Virtual Conference Best Practices: How to Engage and Retain Your Audience

Virtual events can be a tough sell. There are numerous curveballs you’ve to face before, during, and after the event.

For example: 

• How to show value to attendees and get them to register? 
• How to keep them engaged, especially when they’re stuck behind a screen for hours. 
• How to build a community that stays active after the event ends?

While these challenges are real, they’re also totally solvable with the right approach.

In this blog, we’re sharing virtual conference best practices shared by experts like Muhammad Younas, Ruud Janssen, Tamar Beck, Dahlia El Gazzar, and Scott Gould, who’ve already mastered the art of virtual event management. 

Whether you’re looking to spark real-time interaction, create a landing page that drives registrations, or keep your community buzzing long after the event, we’ve got you covered.

Best Practices for Virtual Conference Before the Event

The way you plan your event and communicate value to attendees trickles down to how your event is going to be like. This is why it’s the most important phase of your virtual event, and needs some serious thought. Here’s what experts recommend you do before the event.

1. Design Your Event to Wow Stakeholders 

Event design and planning is a detailed process, but it’s not without structure. With the right approach, you can get it right. Here’s how:

Know Your Audience And Their Needs

First things first: Why do people want to attend your event? What do they hope to take away? If you’re not sure, now’s the time to know. 

Analyze what your audience is talking about on social media, what they appreciate in different events. Find out about their challenges and needs.

See if they are looking for better networking opportunities or want to gain more knowledge in a particular domain.

Once you have a clear understanding of their needs, shape your event to meet those expectations. Their preferences will guide key aspects of your event planning.

But remember, audience expectations are just one part of the puzzle. What’s the other piece? Keep reading!

Align Business and Audience Goals

Your business goals are as important as your audience’s goals. When you infuse the two together, you can start creating a winning event plan.

Start by jotting down what you want your event to do for you. Do you want to promote your brand? Or, you want to generate revenue? List down the primary and secondary goals for your business.

Once done, create a solid action plan for your virtual event. Everything from content to event features should align directly with both. To do this:

• Tailor your content to provide practical value that addresses attendee challenges. For example, if your audience is looking for actionable strategies, offer workshops or sessions that focus on real-world applications they can use immediately.
  
• Include event features that encourage interaction, like networking sessions or Q&A opportunities.
• Align your event based on your business goals. For example, if you’re aiming to secure sponsors, feature sponsor-led sessions, or give them visibility throughout the event to generate interest and engagement.

You can also use this free event planner template to start planning your event.

Be Ready to Adapt with Agility 

Even the best plans can hit a bump in the road, and that’s okay. You just have to be ready to adapt, which is a key part of virtual meeting best practices. Here’s what Ruud Janssen, the creator of the famous Event Design Canvas, had to say about being adaptive and agile when it comes to event planning, during our recent conversation.

Good event designers have multiple prototypes ready on the shelf to go for whatever the circumstance may be. And I think preparedness there and readiness is probably the one thing that everybody should have front and center when it comes to their events.

Ruud Janssen, Founder of Event Design Collective

Founder of Event Design Collective

You also need to make sure you’ve got some time and budget room for those last-minute curveballs, like tech issues or staffing hiccups. The key here is being able to pivot quickly and keep things on track, no matter what happens.

Choose the Right Event Technology Provider

With over 400 event tech vendors in the market, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Some claim to have the best integrations, while others focus on offering top virtual event platforms. To make the right choice, it’s essential to identify the specific tools you need to meet your event goals.

Start by mapping out the entire customer journey, from registration to post-event follow-up, and assess which tools you’ll need at each stage. Then, research which vendors provide those tools most effectively. 

Use platforms like G2 and Gartner to read reviews, and check third-party reports like Skift Meetings’ Event Tech Almanac for an unbiased, comprehensive view. For instance, vFairs scored a perfect 6/6 on integrations, 42/44 on feature set, and 12/13 for customer support in the latest analysis.

2. Marketing and Communication

The success of a virtual event heavily depends on how effectively you market and communicate with potential attendees before the event goes live. Here are some best practices for virtual meetings and conferences when it comes to marketing:

Landing Page Clarity and Content

Event planners usually jump into the nitty-gritties of registration form without giving much heed to the website.

Most of us worry about the registration form without realizing that even before someone goes to the registration form, the very first thing that they look at is the landing page. That's the first impression!

Muhammad Younas

CEO of vFairs

Your landing page is the first thing potential attendees see, so making a strong first impression is crucial. Focus on clear, concise, and essential information that will immediately grab attention and help your audience make a decision quickly. 

Here’s what your landing page should include:

• Compelling Headline: The headline should immediately communicate what the event is about and hook your audience. It should tie directly to the value attendees will receive, such as “Unlock Expert-Led Insights at Our Virtual Marketing Summit.”
• Event Details: Provide all logistical details at the top. This includes the event name, date, time, and clear details on whether it’s virtual or in-person. Don’t make attendees search for this info; it should be easy to find upfront.
  
• Target Audience: Clearly define who the event is for, whether it’s for marketers, tech innovators, or healthcare professionals, so attendees can quickly determine if it’s relevant to them.
  
• Event Agenda: Give a sneak peek into the content. List keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and topics to generate interest. Be specific but concise, and ensure the agenda appeals to your audience’s needs and interests.
  
• FAQ Section: A dedicated FAQ section is more important than you think it is. Include answers to common questions such as:

• • Is the event free or paid?
    
  • What platform will be used?
    
  • Are there any technical requirements to attend?
    
  • What should I prepare beforehand?

This eliminates any friction or confusion and builds trust.

• Testimonials: Testimonials are vital for social proof. Use quotes from past attendees or speakers to enhance credibility. Adding LinkedIn profiles or their photo humanizes these testimonials and makes them more trustworthy. 
• Visual Design and User Experience: While content is king, your landing page’s design matters too. It should look professional, be easy to navigate, and align with the event’s tone. Avoid clutter, use bold calls to action (CTAs), and ensure the registration form is easily accessible, ideally placed in the footer or above the fold.
  

Registration Form Design

Registration is an important stage of your event. You want to design the form in a way that people make it to the end, instead of dropping off midway. 

However, planners usually face this burning question:

There’s always this dilemma when event planners are designing registration forms — do we keep the form short to make it easier for people to sign up, or do we collect more information upfront so we can personalize their experience and improve networking.

Muhammad Younas

CEO of vFairs

Here’s how you can navigate this based on your event type:

• Simplified Forms for Low-Ask Events: For large-scale, low-engagement events (like expos), keep it simple. Only ask for the basics: name, email, company, and job title. Your goal is to minimize barriers to entry and make it easy for anyone to sign up.
• Wizard-Based Forms for High-Value Events: For more exclusive events (like senior-level networking), a multi-stage registration form can help capture more detailed information without overwhelming attendees. Use a wizard-style form with a progress bar to make the process feel smoother. Ask for information in stages, first basic details, then more personal and professional data in later steps.

Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing is your main communication tool to keep your audience engaged:

• Build a Nurture Strategy: Start building relationships with your audience months before the event. Share helpful content, resources, and updates that cater to their interests. Nurturing them in advance helps foster trust and improve conversions.
• Segmentation and Personalization: Segment your email list based on attendees’ challenges, interests, or goals. Use AI to personalize the content for each group.
  For instance, if you’re hosting a marketing event, send tailored emails to those interested in SEO, AI in marketing, or content creation, with speaker sessions relevant to each.
• A/B Testing and FOMO: Optimize subject lines to increase open rates. A/B test subject lines and content with smaller audience segments to figure out what resonates. As the event nears, create FOMO by using urgency-driven messaging like “Seats are almost gone!” but make sure the urgency is genuine to avoid losing credibility.
  

Leverage Word-of-Mouth and Advocacy

In times where trust is harder to build online, word-of-mouth and advocacy are your most powerful tools. Authentic recommendations are far more influential than traditional advertising. Here’s how to encourage advocacy using virtual collaboration best practices:

• Activate Speakers as Advocates: Speakers are a trusted source of information, so encourage them to promote the event to their networks. Provide them with easy-to-share promotional assets, including social media posts and email templates. When speakers talk about your event, it adds tremendous credibility, especially if they have large, engaged audiences.
• Encourage Attendee Advocacy: Getting attendees to share about your event is one of the best marketing strategies because people trust the word of people they know the most. 

Here’s what Tamar Beck, an expert in event marketing, shared with us during our recent conversation with her. According to her, even though it’s conventional, no marketing method can beat word-of-mouth marketing.

The more you can get real people, those actual participants, talking to each other about your event and recommending it to others, the better. When they share that they’re going to be there, it provides valuable social proof. An email from a brand just doesn’t have the same effect. Of course, a brand will say it’s the best event in the sector, why wouldn’t they?

Tamar Beck

CEO of Gleanin

Create incentives for sharing the event, such as exclusive content, discounts, or even contest entries. You can make it easy for attendees by giving them shareable assets, like social media posts, banners, and graphics.

Make It Personal with AI

One of the most promising benefits of AI is that it enables you to personalize your event experience.

You can use AI-powered tools to tailor content based on individual preferences. For instance, AI can suggest relevant session tracks, workshops, or networking opportunities based on the attendees’ interests. By using AI, you can significantly increase engagement, making attendees feel like the event is uniquely designed for them.

Plus, AI can personalize emails, providing each attendee with tailored information, such as session reminders or post-event resources. This boosts engagement and ensures attendees feel valued.

SMS/WhatsApp for Targeted Communication

When considering best practices for virtual communication, incorporating SMS or WhatsApp for important, high-impact messages is highly recommended.  These channels are great for quick reminders, updates, or last-minute changes. Because people are more likely to read texts than emails, SMS and WhatsApp can be powerful for making sure attendees don’t miss key information.

However, make sure you’re using these tools for high-value communication and for those who have opted in. For instance, they can be particularly useful for sending personal event reminders or alerting VIP attendees to exclusive networking opportunities.

Best Practices for Virtual Events During the Event

Distractions are just a click away in a virtual setting, so keeping your audience engaged is crucial. But don’t worry, we’ve got web-conferencing best practices from event pros who know exactly how to keep audiences hooked, and we’re here to share their secrets with you.

1. Create Engaging Content & Presentations

The core of any successful event is its content and how it’s delivered. If it’s a speaker delivering a one-sided lecture on the screen, no one’s going to listen. But if it is experts having fireside chats on hot topics, or the audience sharing personal opinions, it’s going to be more captivating.

Here’s what you can do to hook the audience throughout the event:

• Prioritize Live Content and Real-Time Interaction: Pre-recorded sessions have their place, but live content is where the magic happens. It allows attendees to ask questions and get instant feedback, making the experience feel more personal and engaging.
  Prioritize live sessions with real-time Q&A features, where attendees can submit questions during the session and hear direct responses. Another option is having a “raise hand” feature, allowing participants to join the conversation by asking questions or offering insights.
• Deliver Dynamic, Tactical, and Debatable Content: Keep things exciting by ensuring your content isn’t just passive. Add some energy, some drama, or some argument to your sessions, even if they are about all the geeky stuff. That’s exactly what was shared with us from Scott Gould, someone who advises the United Nations on how to promote engagement in events.
  

  You need debate, you need to pick subject titles that are going to get people rattled up... when they're agreeing, it's boring. You just need drama, drama, drama.

  

  Scott Gould

  Trainer on Engagement at Ampersand Group
  
  Aim for presentations that spark debate, provoke thought, and provide tactical takeaways that attendees can immediately apply to their work. The more dynamic and engaging the content, the more memorable the experience will be.

2. Facilitating Interaction

Whether you’re hosting a virtual meeting or a conference, creating engaging experiences that make your audience feel connected and motivated to participate is key. Here are some virtual meeting facilitation best practices that work in both settings.:

• Warm Welcomes and Personalization: Personalizing the experience can make a big difference. Calling attendees by name, especially as they enter sessions, makes them feel seen and valued. AI can assist with personalized greetings and tailored content suggestions based on attendees’ interests.
• Initiate Conversation Effectively: Start with simple icebreakers, like “Where are you joining us from today?” to warm up the room. This creates an easy way for attendees to engage and start conversations naturally.
• Strategically Use Polls: Polls are a powerful tool for gathering insights and encouraging participation. They can spark discussion and motivate attendees to share their opinions. Real-time poll results also promote interaction, as attendees compare their answers to the group’s.
  
  
• Promote Small Group Discussions: Smaller groups often foster better, more meaningful interactions than large sessions. Facilitating roundtable discussions or small group breakouts allows for more intimate conversations and a higher level of engagement.
• Allow for “Lurking” and Observation: Not everyone wants to jump right into discussions. Some attendees prefer to observe first, especially in virtual settings.

Design the event so that people can join and leave discussions quietly without being noticed. This makes the experience more comfortable for those who prefer to “lurk” before engaging. 

3. Leveraging AI in Real-Time

The productivity gains AI promises within the events industry are too attractive to ignore. You can leverage AI in various ways during the virtual event. Here’s what Dahlia El Gazzar, a reputed thought leader in the AI field, said about AI adoption in events.

When you look at the obstacles of putting events together, and then you're able to look at the opportunities with AI infusion, the applications are not only about analytics or data, but it's more of muse, brainstorming, and agility.

Dahlia El Gazzar

Event Innovation Strategist at Dahlia+ Agency

Here’s how you can leverage AI to streamline your virtual event.

• AI for Content Processing: AI tools are invaluable for capturing content in real-time, summarizing sessions, and providing quick takeaways. These tools automate content capture, making it easier to share insights with attendees and improve event efficiency.
• AI-Powered Chat Assistants: People have questions, and they want spontaneous replies. You can integrate a chat assistant powered by AI, which can answer any questions your attendees might have. For example, when will the session on marketing best practices going to start? Best virtual meeting software, like vFairs, allows you to integrate AI chat assistants.
  
  
• Personalized Content Delivery: Use AI to deliver tailored content to each attendee. AI can suggest relevant sessions, provide personalized notifications, and help attendees navigate the event based on their interests and needs.
  

4. Strategic Flexibility & Support

Adaptability is essential in virtual events. Being prepared to handle unforeseen circumstances will ensure your event runs smoothly.

• Always provide an alternative to video conferencing: People from all across the world will be attending your event with a set of networks that they might be using. In case of poor connectivity, make sure you provide audio options for them to still participate in webinars and other sessions.
• Embrace Agility and Contingency Planning: Being ready to adjust when things don’t go as planned is crucial. Have backup plans in place, and be prepared to shift quickly if needed. Agility allows event planners to solve problems efficiently in real time.
• Buffer for Unforeseen Circumstances: Always build time, staff, and financial buffers into your plan. Things don’t always go as expected, and having these buffers ensures you’re not caught off guard by last-minute issues.
• Real-time Problem Solving: Event organizers should be able to fix issues on the fly. If a session fills up or there’s a tech glitch, have an immediate solution ready, like redirecting to another session or providing a live stream option

Best Practices for Virtual Events After the Event

Wondering how to end a virtual meeting or conference? The truth is, there’s no real “end” to a virtual event. Wrapping up is just the beginning of building lasting relationships and growing a loyal community. That’s why post-event engagement is key. It helps ensure long-term success and keeps attendees coming back year after year.

1. Engage Attendees on a Deeper Level 

Most event planners end up creating an online community of attendees after the event. But do people actually engage in these spaces? 

Well, mostly no! 

Many event planners overlook the crucial step of engaging attendees on a deeper level once the event concludes. There’s often a lot of focus on ticket sales, attracting attendees, and securing sponsors, but the follow-up usually falls short. Instead of fostering ongoing relationships, planners tend to rely on generic newsletters or, even worse, online communities that are completely inactive.

To build a lasting community, you need to engage attendees on a more profound emotional level. This goes beyond just their participation during the event. It’s about creating trust and relationships that keep them coming back long after the event ends. Here’s how:

• Personalized Follow-Ups: Send personalized emails or messages to thank attendees for their participation and highlight how their presence contributed to the event’s success.
• Create a VIP or Ambassador Program: Build a community of repeat attendees who feel empowered to contribute to future event content, making them feel more involved and valued.
• Encourage Social Media Interaction: Invite attendees to join your social media groups or online communities where they can continue conversations, share experiences, and stay engaged. Don’t just wait for them to share things; you can take the lead. Share engaging posts, run polls, and share highlights. You can continue talking about trends, news, etc. on the group so it stays alive.
• Gather Feedback for Future Events: Offer spaces for attendees to share their feedback and ideas, and make sure they know their opinions will directly influence future events.
  By focusing on emotional engagement, you’ll build a stronger, more loyal community that feels connected and excited to return year after year.

2. Strategic Content Management Post-Event

You want your attendees to feel like they’re still getting value long after the last session ends. Here’s how to do it:

• Offer On-Demand Content: Make content available for those who missed the live event. Offering purchasable recordings extends your event’s reach and revenue potential. High-quality content can keep the event’s impact alive long after the event ends.
• Follow-Up Sessions: Organize post-event discussions that help attendees apply the takeaways from the event. These sessions are invaluable for ensuring that the knowledge gained is actionable and leads to tangible results.
• Use AI for Post-Event Data: Leverage AI tools to capture, process, and analyze content. AI can generate transcripts, summaries, and affinity maps, making post-event content more accessible and useful for attendees.

3. Incorporate Feedback for Future Event Design

Gathering and analyzing feedback is essential for improving future events. 

Here’s how you can go about feedback collection:

• Set Up Feedback Channels: Send out surveys via email or post on social media for attendees to share ideas.
• Engage Attendees: Ask specific questions about their experiences and desired changes for future events.
• Analyze Feedback: Identify common themes and prioritize actionable suggestions for future events.
• Communicate Changes: Share how feedback will shape upcoming events to build trust and engagement.

Bringing It All Together

Running a successful virtual conference goes beyond just checking off the to-do list. It’s about creating meaningful moments that leave a lasting impression. The key is engaging your audience from start to finish and keeping the momentum going even after the event wraps up.

By focusing on your audience’s needs, aligning your event with your business goals, and embracing effective virtual meeting strategies, you can create a powerful, lasting impact.

Now, it’s your turn to implement these strategies and make your virtual events unforgettable. Let’s turn those challenges into opportunities and build a community that keeps coming back for more.

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