exhibitors and attendees can be challenging in the virtual environment. Plan to spend lots of time helping exhibitors create compelling booths that aren’t just full of PDFs and links to Web sites. Help them with games, timed presentations/demos and virtual “approaches” to attendees.

Get Off the Stage. One nice thing about virtual events is that presenters don’t necessarily have to be restricted to a stage or a boardroom. Think about new and interesting environments where presenters can do their sessions that might break up the monotony for attendees viewing the show. “You can basically create presentations anywhere,” says Spencer Jarrett, Director of Creative Services for InVision Communications. “Your speakers aren’t limited to a stage.”

Go Mobile. Allow attendees and exhibitors to opt-in at registration and then use (but don’t over-use) mobile as another channel to connect with constituencies before and during the show. Mobile can be used via an application for smartphones or texts for almost all phones. Use messages to send updates and promote contests and other goings-on at the show. “This will increase the amount of touch you have with your audience,” Jarrett says.

Keep It Short. When attendees are watching from their computers and not sitting in a physical space, it’s more difficult than ever to keep their attention. One key: Keep presentations short, energetic and on-point. Work with presenters to drilldown a 45-minute presentation to 30 minutes or a 30-minute presentation down to 15. Busy attendees will appreciate the quick-hit content approach.

Customize. Don’t just take your live content and regurgitate it online. Examine what you have and what would work best for the online environment. If resources are limited, that might mean editing the live content in the best way possible and supplementing it with other content well tailored for the virtual environment.

Use Live Polling. Allowing virtual attendees to weigh in with their own feedback on live polls will help keep their attention focused on the content (and away from the other projects calling on their desktop). Plus, the presenter can use the feedback as a jumping off point for the next part in her presentation.

Want more virtual pointers? Check out all of the Virtual Edge content at www.virtualedgesummit.com.