Virtual conferences were once seen as a novelty and second best to their conventional counterparts. However, their explosion in popularity has proven their worth as a platform for knowledge sharing and a venue for networking. Whether you’re thinking about hosting an internal online get-together, scouting for candidates with a virtual career fair, or connecting with potential clients, virtual conference areas are the way to go.
Need help creating more engaging virtual conferences? Below, we’ll explore some of the best virtual conference ideas you can put to use.
The Importance of Virtual Conferences
In an era when more people are working online than ever before, virtual conferences and online get-togethers are becoming increasingly important. For many working professionals, these events are one of the times they have to connect with colleagues on a face-to-face level. What’s more, virtual conferences help sell the core values of a company culture.
Rather than being a second-rate alternative to the real thing, virtual conferences are both effective and affordable. As nobody needs to travel to attend, you have more flexibility when it comes to booking high-profile guest speakers and other industry insiders. Additionally, all those associated costs like hospitality and venue here won’t apply.
Best Practices For Engaging Virtual Conferences
For a successful event first get yourself familiarized with virtual conference best practices. Start by outlining the ultimate goal of your conference, before selecting a reliable video conferencing platform. If you’re welcoming third-party participants to your conference, you’ll also want to drum up interest with a compelling marketing strategy.
For maximum impact, ensure your conference stands out with insightful keynote speakers, in-depth webinars, and industry knowledge that set your company apart from the competition as a thought leader.
Implement Interactive Content & Activities
Worried about online conference engagement? As with any virtual event, it’s possible for interest to wane after a while. Fortunately, you can overcome this by incorporating interactive virtual elements and games.
Live Q&A and Polling
Live polls and Q&As are among the most popular interactive elements you can use to make your conferences more engaging. Turn to them to read the opinion of the room on hot topics or use them for bite-sized icebreaker games.
Breakout Rooms and Networking Events
If you’re hosting a large event, it makes sense to split the group into smaller breakout rooms. This way, everyone has a chance to offer their two cents and long-standing connections can be made.
Gamification and Challenges
Games are a terrific way of making your conference more engaging. Whether it’s a team-based game of corporate trivia or something more creative, a gamified virtual conference will encourage relative strangers to work together and force focus back toward your key messaging.
Creative Content Delivery for Engaging Virtual Conferences
Not sure what content assets you’ll need for an online conference? No matter what you’re covering, the following tools will always help.
Use Tools Like Whiteboards, Breakout Polls, and Collaborative Documents
If there’s an icebreaking element to your conference, you’ll need some collaboration tools so small teams can work together. Virtual whiteboards are a handy tool for teams to visualize ideas, while breakout polls allow you to gather real-time feedback from participants.
Live Performances and Entertainment For a Break
The longer your conference runs, the more breaks you’ll need to build into your agenda. Rather than switch to a blank screen, think about using live performances or high-quality videos to make things more interesting during those interludes.
Virtual Tours and Immersive Experiences
Are you keen to showcase your base of operations to future clients and prospective partners? Engage your audience with virtual tours of your premises to create a truly immersive experience that will help sell your brand.
15 Fun and Engaging Virtual Conference Ideas
Need some virtual conference inspiration? Try some of the below if you want to engage attendees and create a memorable impression.
1. Themed Contests and Challenges
For a lighter take on a virtual conference, make it a themed event. Costumes can be mandatory, while all of your games and interactive activities will be heavily inspired by your chosen theme.
2. Workshops and Skill-Sharing Sessions
A virtual reality conference workshop is a great way of upskilling your team and nurturing connections with third-party thought leaders.
3. Virtual Escape Rooms
Encourage collaboration with a brain-busting virtual escape room game. You can play a third-party title or create your own escape adventure from scratch.
4. Live Demonstrations and Product Showcases
Looking to turn potential leads into paying customers? Make your next virtual conference a thoughtful live demonstration of a new product.
5. Ask Me Anything (AMA) Sessions with Industry Experts
Assemble a line-up of seasoned industry experts, then open the floor to questions. By giving participants more flexibility with their questions, you’re more likely to engage quieter attendees who are itching to say something.
6. Virtual Career Fairs
An online virtual career fair is an effective way of engaging with the talent of tomorrow. What’s more, it’s far cheaper than holding a traditional event.
7. Virtual Hackathons or Innovation Challenges
Hackathons aren’t exactly a new invention, but these taxing challenges really test the gray matter. Get your teams thinking outside the box by adding one to your next virtual conference agenda.
8. Mental Wellness Breaks
Want to treat hard-working employees for a job well done? You can’t exactly sweep up a virtual team for a spa day, but you can send them care packages packed with top-quality treats so they can indulge remotely.
9. Post-Conference Social Events
Your conference might be over, but there’s still work to be done. Capitalize on all those networking connections by hosting follow-up social events in the wake of a successful conference.
10. Virtual Team-Building Exercises
From minute-long icebreakers to longer collaborative sessions, there’s plenty of opportunity to add some team-building exercises to your next online conference.
11. Virtual Daycare
If any of your attendees are working parents, think about offering virtual daycare services so that little ones are kept entertained remotely while the grown-ups get on with business.
12. Riddles and Icebreakers
Perfect for preempting a new presentation or talk from a guest speaker, riddles and icebreakers will give your teams a mental workout, helping them remain focused.
13. Trivia Championship
See how well your teams know your business with a business-themed round of trivia.
14. Online Guest Book
Make sure you have plenty of memories from a successful conference by creating an online guest book.
15. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
This activity really forces a team to work together as they unpick riddles and crack clues. You can play a game from an external provider or create your own scavenger hunt on company servers.
Choose Gloww for Your Next Virtual Conference
Virtual conferences are a good choice if you’re looking to network with potential clients, attract top-quality talent, or establish yourself as a thought leader in your sector. However, you’ll need the best tools at your disposal.
You can get things started with a virtual conference platform like Gloww. With a huge range of ready-made templates and a custom session builder to choose from, it’s easy to create an online event unlike anything ever seen before. To boost engagement, add interactive elements to your conference or think about gamification to maintain focus.
If you’re eager to get going, you can start with Gloww today. For more advanced features, you’ll probably want to check out our premium pricing packages. Do you have a question that needs answering? Feel free to get in touch.
Virtual Conference FAQs
1. What are the best interactive activities for virtual conferences?
With larger groups, simple games like trivia and question-and-answer rounds are your best bet.
2. What makes a good virtual conference?
For best results, anchor your conference to a central theme and create content around that. You should also think about bringing in high-profile speakers and industry insiders.
3. How can I make my conference more interesting?
Look for trending topics relevant to your industry, then see what your key competitors are doing as far as conferences are concerned. When creating your event, approach those trending topics from a different angle to make your offering stand out.
