FAQs
Your virtual event questions answered
Do you have a question about your next virtual meeting? Well, we have the answers. From what you need, what you don’t, (and what even is that?!) – we’re here to help!
1. What is the difference between a webinar, workshop or masterclass?
Webinar – A webinar can be a meeting or speaker that has ‘viewers,’ meaning people can watch and engage in Q&A or polling, but are primarily on the webcast to hear and view information being presented by a person or team of people. It allows content to be shared while also offering interactive elements with real time discussion. Ideal for a smaller-sized audience of up to 200 people.
Workshop – A workshop is one of the most interactive ways to engage with your audience. It is typically delivered with one or a panel of speakers and a large part of it is dedicated to teaching the audience something. The best workshops have a specific, action-oriented purpose, and aim to generate some concrete answers to current problems in the field. Workshops are a good opportunity to learn new skills and to familiarise yourself with a topic you don’t know well.
Masterclass – A masterclass is very similar to a webinar, but to run a masterclass the speaker needs to have an established presence in their industry. They need to be seen as an expert and have a following to match.
2. How to increase audience engagement in a virtual event?
There are many ways to increase engagement in your virtual event, webinar, workshop or masterclass. Here are just a few of the most successful ideas:
- Involve your audience through polls and regular questions
- Get your audience to complete a worksheet or a task during the event so they have something tangible to take away
- Offer perks, bonuses or goodie bags
3. What if the technology fails me on the day of my event?
Virtual events rely on technology more than anything else and although we cannot guarantee that the technology won’t fail on the day, we do take precautions to minimise the risk.
We do a test run of the virtual event 1 week before, where we try and ‘break it’ by doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
It’s important to do the test run not only from the presenter’s point of view but also from the participant’s.
This gives us the chance to iron out any faults, ensure we have back up to the materials shared and are also able to answer any participant queries on the day etc.
As part of the service we provide, we also attend your event and are on the ground support team. Whether it’s supporting someone in the audience or helping you with managing the Q&A (e.g. who asked first etc).
Finally, even after all the precautions if the tech does fail, what we find is that being honest and managing customer expectations works really well. What audience don’t like the most is being kept in the dark and getting frustrated without explanation. So we ensure that we are there to offer explanation and inform your audience as required.
4. How to make money from your virtual event?
This really comes down to your goals and objectives. What will be your KPIs (key performance indicators) and how do you measure the success of your virtual event?
Events are good for business in many ways. Using events you can draw in a crowd and put more eyes on your products and services. They give you the opportunity to show off your expertise and share value with your audience.
Ultimately, events help you grow your audience, increase brand awareness and improve customer loyalty.
- You can choose to run your event for free or charge a nominal fee for tickets. Either option has its pros and cons.
- You can collaborate or invite other businesses to sponsor your event.
The most important thing is that you know exactly what you are looking to gain from the virtual event.
If it’s audience growth you are after, then the KPIs could be more people on your mailing list and increase in social media following. If you are looking to increase customer loyalty, then consider the feedback you get now and how frequently and how the event could impact this. Brand awareness is potentially one that is harder to measure. However, as you will be promoting your event, you will be talking about your business, your expertise, your products and services, then brand awareness will be unquestionably heightened in the eyes of your audience.
5. How do I get people to attend my virtual event?
More often than not it is about having a plan and actually setting time and resources aside for telling your adience about your event.
A plan that meets your business goals and working out how the event can support your business growth objectives.
There are 2 key routes to promote your event, paid advertising and organic marketing, as well as a mixture of both.
Paid advertising – are the likes of Google, Facebook and LinkedIn Ads; outdoor advertising such as billboards; print media and so on. This also includes sponsorship and promotional collaboration. This is often suitable for larger events with 100+ attendees and a budget of at least £3,000+ per event.
Organic marketing – is all about harvesting the power of content and event specific promotional activity, such as pre-, during- and post-event communications. This includes the likes of lead magnets, email, blog writing, partnerships, PR and social media. If your event budget doesn’t quite stretch to £3,000 then using organic content is the way to go. We focus on creating evergreen content and audience engagement through value-led marketing. We look beyond the event day and really focus on the entire event process and how this can become an integral part of your business growth strategy.
Focusing on the value of your event and why this is so useful to your audience is the sole purpose at FORCE 4 EVENTS. We don’t just help you with the when and the where, but we talk extensively about the why, which allows a much deeper connection with your audience. And ultimately leads to better results.
Whether it’s organic marketing, paid marketing or a mixture of both, we work with you to devise an event startegy that meets your budget and your business goals. We help you unveil your secret sauce, grow your audience and bring repeat revenue for your business.