Virtual Event Planning Checklist by an Award-Winning Agency

Establish Goals – What are your primary and secondary goals for the virtual conference or summit? Which take priority or have dependencies? Examples we see among our client goal sets are revenue generation and/or fundraising; email list growth; social media community growth and engagement; expanding audience reach and authority; nurturing partnerships and sponsor relations; facilitating specific follow-up actions.

Conference vs. Summit – A virtual summit often includes a single host/moderator who guides the conversation of panelists, guest speakers and interviewees. The focus is a message and call to action, therefore you tend to see fewer interactive features. A virtual conference usually provides more variety in session formats, interactivity, “main stage” & “break-out room” virtual venues, vendor area(s), networking opportunities and contests, to name a few.

Who, When, Where, and How? – Determine a window on your organization’s calendar that works for you and your speakers. Consider differences in time zones, any geography-related logistics and needed speaker tech trainings.

What’s Your Budget? – As you think about logistics and technical overhead, your budget comes into view. Will Zoom plus a few affordable app integrations foster the experience you have in mind, or will you need to invest in a more robust platform? Run a cost-benefit analysis on taking things in-house vs. outsourcing. Also, don’t forget to budget for marketing and promotion!

Income – This can include online ticket sales, sponsorship, donor base, fundraising proceeds, or merchandise sales. Be realistic.

Event expenses – Think of everything you might need to spend on, from technology costs to entertainment and staffing and speaker costs. Create a buffer in your budget.

Promotional expenses – The marketing strategy for promoting your virtual event is extremely important. Depending on what you want to do, you might need to set aside a budget for paid ads, public relations, paid social media, or direct mail.

Contingency fund – When it comes to organizing events, there will always be unexpected costs. Give yourself a separate budget for these unforeseen expenses.

Track estimated vs. actual costs – You need to have two budgets: estimated income vs. expense and the actual running total of your income vs. expenses. Be as detailed as possible so you can budget and plan better.

Free or Paid? – Having goals and (at least) a ballpark budget in place will help you determine if event registration should be free or paid. If your top goal is community growth (on email, social media, etc.) then free might be your best bet. If your event has can’t-miss features like celebrity performances or prize incentives, a ticket fee might seem reasonable to attendees.

Brainstorm Your Agenda – One helpful exercise at this stage is to imagine the point at which you have speakers and dates firmly in place. Depending on the scale of your event, this can be a personal mental exercise or a team brainstorm. Start with your gut: Who would you/your team want to see in the event line-up? What thought-provoking titles & taglines would color your agenda? It’s useful to start here because you can work backwards from your vision and objectives and see what is and isn’t possible. This will help you and your team express themselves, and, in the long run, set realistic expectations.

How Many Speakers? – This item goes hand-in-hand with event duration (see next). The number of speakers and their respective availability helps you understand how the number of required sessions and days. It’s best to prioritize your speaker list before you begin soliciting their participation. There are some you’ll want to make special accommodations for because of their prominence or availability. Also, keep a deep enough bench of backup options should someone have to cancel.

Event Duration – Online summits tend to be of shorter duration, often one or two days. When you’re organizing a virtual conference, the possibilities for additional days, sessions and features can seem endless. Fortunately, you’ve covered the checklist items previous to this one. Knowing your budget, goals, speakers, etc. will help you right-size the duration.

Keep Sessions Short(er) and Informative – Be aware of session length. Make sure to include various content formats and keep presentations engaging. Keep sessions shorter than you normally would in an offline event.

Team – You started to consider the roles your staff will have in the budgeting process. Now that your conference or summit is taking shape you can see who goes where and when. It’s worth your time to write out brief descriptions of each person’s role, who they answer to and work with, and what their respective goals are. Typical roles include: director/vision; speaker outreach/management; sponsor outreach/fulfillment; partner/ affiliate outreach/support; software research/setup/training/support; marketing, advertising and promotion.

Create a Promotion Calendar! – Based on your target audience(s), conference/summit goals and agenda, define the story and content types that will promote it most effectively. Then determine in which channels (email, social posts, ads, sms, calls) that story will resonate best with your audience and how. Don’t forget that your speakers and partners will be part of this arsenal. You will have put work into getting them so put them to work for you.

Make it Fun & Interactive – Virtual conferences and summits have come a long way, so the bar is high to make it stand out. But the options are many: e.g., virtual performances by guest artists; crowd-sourced lip-synching; games; interactive discussions; host a talent show or a dance party.