Thinking of holding your next conference or event online? Then you are not alone. Creating digital events is a great way to gather a lot of people in one place, distribute information and create dialogue without having to think about travel expenses or similar logistics. The question, however, is how you create a successful and well-produced digital event that will be a valuable experience for all of your participants.

An important difference between live events and digital conferences

We should not underestimate that digital events generally place higher demands on the participant experience than live events do. It’s not like you can slack off with your live events either, but when participants sit in a room together, it’s not like they can get up and take a walk, check their email or make a call without anyone noticing. When they’re participating from the comfort of their own homes on the other hand, it is easier to drift off and multitask if they’re not motivated to keep their focus. With this in mind, one needs to be even more careful about crafting and adapting one’s event to fit the digital format.

How do you create a well-produced digital event?

Good digital events require a well-thought-out agenda, well-balanced interaction and a professional technical production. To create a truly professional digital event, you can not only set up a camera and “tape” the program, you need a number of different cameras and cameramen, an image production that cuts between full-frames, close-ups and different angles, show participant interaction from the event app, and so on. Audio and lighting must also be good, well-dimensioned and properly prepared, and glossy brows must be matted with makeup. In addition to the technical production, you also need to remember that:

• The purpose and goal of the event become extra important for it to be successful. It is difficult to keep your participants interested if what is being discussed is not really important to them, so make sure that the purpose is clear and well-communicated.
• Create a dramaturgy that keeps your attendees focused and engaged throughout your event.
• Adapt the agenda. Shorten the number and length of your program items and focus on what is really important. After a few hours in front of the screen, your participants will be very tired, even from a really great event.
• Take inspiration from a talk show and create an attractive setup that keeps participants interested. Reduce the number of classic presentations and mix them up with panel discussions, interviews and other formats.
• A passive participant easily loses focus, so increase the level of interaction during your digital event. With the help of an event app, you can send out polls and show the results on the screen in real time, let participants send in thoughts and ideas in free text that are shown as word clouds, or have them send in questions which you can either show as they come or handpick the ones that should be posted on the screen and answered by the panel.

Take the help of experts to create a professional event

As with any other video production, creating a well-produced digital event can take a lot of preparation, apart from just setting up the agenda and planning your content. This means that, if you’re not a pro yourself, it can be a good idea to take a look at different studio solutions and bring in a partner that is an expert on this type of event. At MeetApp, we have a lot of experience with creating successful events with the help of an event app. From our years in the event industry, we have built strong relationships with companies specializing in event technology and digital production. Contact us if you want to discuss different options for producing your digital event, we will make sure to find a suitable solution that matches your needs for technical production as well as digital interaction.