Tips for hosting an online event

Social distancing doesn’t come naturally to our very social species. We rely on seeing friends, colleagues or family multiple times a week for some much-needed social interaction. However, even while keeping our distance, we can ensure we keep these meet ups alive through the power of online events. They are a great way to be able to catch up with friends and family, host business meetings, or even keep groups/clubs connected. We’ve pulled together some quick tips and info, to help you get started.

First, consider what you want an online hosting platform to offer you.

Are you thinking of taking your conference online with breakout sessions and a range of speakers? Then Zoom would be the answer. Do you want to speak to your audience directly and demonstrate something – like a workout or recipe idea? Then Facebook/YouTube/Instagram Live would be the best place. Alternatively, if you are missing after work drinks and want to hang out with colleagues, Houseparty is proving to be a popular option! (Tech Crunch have a really helpful breakdown of video chat options with Pros and Cons which you can view here…)

If you’re a business which has a strong social media following and sense of community

Is now the time to take the plunge and try a live event? This may seem daunting, but if you have a natural reason to hold one, and an online community interested in taking part, then why not give it a go?

Have you considered what you have to offer?

You might have been planning to give a talk somewhere, which could be rearranged online. Or with free time you might want to try and give something back, with online mentorship, or you could host an online class and share skills with others.

And finally,

What are other people doing? And does it inspire you?

I’m a member of my local brass band and we’ve been considering if an online rehearsal would be possible. The Cory Band went viral earlier this week with their version of ‘social distance banding’ – we’ll see if we’ll be inspired to attempt something like this ourselves. Have a watch of their video here.