This page features resources that complement The Virtual Conferences Report, a free publication that provides data, in-depth analysis, and case studies for the rapidly evolving trend of virtual conferences.
With data to benchmark how effective your virtual conferences are compared to other organizations in practically every aspect of hosting one—from strategy, pricing, technology, and more—this report, along with the resources on this page, can help shape your decisions about virtual events now, and in the future.
You can read through the whole page or use the links below to jump to the topics that interest you. To explore other resources, go to our main Resources page.
Table of contents
Webinars
- The State of Virtual Conferences 2021 (October 2021)
- Virtual Conferences in the COVID-19 Era (March 2020)
Interviews & Audio
The following Leading Learning Podcast episodes (each with extensive show notes) focus on virtual events:
- Virtual Conferences Now
- Virtual Conference Tips and Insights
- Creating Engaging Virtual Events with Arianna Rehak
- Surging into Virtual Events with Arianna Rehak
- Making Virtual Events Real with Phil Mershon of Social Media Examiner
- After Action Review for 2017 Learning • Technology • Design™ (LTD)
- Mid-Action Review for 2018 Learning • Technology • Design™ (LTD)
Definition of Virtual Event
We use the following definition of virtual events in conducting surveys on the topic:
A virtual event is a Web-based event that replicates many aspects of a traditional place-based conference, membership meeting, or trade show. It may take place on a standalone basis or in conjunction with a place-based conference (i.e., a “hybrid” event).
Virtual events feature multiple sessions (not just a single Webinar or Webcast) and may include keynote presentations, training and education workshops, discussion areas, social networking opportunities, exhibit areas for vendors, and various other features. Activities in a virtual event may take place in real time (synchronously), on demand (asynchronously), or some combination of the two.
Guidance for Successful Virtual Events
Various resources for helping you with planning and executing a successful virtual conference or other virtual event.
- How to Host a Virtual Conference – 10 Tips for Success (Blog Post | Learning Revolution)
- Virtual Events Are Here to Stay: The Future of Associations (Blog Post | Guest Contributor)
- The Complete Guide to Virtual Event Creation (Download from Event Garde | Ricochet)
Authored by digital experts at Ricochet and event experts at Event Garde, this paper explains the phases of virtual event development and includes a complete 147-item event creation checklist to help ensure your success. - 20 Tips for a Successful Virtual Conference (Blog post |PDF)
This downloadable PDF provides just what the title says–tips drawn from our online surveys and discussions with a wide range of associations who’ve offered virtual events to help you make your virtual event a success. - Engaging Learners in Virtual Conferences: What You Can Try Online (Blog post)
This blog post provides a comprehensive overview of engagement techniques we have used at our own virtual events. - ACM Virtual Conferences Report
An effort by the Association for Computing Machinery to provide concrete advice to turn your event into a state-of-the-art online gathering.
Pricing a Virtual Conference
To determine pricing for the first Learning • Technology • Design™ (LTD) virtual conference we used the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter. The following video is a recording from an LTD 2017 session in which we explained this approach in detail. If you would like to do this type of analysis for your own virtual conference pricing (or pricing of other educational products), contact us at Tagoras.
Virtual Conference Platform and Service Providers
The following companies provide virtual conference platforms, services related to use of those platforms, or both. We’ve focused the list on organizations that provide a full-featured platform and/or services (which is why you won’t find Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting, WebEx, Zoom, and the like below.)
Be sure to also visit The Essential Guide to Virtual Conference Platforms.
And last but not least, make sure to visit ReviewMyVCP.com (a collaboration between 100 Reviews and Tagoras, the parent company of Leading Learning), which makes it easy to share and access user reviews of virtual conference platforms. It’s more important than ever for organizations to put reliable technology in place for hosting and managing virtual conferences. But with so many options now available, choosing the right technology for your virtual events can be a difficult decision. One of the best ways to help with this is to learn about the experiences other organizations have had with their platforms— and that’s where ReviewMyVCP comes in.
The peer reviews at ReviewMyVCP can help you in vetting and evaluating platforms. And if you’ve used a platform for a virtual conference, please, please, please submit a review! Taking just a few minutes to do that can provide valuable information to your peers looking for information on choosing the best technology for their virtual events.