4 Must-Know Strategies for Hosting Virtual Events

How you choose to promote an event can have a direct impact on how successful that event is.

For brands that have established a rhythm for online events, promotion efforts don’t need to be particularly intense. But if you’re new to hosting online events, it can be difficult to build engagement.

The Milken Institute, a financial think tank that thrives on bringing people and ideas together through large events, had to postpone their live flagship annual event, the Global Conference, which convenes more than 4,000 executives and thought leaders from around the world. In its place, the Institute has started hosting regular virtual summits, including smaller local webinar gatherings called “The COVID-19 Conference Call Series.”

Here’s what Milken’s new business development director Ira Rosen said about this change:

“People have gotten creative with what they can now do online, but people are discovering that hosting events online isn’t necessarily easier than in-person events. If you’ve never held a digital event before, there are a few things you have to consider.”

Here are a few starter steps:

 
1. Create an Attention-Grabbing Event Page

This is the place where everyone goes to learn about your event.

Use a simple tool like Cvent Flex to make it stand out, and entice people to sign up by including eye-catching graphics, professional pictures, and engaging clips of keynote speakers, workshop leaders, and performers. Keep people from wandering away from your page by embedding all relevant videos, pictures, and other media, so they don’t have to find it elsewhere.

Finally, include all of the essential details so your event page is a one-stop-shop for information and attendee actions. This includes: 

• Time and date(s) of the event
• An agenda 
• Speaker bios 
• Sponsor information
• Registration links
• Secure payment options  

2. Ask Partners or Sponsors to Spread the Word

When your sponsors and partners promote your virtual event, it markets your program exponentially—this benefits all stakeholders.

Put yourself out there by directly asking others to promote your virtual event. Provide the affiliate link, printed publicity, and any hashtags or online videos that might make it easier to build momentum.

3. Keep Participants Engaged

Being confined behind a screen can make it harder for speakers to engage with the audience during the event, but there are ways to encourage interaction.

Research shows that 47% of people are more likely to ask a question at a virtual event, and 37% are more likely to speak to a person in a virtual booth than a real one. View virtual events as an opportunity to engage with your audience rather than an obstacle. Take time to conduct a poll, ask questions, or play a video in the middle of your presentation.”

Other ways to engage viewers include trivia segments, participant voting options for upcoming segments, or even “virtual booths” (like breakout rooms) participants can visit after the event’s conclusion.

4. Build Content that Promotes Your Event

No matter what kind of event you promote, planning it in a vacuum is never a good idea.

If regular content production is part of your marketing mix, these efforts should overlap with the event you’re promoting. From a weekly podcast or newsletter to printed inserts or your website, any platform you control can be used to build interest. 

Need an extra publicity boost? Contact us today to spread the word through print!

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How Fantastic Managers Bring Out the Best in Each Person

Have you ever had a “bad” boss?

If you’ve ever led a team, you’ve probably encountered a life-sucking person, problem, or habit that’s restricting your potential. But a challenging situation doesn’t guarantee a poor outcome, especially if there’s a good manager in the mix!

Managers have the power to make or break their organization. Strong managers can lead teams, help them grow, and bring out the best in each person. These leaders don’t just produce great work; they inspire it. Why is that?

While effective managers are goal-oriented, they also have an innate ability to bring out the best in people.  And while these people come in many flavors, there is one quality that sets truly great managers apart from the rest: They discover what is unique about each person and then capitalize on it.

Marcus Buckingham, head of people and performance research at the ADP Research Institute, characterized it this way:

“Great managers know and value the unique abilities and even the eccentricities of their employees, and they learn how best to integrate them into a coordinated plan of attack. This is the exact opposite of what great leaders do. Great leaders discover what is universal and capitalize on it. Their job is to rally people toward a better future. Leaders can succeed in this only when they can cut through differences of race, sex, age, nationality, and personality and, using stories and celebrating heroes, tap into those very few needs we all share. The job of a manager, meanwhile, is to turn one person’s particular talent into performance. Managers will succeed only when they can identify and deploy the differences among people, challenging each employee to excel in his or her own way.”

Positioning People for Success

When you want to bring out the best in your team, here are some specific steps to consider:

1. Ask the Right Questions

To assess your team’s strengths and skills, try using questions like these:

• What do you like best about your work?
• What skills do you have that are being underused?
• What was the best day you had at work in the last three months? Why?
• What was the worst day you had at work in the last three months? What drains you?

2. Find Optimal Triggers

Everyone works for a purpose.

Some work for money. Some for the personal challenge. And still others for relational equity they build through personal and professional friendships.

Managers can bring out the best in people by finding unique ways to motivate people. One company that does this exceptionally well is HBSC, a London-based bank. Each year it presents its top individual consumer-lending performers with “Dream Awards.” Each winner receives a unique prize, precisely tailored to something especially motivational to each employee (though capped at $10,000 and redeemable in prize form only). At the end of the year, HBSC hosts a Dream Awards gala and shows a video about the winning employee and why this person selected a particular prize. From college tuition funds to dream vacation airline tickets, the celebration of individual dreams is a win for the entire company.

Beyond individual awards, other performance triggers may include financial incentives, ownership shares, public recognition, increased autonomy over key projects, workday perks, or even quality time with key leaders.

When you tailor perks to your team’s unique strengths, they will feel more motivated to give their best effort.

3. Invest in Training Opportunities

People are more likely to excel when they feel valued.

One simple way to invest in people is through training. Did you know an astonishing 87% of Millennials say that career development opportunities are very important to them? When you want to motivate and shape your people, look beyond daily tasks, and encourage people to grow their skills. And as you’re evaluating training opportunities, look for those that fit each person’s unique learning style, like analyzing, watching, or doing.

Great managers look to build and mobilize people. By investing in individual people, you will work with them, not above them. And that’s a win for everybody!

Color Outside the Margins with Gorgeous Full Bleed Printing

When you want your color print project to dazzle and delight, you may want to use a bleed technique in your printing.

Sound strange? Well, the result is beautiful! Here’s what you need to know about this option.

What is a Bleed?

A bleed is a printing technique where your design is printed bigger than the final product’s finished size and then cut down to size, eliminating any unwanted white space or borders around the edge of your design.

Typically, bleeds refer to the extra 1/8” (.125 in) of an image or background color that extends beyond the trim area you’d like to feature. A bleed project is printed on an oversized sheet that is then cut down to size, giving the impression that the image is “bleeding” off the paper’s edge.

When Can a Bleed be Used?

Bleeds work well if your design has a full-colored background and can be used for any project where you want your design to extend to the edge of the sheet.

Bleeds can improve the precision of any print project. Why? Because without a bleed, you’ll see a tiny bit of white on even the most carefully arranged and cropped document. When you print “outside the margins” with a document bleed, then there’s no room for error. The final product will be perfectly cut with a crisp, immaculate appearance.

When you are printing a booklet or something that will be folded, you’ll probably want to use bleeds on the interior borders so it doesn’t look as though the project is unfinished. Work to have colors meet in the middle, so your design flows effortlessly from one page to the next.

Where or How Can I Add Bleeds to My Design?

Each design program addresses bleeds differently, but here are some basics to get you started:

InDesign: InDesign is best suited for print. You can set up both bleed and margins in the “Document Setup” box when creating a new document. Simply bring your bleeds and margins up to 0.125 inches for the top, bottom, inside, and outside. Your document will have visible lines for you upon creation.

Illustrator: In the initial “Document Setup” window, set your bleeds to 0.125 inches for both top, bottom, inside, and outside. You cannot set up margins in Illustrator, so you will have to use guides once your document is open.

Photoshop: This one is a bit complex. In Photoshop, you will have to add ¼ inch (.25) to your final document size to account for the bleed margin you need. For example, if your document is 8.5” x 11”, you will need to set the document up in Photoshop to be 8.75” x 11.25”. Extend all bleeding images and graphics to the edge of your page and then use the design rulers to create guides for your trim and safety margins.

Publisher: Publisher is similar to Photoshop. To set your document up to bleed, simply add .25” to your document size in the Page Setup window and use design rulers accordingly.

Word: Unfortunately, you cannot set up a full bleeding document in Word. 

Still feeling uncertain? There are many online helps (like this quick InDesign bleed tutorial) that can get you started. Or leave the heavy lifting to our creative design team! We’ve got you covered.

Whether you’re creating a template or need start-to-finish graphic design, we’re here to consult, create, and bring your best ideas to life. Give us a call!