Ten Decisions Every Virtual Conference Organizer Must Make

Posted on December 14, 2020, by Michael Kolowich

At the end of a year in which we helped run 367 virtual conferences — nearly every one of which had been a physical conference in previous years — we’ve learned a thing or two about how to plan and execute a successful virtual conference.

In planning a virtual conference — whether it is an adaptation of a previously physical conference or an entirely new conference concept — there are ten critical decisions which should be discussed, made, and communicated early in the process.

Here is a checklist that we at OpenExchange use as a discussion guide with clients who are planning a virtual conference.  Based on the answers to these ten questions, we provide recommendations and best practices to assist in your decision making, and we can help define when the most critical implementation steps need to be complete.

In later posts in this series, we’ll examine many of these questions in detail, along with the options for ensuring that your attendees, speakers and sponsors have the best possible virtual conference experience.

1. What is the agenda and the best mix of conference formats?

  • Keynote and general (plenary) sessions or fireside chats • Company or breakout presentations
  • Pre-scheduled Individual or small group meetings
  • Open, unscheduled virtual meeting or networking spaces
  • Whether sponsor showcases and/or meeting spaces will be supported

2. Will the entire conference be live, or will portions be pre-recorded and played as “simulated live” streams?

3. How will attendees register for the conference, and how will they get access?

4. Will the conference content be available on-demand after the conference is complete, and for how long?

5. How will individual and small group meetings be scheduled, structured, and managed?

6. Will corporate or sponsor presenters be able to simulcast the live stream and distribute video for use on, for example, corporate investor relations websites?

7. How stylized do you want to make the experience, in terms of colors, fonts, logos, and other elements of branding?

8. Is it acceptable to use Zoom or is it necessary to accommodate a diverse array of video sources?

9. Do you wish to preserve or repurpose any of the most valuable conference content?

10. What analytics and reports do you want for yourself as a conference organizer, and for participating companies and sponsors?