It’s closing time at your virtual event. All talks are over; people exchanged ideas and contact details; there’s no more writing social media posts, inviting people to join the conversation. It may seem like the hard work is finally over, and all there’s left to do is thank everyone and reap the rewards. In reality, however, some of your event’s more important aspects are only about to begin.
That’s because good online events live forever, in more ways than one. They are not just online versions of physical events, but rather offer their own long-lasting value in content, community, and industry opportunities. To achieve this, we have to change how we build events, prepare for them, conduct them in real-time, and handle things once the official session is over.
Repurpose, reuse, recycle
Your virtual event most likely included valuable content. Instead of letting it fade away, make this value last. First, transform your visual event arena into a knowledge hub for visitors to enjoy and learn. Make sure that this hub is known, searchable, and user-friendly. Catalog your content based on topics and create campaigns around it that target the right groups. Your content should be published and promoted on various online channels.
Then, repurpose your content to create additional assets. Turn the video clips from your virtual event platform into written blog posts and vice versa. Conduct in-depth SEO research to include the right keywords within your descriptions and articles and improve your hub’s exposure. Invite members of your organization to participate in expanding it and spreading the word.
Stay in touch
Remember those networking sessions we mentioned earlier? Well, there’s no reason for them to end. Ever. The knowledge hub you’ve created should ideally cultivate an active community that may have started with the original event participants and speakers but could soon thrive as a gathering spot for anyone interested in your agenda. As industry leaders share their ideas and offer to help one another, further networking opportunities will also open.
This active community will inspire excellent ideas for your next events and content assets. The content assets you create will generate interest, but a strong community will keep the flame alive. Since building and maintaining community engagement is no easy task, prioritize it and allocate enough resources to succeed. Manage it correctly, and you’ll smooth the way towards high attendance and an easy speaker hiring process.
Look at the numbers
Analyzing the online event’s analytics should help you better grasp your target audience. First, you’ll learn which types of content were a hit and which ones missed. This should guide you as you build your follow-up content pipeline and decide which videos to develop into full-length articles and even content series.
It will also point to the right focal point for your community. The numbers you collect and the insights they offer will help make your next event an even bigger success and allow you to create more personalized experiences for interest groups. Thanks to virtual events’ techie nature, personalization is made possible, but it requires the reliable database you now have. Once you have a firm plan in place, your data should also boost your marketing and targeting efforts.
With the right content, community, and data insights by your side, your hard work is bound to pay off. It will take some effort, not to mention a bit of trial and error, but the goals you’re after are well worth it. Your virtual event platform of choice can influence both the process and outcome, so make sure to pick one that collects all the necessary data from the event and enables a smooth transition into a permanent knowledge hub. Follow this recipe, stay in tune with your specific business needs, and your virtual event’s after-party might turn out to be the main event. Feel free to reach out to Kaltura’s experts to learn more about the features you should focus on.
Planning a virtual event?
