Taking an in-person event online: accounting for all virtualities

With the unexpected onset of the pandemic, I worked tirelessly to turn the in-person Education Summit I had been putting on into a virtual experience.

Thanks to relentless dedication and a deeply empathetic approach to this pivot, I was able to grow the event’s registrant base by nearly 2,500%, including qualified leads by 600%.

See how I did it below ↓

Keys to virtual event success

My philosophy for making this virtual event a success was simple, and rested on the three whales of Content, Platform, and Community. In other words, before I started, I made sure my team and I knew the answers to the following: what the attendees are going to learn, how and where the learning was going to happen, and how we were planning to supercharge the experience (hint: via creating a strong sense of community among the attendees—yes, even virtually).

Content

We did not skimp on the programming: across the three days of the event, we held a total of 155+ sessions, including:

→ three days of solo keynotes and presidential panel discussions

→ 6 simultaneous tracks of programming in the afternoon

→ DJ happy hours, student performances, and exclusive workshops

Platform

After conducting extensive research of a myriad virtual event environments, including Hopin, Goldcast, Bevy, VFairs, Airmeet, and others, we chose Bizzabo.

Its combination of ticketing, livestreaming, and data reporting tools, combined with the ability to weave in third-party tools for networking, was key in pivoting the event to a virtual experience successfully.

Community

Connecting 7,500 registrants from 2,000 institutions around the world in a meaningful way is a tall order. We got there via a combination of:

→ a thoughtful profile creation and gratitude campaign

→ discipline- and role-specific networking sessions

→ proactively engaging all participants, including busy folks and parents of young children

Program highlights

 

Attendee impressions

Attending the Course Hero Education Summit was a highlight of my professional career—not only as a presenter in a virtual world, but even more importantly connecting with others passionate about education in a watershed moment in history was empowering and uplifting. I feel ready to take on the Fall term with renewed excitement, skills and tools to provide powerful experiences for my students.

EdSummit ‘20 was the most inspiring and worthwhile professional event I have ever attended, virtually or not. From the moment the music started on Day 1, I felt transported somehow, away from my computer screen and into the arms of a caring community. I danced. I cried. I learned invaluable lessons along the way.

I logged in thinking to pick up a pointer or two. I did not expect to end up reassessing my own assumptions and habits. I'm shook up ... and I plan to roll with it!

The EdSummit was "the" must attend event of the year for educators! The recommendations that were provided by the presenters was invaluable, even for someone like myself with 33+ years in the trenches. I didn't know all of what I was to expect before I attended, but I certainly didn't expect the high impact sessions that were assembled. This event was truly amazing, and a great investment of my time!

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