Overnight, the online congress became the top choice for many organizing committees.
After all, without geographic limits, it can easily bring together students, researchers, professors, and educational institutions from all over the world.
So this is the moment when questions about congresses start to come up: is it worth investing in the online format? What has changed? How do you plan one?
In this article, we’ll answer your questions by covering:
- What is an online congress?
- Its main advantages;
- 7 tips to improve your planning.
What Is an Online Congress?
At first, the definition doesn’t change much from an in-person congress.
So this type of event is still large-scale.
It brings together researchers and/or professionals around a specific subject area. On the occasion, there are presentations of ongoing research results, development of a research line, or knowledge exchange.
That’s why congresses usually have a robust program with several activities, such as workshops, lectures, and panel discussions.
But what changes in the online version?
Unlike an in-person congress, which has various physical reaches and spaces, the digital format lets us inhabit a new place: the virtual one.
For example, in the case of regional congresses, it was common for them to have an audience restricted to the region.
In this case, they can continue happening online and focusing on regional topics, but they’ll have a wider reach. That is, they can be accessed by more people, including contributions from participants in other states or countries.
Besides that, online, activities can take a different format for each type of proposal. Video conferences are ideal for classes with a small audience, for example, while live broadcasts on social media or simulives work well for international events.
Also, since they don’t depend on travel and, in some cases, don’t have a limit on participants, online congresses have great potential to reach a wide audience.
Even so, the question often comes up: is it worth investing in this virtual model?
The Main Advantages of an Online Congress
Everyone already knows that congresses are extremely important for generating knowledge.
After all, it’s through this type of event that professionals deepen their training.
They also network, produce science and technology. This way, they strengthen the organizing institution’s image and solidify it as an authority in the field.
With the arrival of online formats, the benefits can be even bigger, such as:
- Wider audience reach: with the diversity of available tools and no local limitation, it’s possible to reach a larger audience;
- Lower investment cost: in digital events, costs drop significantly for both organizers and attendees;
- Practicality and flexibility: your content can be consumed and recorded from anywhere on the planet, at any time (depending on the type of event);
- Content generation: it’s possible to make the most of all the material generated during the event, including turning it into a product afterward;
- Visibility for sponsors: through vignettes, email marketing, website content, or notifications, your sponsors can gain even more exposure at your event.
Besides that, we don’t need to leave interactions behind online!
The biggest gain that congress gatherings give us can be encouraged and developed through a dedicated event website, apps, or strategies like moderating questions during live lectures.
But, for everything to go really well, the organizing committee needs to plan ahead and make sure all speakers are comfortable with the technology.
With that in mind, we created a full spreadsheet to manage your event. Keep every stage, activity, and person responsible in one place.
We’ve also put together 7 tips to improve your planning according to the new demands of the online format!
7 Tips for Planning an Online Congress
Keeping the organizing principles of an in-person congress is a good foundation for starting your adaptation to the online format. But it’s not enough to guarantee the best experience for attendees and speakers.
That’s why our tips were designed to keep you focused on the important points that change when preparing an online event.
1. Pay Attention to the Change in Audience
At first, every organizer knows that creating a congress from scratch requires: defining the theme, frequency, objective, audience, and visual identity.
Just like with in-person events, these steps still apply to the online congress. But we need to pay attention to a few elements that change with the arrival of digital.
In this case, if your event moved from an in-person format to online, watch out for the increase in audience that this change can cause.
So dedicate some of your planning time to understanding:
- Who your new audience is;
- What their problems are;
- What they’ve been discussing;
- And how you can grab their attention.
Remember: you’ll have to handle all the promotion for the online event yourself and compete for attention against a flood of information.
So we also recommend mapping out the social networks where your audience is present and the best ways to communicate with them.
2. Work On Your Visual Identity
As a result, having a bigger digital presence brings changes to your visual identity.
That’s why it’s important to develop an appealing identity that fits your event’s purpose.
For example, clearly define the colors, fonts, and logo so your website, app, or any other social media presence stays consistent. Following a pattern will make it easier for the audience, which as we’ve seen may be bigger, to recognize you.
Besides that, the digital experience is very visual. In other words, high-definition images and a solid visual identity will hold your audience’s attention and improve their experience.
Now, once those points are defined, it’s time to look at the finances.
After all, we can’t just go cutting everything or piling on activities without checking with finance, right?
3. Look More Closely at Finances
If there’s one thing every organizing committee loves, it’s cutting costs!
That’s why an online event will bring huge relief for a well-organized team.
First, let’s celebrate cutting costs on venue rental, hiring large sound and lighting equipment, speaker accommodations and travel, and catering.
Now it’s time to invest part of that money into acquiring tools and equipment for digital activities. You can invest in good video broadcasting tools.
Besides that, you’ll still have expenses like promotion, electricity, and hiring staff and speakers.
So it’s important not to lose track of what changed and what stayed the same. That’s why we recommend a spreadsheet for tracking your event’s costs.
Your organizing committee can already follow the model and assess whether the event will need outside sponsors, as well as define the necessary activities and deadlines.
4. Don’t Forget to Think About the Ideal Date and Time
You’re probably wondering whether all the care around date and time is still necessary for an online event.
The answer is still yes.
That’s because, despite the ease of access and no need for travel, online broadcasts still require your attendees’ time and availability.
For example, if your program is mostly live and focused on real-time interaction, a good practice is to keep prioritizing a time slot that’s accessible to your audience, avoiding taking up the whole weekend, long holidays, or business hours.
One tip is to invest in simulives, recorded videos, and even saved live broadcasts. They can stay available longer and work well for an audience with tight schedules.
Besides that, the rich format of congresses allows some activities to be done differently, like live and interactive videos at accessible times.
So this alternative can even be sold as a differentiator for your event.
5. Explore Ways to Stand Out in Your Online Schedule
After talking about date and time, it’s time to start thinking about the activities, right?
At first, the schedule doesn’t seem to change much compared to an in-person congress.
But that’s exactly where your event can stand out from the rest!
To start, since you won’t have in-person gatherings for opening and closing sessions anymore, it’s time to invest in more eye-catching, participatory content. Bet on online interaction methods.
A good example is bringing in well-known international or national speakers to handle the opening and closing of the edition.
This way, the moment will feel more engaging and open. In this case, a recorded broadcast or simulive can help you deal with a large number of participants and time zone differences.
Also, when choosing the types of activities, invest in a variety of digital formats. Just organize the broadcasts with whoever will be presenting them in advance!
Naturally, all of this should be documented in the schedule and rules, along with paper submissions and presentations.
At this point, a good tech solution is to take advantage of an event management platform, like Even3, to automate the entire process of selecting, evaluating, and announcing results.
6. Know the Ideal Type of Online Broadcast for Each Activity
Initially, choosing the ideal broadcast type is a task that’s part of building your schedule.
However, that requires knowledge about broadcast types and equipment, so we’ve set aside a section just to study this topic in detail.
Video Conference
If you’re looking for a closed meeting with interaction and few people, this is the ideal option.
In a video conference, people in different locations gather in a virtual room, and attendees can only watch the lecture if they’re inside the room.
Advantages:
- Easy to organize for people who are just starting out in the virtual environment;
- Manual access control over who enters the room, which is ideal for small events;
- There are several free, easy-to-use tools on the market.
Disadvantages:
- Everyone necessarily needs to enter the room to take part in the event, which becomes a problem for very large events;
- Attendees don’t always know how to use the necessary tools, and the fact that everyone has access to the room can also cause discomfort. So you need to know how to handle open microphones, unwanted noise, and inappropriate images during the event.
Equipment needed:
- Google Meet, Zoom, or Skype;
- Computer or smartphone, microphone, and webcam.
Live Broadcast
If you’re looking for open lectures, live broadcasts are a trend.
Since they’re appealing and have grown as a powerful way to interact, a great idea is to mix your online congress activities with live activities.
Advantages:
- Easy to broadcast. The broadcast can be done from anywhere;
- Few tools are needed for recording — you’ll just need a laptop or smartphone, a good internet connection, and a microphone;
- Wide reach — since it’s a social network, you can reach a lot of people, especially if your event is free and open to the public;
- There are good free tools for running the broadcast.
Disadvantages:
- Problems like internet instability can happen, which could prevent the event from happening;
- Broadcasting over Wi-Fi carries a big risk of getting slow or freezing, so it’s recommended to use a network cable instead;
- On tools like Instagram, only people who follow the platform can watch the broadcast.
Equipment needed:
- Computer or smartphone, microphone, and webcam;
- Access to tools like YouTube Live, Vimeo Live, Twitch, or Even3 Streaming;
- If you need a custom layout or more than one participant on screen, you’ll need a tool like StreamYard.
Recorded Broadcast
But what if you don’t want to deal with the instability of live broadcasts? Just invest in a recorded broadcast!
This way, activities recorded in advance can be more elaborate, with video intros featuring sponsors, and can be released on a specific day and time in the event’s schedule, as if they were being broadcast live!
Advantages:
- Ideal for the large number of activities in a congress, since it reduces the chance of errors happening during the broadcast to the audience;
- It’s safer;
- Possibility of creating more elaborate content with a more professional look;
- Easier to edit;
- Room to showcase the event’s brand and its sponsors.
Disadvantages:
- Without an events platform, the speaker can’t interact with attendees in real time during the broadcast;
- Speakers may struggle to record their material if they aren’t well instructed.
Equipment needed:
- External webcams, cameras, and lapel microphones for higher-quality video and audio;
- Video editing tools, like the Inshot app (free).
Tip! To build presentations, you can use Google Slides, PowerPoint, and Keynote.
And to record both your computer screen and your presentation, you can use tools like Loom.
Simulive
Similar to a recorded broadcast, a simulive is also a video that’s filmed and edited in advance. But as the name suggests, it simulates a live broadcast.
In other words, your recorded content will be broadcast as if it were live, and it won’t let a late attendee rewind and watch the event’s opening minutes.
Besides that, even though the content is pre-recorded, you can add chats, questions, and quizzes that create the feeling of a live broadcast.
Advantages:
- Ideal for international events, since it can be made available multiple times at different hours to bring together attendees from different locations;
- Creates a sense of urgency just like a live broadcast;
- Perfect for broadcasting content you invested time and money in more than once.
Disadvantages:
- Requires the presenter to be well-prepared to convey a sense of immediacy, such as using present-tense verbs and rhetorical questions;
- Because of that, it takes more work.
Equipment needed:
- External webcams, cameras, and lapel microphones for higher-quality video and audio;
- Video editing tools.
If you’re still unsure, we’ve put together a table that raises some important questions to help you decide on the right format. It will definitely help you choose what fits your event best.
7. Plan Ahead for the Post-Congress Period
So the event is over and your inbox is full of thank-you messages, certificate requests, and proceedings production?
Every researcher knows this nightmare!
Online, it’s no different. In fact, it can be even worse if attendees don’t have a platform to communicate with the committee.
For that reason, it’s time to take advantage of digital technology and offer the best possible post-event experience.
For example, using an event management platform like Even3 can help you after the event with:
- Certificates available instantly on the platform!
- Production of event proceedings and publication in one place, much more quickly!
- A satisfaction survey with all event attendees.
So, are you ready to start organizing?
To give your organizing committee even more tips on online events, we put together a guide with the first steps to running a successful online event!
