7 Tips for a Successful Virtual PR Event

Organising a great event is the right way to present a company's products and services to the public and to communicate with them. That is why the event is one of the PR activities. 

However, sometimes a PR event must be held online due to lack of space or some special condition, such as pandemic or different locations of each audience.                    

7 Tips for a Successful Virtual PR Event 

Here are some valuable tips to help you create a successful virtual PR event: 

1. Differentiate Your Event     

A virtual event has become a common thing since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, you need to come up with a compelling topic and differentiate your event to make it stand out. 

Instead of hosting an all-day webinar, make your event as interactive as possible. So create something that will engage your audience, such as: contests, trivia night, challenges, giveaways, and more. 

2. Provide Incentives 

Whether you interact with the audience through an interactive game or giveaway, remember to provide incentives, such as a small physical or digital gift that highlights your brand identity. You can send this gift after the event, so be sure to get the winners' addresses right. 

To increase brand awareness, ask attendees to post something on social media using your event hashtag. You can use this as an entry requirement for the game or giveaway. 

3. Promote Your Event on Social Media 

No matter how interesting your event is, if you do not promote it, all your efforts will be wasted. So promote your event through social media. Ask the speaker(s) to promote it on their accounts a week and a few hours before the event.  

Include all the important details in the post. This includes the event name, the day, the date, the speaker(s) and their photos, and the video conferencing application that will be used along with the link. 

When creating the event name, think about your value proposition (VP) and incorporate it into the event name to let your audience know what to expect from your event. 

For example, your company's VP is to connect employers with blue-collar and pink-collar job seekers through an app. You can host a virtual event called "Becoming a Shortlisted Candidate at Interview" or something similar.  

4. Optimize Your Event for Any Device 

Your attendees have their own requirements. When attending your virtual event, some of them may use their laptop and some of them may use their smartphone.   

Yes, most people will use a laptop to get the best experience. However, some people may still be outside when your event starts, or their laptop may be broken, so they need to use their smartphone.       

Therefore, you need to optimize your virtual event for both laptops and smartphones. Use a videoconferencing application that supports laptop and mobile viewing and allow the audience to join from their smartphones. 

Also, if you are going to present, make sure your slide presentation is easy to read on a smartphone. You can adjust the color and font size to make it easy to see on a smartphone screen. Remember not to put too much text on each slide. 

5. Test All Equipment  

Before starting the virtual event, test all the equipment that will be used, including the microphone, gadget, camera, lighting, background, video quality, etc. This way, nothing will ruin your event and participants will be bored.  

6. Include a Call to Action 

End your event with a clear call-to-action so your audience knows how to take the next step with your company. For example, if your company offers web hosting services, you can offer them a discount if they sign up within 2 days of the event. 

Your offer must be straightforward and have an easy sign-up process. Limit the offer with a short time period to make them feel the urgency to sign up.  

7. Gather Feedback  

Once the event is over, ask all attendees to fill out the online feedback form. Ask them what they liked about your event and what could be improved. 

This is your opportunity to create improvements on the next event, gather the next event topics and maintain relationship with your audience. 

A PR event aims to introduce your company's product and/or service to the audience and build relationship with them. Therefore, you need to follow the above tips to create a successful PR event.