Imagine you’ve planned everything for your online event, but left the speakers for last. Now what?
In practice, you’ll find this is one of the tasks that demands the most energy and planning, especially for virtual events.
That’s why speakers for online events need even more of your attention.
With that in mind, here are some tips to help you:
How Do You Choose the Best Speaker for Your Online Event?
1. Know Your Audience
At first glance, choosing a speaker seems pretty similar for every type of event.
However, it’s worth remembering that your audience’s profile depends on the format you’ve chosen.
For example, it’s common for online events to have more trouble encouraging interaction between attendees.
That’s why an online event speaker needs to know how to engage the audience and be appealing.
So before choosing one, analyze who your audience is and what their preferences are, both in terms of topics and guests.
In this case, you can run an audience survey or a satisfaction survey at events you’ve already held.
2. Define Your Online Event’s Goals
Still talking about the specifics of online events, setting a goal will help you figure out how much you want to invest to reach it.
That is, choosing your speaker should be directly tied to your goals and financial planning.
With that in mind, remember to look at:
- How much you can spend to hire a speaker;
- Whether it’s the right time to invite them;
- How many people are interested in seeing them;
- What type of online broadcast is ideal for reaching your entire expected audience.
3. Find Your Speaker’s Ideal Profile
After that research, you’ll certainly be able to define the ideal profile for your online event’s speaker.
In general, it’s worth determining this so you can find the best options.
For example, whether they should be a specialist or an influencer, whether they’re more outgoing or pragmatic, and so on.
It’s ideal to have more than one option, since speakers’ availability depends on their personal schedules.
So to organize schedules and track confirmations, you can list your options in a spreadsheet.
But remember: online events have benefits like recorded broadcasts.
So if it makes sense, you can fit some recorded activities into your schedule, and this way, even secure the presence of more famous speakers. That will definitely grab attendees’ attention!
Where to Find a Speaker for Your Online Event
1. Referrals
Without a doubt, referrals are still the main way to find good speakers for online events.
However, it’s common for small events not to have enough contacts to get this kind of information.
So to get good referrals, I recommend that you:
- Attend other events in your field;
- Join virtual communities focused on your event’s main topic;
- Network;
- Study similar events and compare the names of their guests;
- Carefully review speakers’ resumes;
- Look for well-known professionals, but also pay attention to people connected to them. For example, the students of a renowned professor.
2. Social Media
When it comes to finding speakers for online events, social media tends to be the first option!
After all, you can’t really think about the digital world anymore without it, right?
So social media tends to be a showcase for speakers looking to show off their work, especially Instagram and YouTube.
To find them, you can go with more generic searches, like typing “speaker” into the search bar, for example.
Or search by the speaker’s field, by their name if you already have references, or by an organization that can provide some contacts.
Also, among social networks, it’s worth highlighting the value of LinkedIn for finding speakers for online events.
On this social network, it’s quite common to see them promoting their professional skills across a wide range of fields.
So you can find good options with just a search for “Speaker” in the search bar, followed by the field you’re looking for for your event.
But remember to vet the professionals and avoid falling for scams or charlatans.
In this case, always check professionals’ resumes, third-party comments, referrals, media coverage, and, for academic events, their published research record.
3. Speaker Agencies
If you want to make this process even simpler, speaker agencies are the way to go!
Just like influencer agencies, they act as facilitators, creating a bridge between the organizer and the speaker, removing possible contact obstacles.
Besides that, on these agencies’ websites, you can find specialists for a variety of topics, such as:
- Business;
- Health and Wellness;
- Trends;
- Training and Workshops;
- Personal and Professional Growth;
- Economics;
- Technology;
- Education;
- And many others.
This way, you can filter automatically and choose what best fits your event’s purpose and budget.
5 Tips to Properly Prepare Your Speaker for the Online Event
Now, once you’ve already chosen your speaker, maintaining the relationship with them and preparing them is essential.
That’s because an online event requires some care that not everyone is aware of or used to.
Besides that, you also need to create a positive experience for the speaker if you want your event to be a success and their presence guaranteed for future editions.
So you can already start following these tips:
1. Stay Organized From the First Contact
Once you’ve chosen your speakers, the email officially confirming the invitation is essential.
Don’t rely only on agreements made over social media!
So an introductory email should have a subject line that catches attention and doesn’t get lost in your speakers’ inbox.
Besides that, your message should include the event’s basic information and express your expectations for the guest’s talk, such as the date, time, and expected audience size.
Some organizers also send instructions for the talk, such as the equipment being used and rehearsal times.
If your event is very large, a good tip is to invest in an events platform with email sending features, like Even3.
This way, you can create just one email template and send it to all your speakers at once.
2. Train and Coach Your Speakers
According to data from Markletic, 38% of events’ technical problems happen in the virtual environment.
That’s why it’s important for you to practice and get your speakers ready.
While this can’t guarantee perfection, it will definitely help.
So you can follow a checklist the day before the event and check that all equipment is working correctly.
Besides that, it’s ideal to rehearse or demonstrate the equipment’s operation for your speakers.
Make sure everyone knows how to carry out their role during the online broadcast, but don’t overload your speaker.
If they don’t feel confident going live, a recorded broadcast can be a good option.
3. Share a Best Practices Guide
To make your speaker’s life even easier, you can share a guide with them.
This way, you can teach best practices that will benefit both the speaker and your audience, like lighting and audio tips for online talks.
4. Ensure Diversity
According to a survey by Bizzabo, in 2019, more than 66% of event speakers were men. And that pattern can be a problem!
That’s because bringing in similar speakers, who talk the same way, about the same subject, doesn’t offer attendees different perspectives or new knowledge. This makes the event monotonous and unappealing!
That’s why it’s important to bring in diverse speakers, with varied points of view on a given subject, or who address different and thought-provoking topics.
This way, these differences can create moments of reflection and learning, creating a unique experience for your attendees.
5. Work On the Post-Event
When the event ends, you can practically hear a collective sigh of relief from the whole organizing committee.
But your speakers should hear something else too: a thank you!
So after the event, keep communicating with your speakers to nurture the relationship.
You can send an email thanking them for participating, asking for feedback, and even letting them know about your next steps.
This way, you can put together a successful event and build good relationships.
Learn to Organize a Complete Online Event
Finally, you’ve now covered one of the most important parts of an online event, but you know there’s still more ahead, right?
So how about relying on free material to make sure nothing gets left out?
Our event specialists turned Even3’s experience into a free guide with the main tips and equipment for online events.
