Events are quickly moving from in-person to online. Although I believe nothing will ever replace the feeling you get when you meet someone in person to give them a hug and a handshake, being able to connect face-to-face virtually is the next best thing.

Here are 3 platforms that can help you host successful, memorable and profitable virtual events. Let me know which one you like.

Zoom

If you don’t already know about Zoom we can’t be friends. Just kidding. But seriously, everyone is using it. In fact, they were named the Top Video Conferencing App according to Okta’s Business at Work Report. In March 2020, while quarantine became our temporary normal, Zoom reported having 200 million participants per day!

The question is why were people using this platform over all the others? Ease of use and accessibility are at the top of many user’s lists, mine included. Add to that affordability, all the cool features, great connectivity, capabilities, and how they quickly handled Zoom Bombers, it’s a no-brainer to use this platform.

Zoom has everything you need to run a successful event. Here are a few of the key features you can use to host a virtual event to connect with your community no matter how large or small.

Accessibility + Ease of Use
With Zoom you have the ability to reach 2 to 10,000 attendees depending on the scope of your event. Attendees can log in from any device or listen in through VOiP. Since most people are familiar with the platform, they know how to use it, and if they don’t, as an attendee there’s really not much to learn.

Engagement + Experience
Zoom has the ability to host breakout rooms. In this way, you can create experiences that mimic an in-person event that offer variety and opportunities for event partners and attendees to create connections. Record your meetings in Zoom and allow those who are unable to attend live to catch the replay. Recordings also give you, the host, an opportunity to add value through an upgraded or VIP ticket price to include the replays of all event sessions.

Other ways you can engage and keep things interesting are with the chat feature for Q & A, You can also save the chat and share with attendees later. Take a poll, stay on course by encouraging attendees to use the virtual clapping or hand raising feature, even the virtual background feature.

Challenges
Although I love Zoom, there’s no perfect platform. This one is pretty darn close though. There are so many things being added every day. Engagement is still not the best, but if supplemented with something like a Facebook group people involved with your event can continue the conversation and ask more questions.

I’m a huge fan of Zoom and highly recommend it if you’re looking for a platform that’s easy to use and you want to get it up and running quickly. We;ve only scratched the surface so learn more here.

HeySummit

I personally haven’t used HeySummit, but I’d love to. I’ve seen a couple of groups I know, like and trust use it, and from the looks of it, HeySummit is a one-stop-shop for all things virtual summits. I just joined their partner program in case you want to check it out. Full disclosure here’s my affiliate link.

HeySummit takes you from start to finish, if you want them to, helping you create a landing page to help promote your event to managing your speakers and attendees and finally providing custom reports to track your ROI.

Now, since I haven’t personally used it I can’t tell you how easy it is to use, and looking at their website, I can tell you a few things I like just by looking at their website.

• The interface is very user friendly and they offer a lot of support.
• Attendees are empowered and in control of their schedules
• It’s easy to manage your speakers and for your speakers to manage themselves
• As a host you don’t have to go in and out of multiple platforms to promote and plan your event or even connect with your people (attendees, speakers)
• It’s easy to set up your summit sessions
• The whole process is like a plug, play and go!

I seriously can’t wait to share this with my clients and use it myself.

Remo

I am so excited about Remo. It has been the most comprehensive and interactive platform I have seen. The platform that gets you as close to the real thing as far as in-person events go.

Remo Conference offers a live virtual event – think general session in a hotel ballroom or convention center, plus a networking space – think networking lounge or plaza with exhibitors. It’s also an all inclusive platform with real time face-to-face engagement.

Interactive + Engaging
This is my favorite part of this platform. One of the main reasons people attend in-person events is to meet new people. Remo makes it easy for you to sit at a virtual table to connect, collaborate and build real relationships with other attendees in real-time before and after sessions.

And get this, Remo connects to your LinkedIn account so you don’t have to upload any new profile information. What? And wait. You can also link your booking calendar like Acuity or Calendly to your profile so people can book a meeting with you on the spot! Talk about making things super easy.

The chat feature also includes the option to poll attendees like Zoom in a more obvious and visible way, but there is so much more.

Remo has set up their platform to support sponsors, too! Attendees even have the opportunity to book private rooms to connect with event sponsors. And you have the ability to hand them the leads at the end of the event, showing them the immediate ROI for participating in your event.

I can’t wait to dive into Remo. I’m telling you I’m getting so excited about this. I can’t tell you everything, but my friend, Stephanie Liu interviewed the creator of Remo in a recent episode of her show, Lights, Camera, Live Facebook show! Watch it here and get your mind blown.

Your Turn

Okay, now that you’ve seen these three platforms, which one do you think you’d use for your next event?

Please share your comments, questions, concerns and excitement in a comment below. We can geek out together.