The new normal is here as the world is shifting to virtual platforms. Ever since the pandemic emerged, things began to change like never before. Old ideas and concepts are becoming useless as new ones are rising to fame. Virtual Summit are one such concept in the sphere of virtual events that are gaining more and more prevalence in industries with each passing day. Emerging back out of the pandemic, businesses are now reopening and resuming their operations. Small and Medium Enterprises have faced so many difficulties due to the pandemic in the last few months.
However, be it the business sphere, virtual, or any other industry, growth, and development are the two most important aspects in these unpredictable times. For the same purpose, SMEs are coming together with virtual event platforms to host their Virtual Summits.
What is a Virtual Summit?
A virtual summit is a collaborative online event that features various expert interviews and sessions on one specific area or agenda scope. These summits are one-time independent events that bring together the best industry experts to discuss big ideas and questions. Virtual Summits also address industry-related problems and propose their solutions at both micro and macro levels. If planned and ideated properly, Virtual Summits can be extremely productive events for any organization.
Why should SMEs host Virtual Summits?
SMEs are of central importance to the growth and development of economies. They not only create employment opportunities but also have the potential to expand into large organizations. Small and Medium businesses always have the requirement to reach new customers and collaborators. The value of money is very significant to SMEs, and organizing a Virtual Summit can boost the return on investment while rendering a good branding opportunity. Organizing a physical event can consume both time and effort whereas a virtual summit can be conducted online without any hassle. All we need to do is plan the Summit well by keeping the primary goals in mind.
Following are the most excellent ideas to make the most out of the Virtual Summit organized for an SME!
Define your Target Audience
Choosing the right target audience in the industry is the first step in organizing a successful and productive Virtual Summit. An SME will always have a specified area of work. It is necessary to keep in mind the target audience gets attracted to your topic or agenda scope. Also, the audience has to be engaged to feel satisfied but in the case of professional summits, participants usually feel engaged when the theme of your event is of use to them.
Choose the Best Speakers
Virtual Summits are all about the best of industry experts. These summits are usually organized to discuss topics that are of great importance to the industry. Hence, the speakers have to be skilled and influential for the outcomes to be practical and fruitful. Apart from this, good speakers have the ability to keep their listeners engaged. Which is very important in any virtual event.
Choose the Right Platform (Virtual Summit)
Choosing the right platform to host your virtual summit works in almost all aspects. The right virtual event platform is efficient in providing the best services to your participants and audiences. While choosing the event platform, it is important to keep in mind the engagement features it offers, accessibility tools, the scale of design, and the configuration it allows. With Dreamcast, you don’t have to worry about anything at all. It does not only consider the audience’s expectations but also the purpose to elevate user experience while designing its tools. Another significant thing to remember while choosing the platform is CRM integration.
The right platform with good CRM integration allows you to share the content using customized designs and dynamic layouts, engage and remind your attendees before an event, enhance the mailing list for future campaigns, and build long-term relationships with your participants.
Create a Smooth Structure
Like a physical event, virtual summits also require a clearly defined structure. The summit needs to have a pre-decided agenda that not only defines the framework of your event but also facilitates attracting more participants. Also, an effective structure involves pre-decided timelines for each session and includes proper breaks so the event does not become tedious.
Set Up an Attractive Landing Page
An accurate landing page serves the purpose of registering more and more attendees as it provides the agenda details and information about the speakers. An attractive page setup and content can help in getting more people to attend the summit. The page also includes important information like the date and time of the summit, registration link, and the schedule of each session which helps the audience in getting a greater insight into the event.
There’s a huge difference between creating a sign-up page on the same website and setting up a separate landing page for your attendees. A sign-up page on the website can divert your attendee’s attention to other sections and confuse them. Hence, setting up an attractive landing page can be an excellent idea to get better outcomes for your SMEs Virtual Summit.
Promote Your Virtual Summit
After you’re done setting up the landing page, it’s time to start promoting the summit. Effectively advertising your Virtual Summit can increase the reach of the event. Some of the best ways to promote the event are:
- Make use of your mailing list and mass email all your contacts
- Ask your speakers and participants to spread the word with their contacts as well
- Add a banner or pop-up to your website that talks about your event highlights
- Leverage all the social media platforms
- Have a press release ready to reach the masses
Strategize the Content (Virtual Summit)
To organize a successful Virtual Summit for your Small Business. You need to pull together a solid content strategy in place. Content strategy involves the designing, creation, and management of engaging content across your website, social media platforms, newsletters, emails, and everywhere else your target audience is. A great content strategy is significant to inspire, inform, raise awareness, and grab people’s attention toward your SME. It also helps in gaining a strong brand image & reputation that is appreciated and remembered in the industry.
Following are a few profitable ideas to help you put up a great content strategy:
-Determine your webinar platform or Virtual Summit agenda and identify your target audience. Communicate your goal to the target audience so they understand how your summit can be beneficial for them.
-Design an attractive visual experience. Designing includes high-resolution font, image, and video for the virtual event platform. That includes navigation areas like lobbies, lounges, and booths.
-Keep the content for your social media simple, informative, and attractive.
-Just like the content you share on social media platforms should be attractive and informative. The contents on more official mediums like press releases and emails should be kept professional, formal, and informative.
Go on and organize the best Virtual Summit for your SME. In case of any additional questions or doubts, Dreamcast has got your back!