Virtual Event & Meeting Management Certificate

Week 1: Introduction & Strategic Planning

• Understanding key differences between in-person, hybrid and virtual events
• Types of virtual events including; online events, online meetings, education sessions, webinars, and more
• Moving beyond webinars to a truly online event
• Developing a strategy for a virtual online events; Setting goals and objectives; Reviewing revenue and marketing strategy; Sponsorship & advertising strategy; Ticket sales; Content strategy
• Determining ROI and measurement criteria (what data do you want to collect and why)
• Understanding your audience (technological limitations, experience and strengths)
• Getting buy-in from stakeholders
• Competitive analysis
• Virtual event budgeting and important considerations

Week 2: Staffing, Vendors, Marketing & Sponsorship

• Determining your staffing and vendor needs
• Sourcing subject matter experts
• Preparing and training subject matter experts for digital delivery of their content and presentations
• Training staff to work in a digital environment
• Setting up a support strategy for attendees, vendors, speakers and staff (so people can get help fast when they need it, and it doesn’t distract from the event – phone, email, live chat, text, help centre pages, etc.)
• Making the switch from in-person to virtual without losing your audience
• Demonstrating value of a virtual event
• Marketing yourself to differentiate from competition including free alternatives such as YouTube
• Developing a marketing plan (and how it may be different than an in-person event)

Week 3: Developing A Digital Event Program

• Keeping attendees engaged through strategically planned activities and initiatives including polls, virtual hosts and quality production
• Establishing social etiquette and norms
• Developing a frustration-free, easy to use digital environment including navigation, schedules, registration, etc.
• Ideas for virtual event formats (types of options available – social, networking, education, entertainment, roundtable, forums, etc.)
• Creating opportunities for people to connect similarly to in-person events
• Developing a virtual program with the human component in focus (scheduling breaks, opportunities for questions and engagement, variations of delivery formats / styles, virtual breakout rooms, networking, timed meeting rounds,etc)
• Understating the basic psychology of how people consume content, engage, learn and the effect on their retention and engagement
• Virtual event program alternatives: Expos and tradeshows, entertainment events, fundraisers, etc.
• Risk management / analysis and contingency plans

Week 4: Virtual Event Technology & Online Event Accessibility

• Introduction to accessibility and inclusivity in online events
• Exploring captioning and transcription technology uses and best practices
• Understanding the use of sign language interpretation and integration within online events
• Preparing and delivering inclusive online event engagement features, websites, presentations, and language
• Understanding the various technological options available from small to large events (streaming, full virtual conference apps, internet and bandwidth, encoding, video conferencing such as zoom, online sales pages, registration, payment gateways, metrics, data collection, etc.)
• Preparing your presenters (what technology options do they have / what do you require – for example: Skype vs. studio with professional cameras – audio, video gear, lighting, backdrops, etc)
• Technology limitations
• Technological risk management, redundancy and backup plans
• Technology considerations for the home or small office virtual event studio

Week 5: Data, Analytics & Security

• Understanding what, how and why to collect data (determining what is relevant to collect / only collecting what you actually need)
• Review options for measurement data that can be collected
• Connecting post-event analytics to the event’s goals and objectives to demonstrate ROI
• Tools that can be used for data collection as well as analysis
• Understanding and interpreting measurement results
• Security of data collected including privacy requirements and GDPR
• Credit card data and processing
• Speaker agreements for virtual events (differences from in-person events)
• Terms & conditions, policies for attendees as well as enforcement during the event (removal for abusive behavior, refunds, cancellation, speaker substitutions, technical errors, minimum requirements for technology in order to attend, copyright, public viewing of content – for example, can one registration cover 12 people in a boardroom watching sessions, etc)

Week 6: Virtual Event Execution

• Production schedules in the virtual event environment
• Team communication
• Managing vendors, speakers and support teams
• Coordinating virtual sessions and activities
• Monitoring activities including attendance, engagement, complaints, questions, technical glitches / quality, content delivery, etc.
• Post-event management activities (and how they might be different from an in-person event)
• Putting it all together / developing the overall virtual event plan
• Virtual event plan components
• Communicating your plan to stakeholders

Assessments & Grading

25% – Forum posts (completed and quality)
25% – Quizzes (80% pass required for each. You can take each quiz up to three times.)
50% – Final Exam (with minimum pass at 75%)

Minimum course passing grade: 75%