In-person events provide a unique ambiance and social experience that will continue to serve a significant purpose to businesses. However, the innovation, convenience, and affordability of digital tools and resources have sparked an influx of virtual events, from team and client meetings to launch parties and webinars (and everything in between). Of course, not all virtual events aren’t created equally, as they require thorough planning and execution. Acquiring the appropriate technologies is at the heart of factors to consider.
Are you interested in hosting virtual meetings or corporate events? Check out this list of must-have technologies to make the experience more enjoyable for you and your audience.
Planning, organizing, marketing, and monitoring virtual events is much easier when you have a dedicated website or page. Much like a wedding website for engaged couples, a site or page containing program-related information is ideal. It’s a one-stop shop for your target audience to learn essential details such as the event's title, date, time, and cost. It’s also a lot easier to integrate into your marketing campaign.
Your event website or platform should provide essential instructions for attendees, tech requirements, the agenda, names and contact info for speakers, audience feedback, promotional videos , and images from your last event to give viewers more insight into why they should attend.
Traditional methods of managing registration and payments, like mailing invites or sending out emails, are time-consuming and costly. So, if your event website doesn’t include RSVP or registration options, you’ll want to create a link or page for your guests.
Create branded, attractive, and user-friendly forms for attendees to supply their necessary information. Include a payment process that includes various methods, including credit/debit cards and online payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, or Venmo, to ensure everyone can cover registration costs.
Lastly, ensure that whichever registration and payment platform you use is secure, as data breaches are becoming more prevalent. Encryption, password protection, and two-step authentications are all effective ways to keep your guests’ data safe.
Many virtual events are streamed live for audiences to view in real time. However, you’ll need a secure platform to stream videos. Some of the most popular service providers include YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and Periscope.
When deciding which live streaming platform is best for your virtual event, keep factors like ease of use, security, content management tools, video editing capabilities, monetization, digital rights, and analytics. It is also worth considering the preferences of your target audience.
Keeping your audience engaged is crucial, whether showcasing your latest product features, training your team, pitching to prospective clients, or giving a speech on industry-related topics to colleagues. However, it’s more challenging when hosting a virtual event. Everyone is accessing your content from various environments and devices and has different needs.
One way to keep guests interested in your virtual event is to utilize audience engagement tools like live polling software
. The platform works with video conferencing and live-streaming sites, allowing hosts to generate questions and get instant feedback from their audience. The analytic findings can provide insight into which topics your audience is most interested in, so you can fine-tune your event to meet or exceed their needs.
Other audience engagement tools include surveys, Q&A sessions, games, ice-breaking activities, images, videos, and learning modules. They all require audience participation and provide virtual event hosts with invaluable data that can be used to further their agenda and accomplish their goals.
Virtual events offer conveniences and economic advantages that in-person experiences can’t. They save individuals, business owners, and audiences time and money while helping them to overcome barriers like distance. However, hosting a virtual event is more than sending out a few emails, creating a meeting link, and hoping for the best. It starts with selecting innovative technologies to simplify the planning process and enhance the audience experience. Investing in the above resources will undoubtedly make your next virtual event one to remember.
Small businesses rely on a specific set of technologies but optimizing the way they are used can be challenging. It is a task that requires ongoing assessment, and you will need to be able to evaluate the different options. Making these adjustments requires you to be proactive and look for potential issues before they come up. There are several ways you can optimize the tech you use.
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Technology can help your fleet be more efficient, especially as your business grows. One way you can improve safety is by implementing GPS systems. Many fleets use GPS to make their operations more efficient, and more applications are being discovered every day. Are you wondering how does GPS work? You can review a fleet manager’s guide to GPS online.
You may find it hard to get enough resources together to keep your technology working as it should, and it is also harder for organizations to reach talent, so you might not have enough people to manage your technology. This can lead to it becoming outdated and inefficient. Even if you have the ability to hire someone else, you may not feel it is worth hiring a full-time employee for this. A managed service provider can help you fill in the gaps because they will be able to support your devices, apps, and services. They perform the same function as an IT team, without the need to hire full-time employees and cover salaries or benefits.
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Having the best equipment can give your employees more to work with, but if they do not know how to fully utilize it, it will not be effective. If they make common mistakes, they could end up causing more issues that take longer to solve. Don't assume every employee is comfortable with learning new technology. Instead, take the time to train them regularly.
A common mistake is a few employees using too many resources on the network. This makes the network slow for everyone. This might be because of an employee doing personal things, like watching videos, on company time. The more people who do this, the more the strain on the network. Another common issue is emailing large attachments instead of putting them on the cloud for everyone to view. Consider blocking common streaming sites and educating employees on how to put files on the cloud.
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Today, work does not happen in only one location. Even if you have an office space, you may do some tasks in your home or while on the road. While your staff may work in the office for now, there may come a time when they have to do some tasks remotely as well. They will need mobile access so they can work while on the go. Large desktops are not the only thing you can rely on anymore. You will need to supply teams with gadgets that allow them to work from anywhere.
Consider replacing these large devices with tablets, phones, or laptops. One solution may be convertible laptops with detachable screens. These can be used as either laptops or tablets. They can be hooked up to a dock station for in-office employees so the information can be displayed on a monitor, and it is easily transportable if going from site to site. Smartphones can also help your workforce be more mobile. They can connect through VPN services, which provide a secure connection to your business’s resources.
No matter how much work goes into optimizing your current infrastructure, it will not stay optimized for all eternity. You will need to watch key metrics and performance to ensure things are going as they should. You may need to hire an expert to help you out, or you may need to use special tools. Still, having an optimized system in place is critical to ensuring business operations continue to run smoothly. In fact, it may be the difference between failure and success. Still, even if a mistake does not lead to failure, not optimizing things efficiently can negatively impact productivity.
Promoting yourself online and having a strong digital presence are almost required in today’s business plans. You can implement digital marketing strategies and tools to help you build relationships with customers online. You can send emails to your email list, maintain your website, and leverage your social media presence. While you may not need a tool with all the bells and whistles, you may want a tool that can help you manage relationships with customers. There are also customer relationship management tools that can help you email customers and build content on your website.
You may want to pick one that will help you keep your site updated. It can also help you promote services and products. Some offer dynamic features, such as the ability to create custom forms, which can help you drive sales through lead generation. Many have tutorials and templates, which means you can get professional looking results, even if you are not a web designer. The reporting section will allow you to gain insights into visitors and potential customers. The reporting dashboard can help you tell whether posts or ads are generating enough traffic. Plus, you can see if your visitors are taking the actions you desire.
Your internet connection is likely one of the most important parts of your operations. If you don’t have it, it would take a long time to process sales, and you could be deep in paperwork. Still, it’s often hard to find a good internet service plan. While it may be tempting to use a plan designed for consumers, it may not meet your needs, and plans designed for larger businesses may be too expensive or fancy for your small business. Spend some time shopping around and ask providers in your area if they would be willing to create a personalized package for you.