Planning a successful virtual event requires a different skill set to pull off in-person meetings.
You won’t need to worry about securing a venue, arranging food and beverages or hiring full-scale production setups. However, you will need to take certain steps to ensure your event is engaging, well-attended and designed to help you hit a specific marketing goal.
So, you’re probably in need of a guide on how to plan a virtual event.
Whether your team is filled with complete newbies or marketers who have created tons of digital experiences in their time, every organization needs a checklist for virtual event planning. Here’s yours!
Ask yourself questions before the virtual event
1. What’s the purpose of your event?
Perhaps you want to launch a new product. Maybe you need to host an educational webinar, share expert insights via a live stream or use your event as a platform to connect with new partners or distributors. Either way, make sure you’re 100% clear on the purpose of your event before you begin the virtual event planning process.
2. What are your goals for the event?
Think about what you want to achieve with your session. For example, most events are designed to increase brand awareness, build pipeline, activate online networking or inform attendees on a particular topic. Decide on your goals now, and you’ll be in a better position to track and prove your ROI. More on this later.
3. What’s the budget?
You may not need to spend on catering, travel costs or speaker accommodation. However, virtual event planning still involves expenditure. Make sure you consider the cost of your technology platform, as the quality of the event and its seamless delivery will be central to its success.
4. Will you charge your attendees?
If you choose to charge a registration fee, ensure this is communicated to potential attendees.
5. How long will your virtual event need to be?
It’s no secret that attendees have shorter attention spans online, so be prepared to shorten speaker slots and intersperse your presentations with fun features to keep everyone engaged.
6. What time will work best for your attendees?
If you’re inviting international guests, you’ll need to consider how your event will fit into their schedules — especially if attendees live across different time zones.
7. How will you promote your session?
Don’t forget that promoting your virtual event is a key aspect in virtual event planning. From e-shots to paid search advertising, there are plenty of ways to spread the word about your virtual event and generate those all-important sign-ups.
8. What will your agenda look like?
Planning your virtual event’s agenda will ensure your speakers and guests know exactly what to expect on the day.
9. Do you need a keynote speaker?
A high-caliber speaker can be a major draw for any event, virtual or otherwise. Keep this in mind when virtual event planning.
10. Do you need a sponsor?
Getting sponsors involved can help cover event costs, not to mention strengthen partnerships with companies outside your organization by providing excellent exposure for their brand. If you’re looking for actionable strategies on how to attract and deliver value to sponsors, check out our guide to securing sponsors for your virtual event.
11. Who’s going to host and moderate your virtual event?
We suggest appointing one main host to guide attendees through the session, with the support of one or two moderators who can help to keep the event on track and under control.
12. Do you need to save time for a Q&A round?
Depending on the nature of your virtual event, you may want to give attendees a chance to interact with your speakers and get their burning questions answered. Q&A sessions must be thoroughly accounted for when planning virtual events to ensure that there’s sufficient time not only for the Q&A itself but also for the rest of the key aspects of your event.
13. How can you make sure your virtual event runs as smoothly as possible?
It’s easy to assume that guests will be familiar with how to log in to your virtual event and can make their way around your platform’s features confidently.
That said, sending out a “Know Before You Go” email several days before the session can help less-tech-savvy guests get to grips with what’s required of them.
On that same note, make sure to include “Housekeeping” notes at the beginning of each session. This is where a session’s host explains how attendees can interact with the virtual event — from engagement tools to simple troubleshooting — so everyone can engage with your content.
Clear instructions will help to prevent confusion and reduce the number of questions you receive from registrants before the event kicks off.
14. Assign clear roles and responsibilities
A successful virtual event does not happen by accident. It is the result of coordination across teams. To ensure everything runs smoothly, map out each task and assign ownership using a clear roles and responsibilities matrix.
Start by identifying the key roles involved in your virtual event. Common ones include:
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- Event Manager: Oversees the end-to-end planning and execution.
- Marketing Lead: Drives registration, promotion and post-event follow-up.
- Platform Producer: Manages the tech stack, webinar console setup and run-of-show.
- Speaker Coordinator: Handles speaker onboarding, rehearsals and content delivery.
- Moderator/Host: Guides the event flow and keeps audience engagement high.
- Support Team: Troubleshoots live issues and monitors audience questions and chat.
Once your roles are defined, build a matrix outlining what each person is responsible for across all phases of the event, from planning to promotion, delivery and follow-up. This document should be shared early, updated regularly, and referenced throughout the planning process.
Having a responsibilities matrix in place not only ensures accountability but also prevents last-minute surprises and reduces internal friction. Everyone knows their role, who to go to for what, and what is expected before, during and after the virtual event.
Helpful templates to kickstart your virtual event plan
Planning a virtual event involves numerous moving parts. To simplify this process, ON24 offers a suite of templates designed to guide you through each stage of your event planning journey.
1. Webinar Producer Checklist
Ensure your webinar runs smoothly with our comprehensive Webinar Producer Checklist. This Excel-based checklist covers everything from pre-event preparations to live session protocols, helping you and your team stay organized and efficient.
2. One-Page Webinar Planning Framework
For a streamlined approach to webinar planning, download our One-Page Webinar Planning Framework. This template assists in mapping out your audience, content, calls-to-action, and post-event follow-up, ensuring all critical elements are addressed.
3. Webinar Agenda Template
Crafting a compelling agenda is crucial for audience engagement. Our Webinar Agenda Template provides a structured outline to help you organize topics, allocate time slots, and plan interactive segments effectively.
These resources are designed to enhance your virtual event planning, making the process more manageable and effective.
On the day of the virtual event
1. Check your audiovisual setup
Most virtual event platforms are incredibly easy to use (and ON24 is no exception). But be sure to test your camera and microphone setup before you go live or start recording to prevent any last-minute mishaps.
2. Turn on automated captioning
One of the crucial factors that many forget on their virtual event planning checklist is to turn on automated captioning. This will ensure your content is accessible to every audience. Remember, ON24’s speech-to-text technology can generate captions in more than 50 languages.
3. Check your attendees have everything they need
If your event is live, double-check that all your guests can see, hear and interact with the session as expected at the very start of the session. Answer any technical questions before the main session starts so last-minute queries don’t interrupt the flow of your event.
4. Engage with your attendees at every turn
Switch up your delivery to keep participants on their toes. Break up long presentations with polls, interactive chat boxes, light-hearted games, and signposts to supporting resources.
You can use your platform to collect valuable engagement and behavioral data from these features to help determine who interacts most with your content and how likely they are to take your desired call to action.
5. Try breakouts for more intimate networking opportunities
Allow audiences to engage in meaningful conversations with their peers on a 1:1 basis as they would with other attendees at an in-person event. There are a variety of ways you can host a networking session. For example:
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- Text chat
- Breakout rooms powered by ON24 Breakouts
- Curate special networking sessions via ON24 Forums
The above are all acceptable ways to provide networking in a digital event.
6. Run a technical rehearsal with your team
Just like an in-person event has a dress rehearsal, your virtual event should too. Schedule a dry run with all speakers, moderators and technical support staff to walk through the agenda, test transitions and get familiar with the platform’s features. This is your opportunity to double-check slides, ensure smooth screen sharing, confirm internet connections and set expectations for timing and delivery. Rehearsals also give speakers the chance to ask questions and feel confident heading into the live session.
7. Prepare a contingency plan
Even with the most advanced platforms, technical issues can still happen. Make sure you have a clear backup plan in place. Assign a technical support lead who can quickly troubleshoot behind the scenes and provide presenters with instructions for rejoining the session if needed. Prepare backup moderators or alternate hosts in case someone drops off unexpectedly. Have a communication channel open for internal coordination, such as Slack or a group chat, so your team can stay aligned during any unexpected moments.
After the virtual event
1. Send out a post-event survey
A short post-event questionnaire allows attendees to provide honest feedback. It’s best to send out the link to the survey within just a couple of days of the event, while the experience is still front of mind.
This allows you to collect important data and information regarding your virtual event, which can be used for future virtual event planning.
If you’re in need of some inspiration for your post-event survey, you can check out our 11 essential questions.
2. Analyze your data
As mentioned, your virtual events platform will help you collect all sorts of data relating to your event — and, crucially, let you see how your event performed in relation to the goals you set for the exercise at the start of the planning process.
Consider reviewing event metrics such as the number of registrations, the number of attendees and audience demographics. (ON24’s Prospect Engagement Profile makes this easy.) You may also want to review demographic information and individual and account-level engagement data to understand who benefited most from your virtual event.
3. Learn from your data
The insights listed above will help you determine how successful your event was, and how you might be able to improve your approach for better results next time. Make sure you spend enough time reviewing and analyzing your results — and how advanced analytics can help accelerate your analysis.
4. Share on-demand content
Transform your live event into an evergreen resource by making sessions available on demand. This approach not only extends the lifespan of your content but also caters to attendees who couldn’t join live. By offering on-demand access, you provide continuous value and keep your audience engaged beyond the event day.
5. Create a post-event resource hub
Centralize all event-related materials such as recordings, slides and supplementary resources into a dedicated hub. This makes it easy for attendees to revisit content and for new prospects to explore your offerings. A well-organized resource hub enhances user experience and positions your brand as a valuable knowledge source.
6. Personalize follow-up communications
Leverage the data collected during the event to tailor your follow-up messages. Whether it’s referencing a session they attended or a question they asked, personalized communications demonstrate attentiveness and can significantly increase engagement rates.
7. Nurture leads through targeted campaigns
Use insights from attendee behavior to segment your audience and launch targeted nurturing campaigns. For instance, attendees who showed interest in a particular topic can receive related content, invitations to upcoming webinars or product information, guiding them further along the buyer’s journey.
8. Debrief with your internal team
Conduct a comprehensive debrief with your team to discuss what went well and identify areas for improvement. This collaborative reflection ensures continuous enhancement of your virtual events and aligns your team on future strategies.
9. Define and track your success metrics
Once your virtual event wraps, it’s time to move from anecdotal takeaways to actionable insights. That starts by aligning your results with clear success metrics tied to your original event goals.
Start by reviewing baseline metrics such as:
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- Registration vs. attendance rate
A high attendance rate signals that your promotional efforts resonated and your topic delivered value. - Audience engagement rate
Use platform analytics to review interaction levels, including poll responses, resource downloads, questions asked and time spent in-session. ON24 users can go even deeper with the Prospect Engagement Profile to score and segment leads based on behavior. - Content consumption
Which sessions were viewed the longest? Which downloadable assets drove the most clicks? Understanding what content hit the mark helps inform future event agendas and nurture strategies. - Pipeline and ROI impact
Go beyond vanity metrics. Track how many qualified leads were generated, how much pipeline was sourced or influenced, and whether revenue outcomes can be tied back to the event. With ON24’s integrations into your CRM or MAP, you can follow leads from first click to closed deal. - Post-event engagement
Look at how attendees re-engage with your content post-event. Are they watching on-demand replays? Clicking follow-up CTAs? Booking demos? These indicators help determine long-term value beyond the live experience.
- Registration vs. attendance rate
By grounding your evaluation in clear, measurable outcomes, you not only prove the impact of your virtual event but also surface valuable insights to shape your next digital experience. And with each iteration, you can refine your strategy, strengthen engagement and increase pipeline contribution.
As a result, you’ve now got the insights that you need to better understand how to plan virtual events in the future that are successful and engaging.
Virtual Event Planning Calendar to Keep You on Track
Planning a virtual event isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s a process that requires steady progress across weeks or even months. By mapping out your key planning activities against a general timeline, you can make sure your team stays aligned, deadlines are met and nothing falls through the cracks.
Here’s a simple breakdown of what to focus on — and when.
3–6 Months Before Your Event
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- Choose your virtual event platform
- Set your budget and define stakeholder expectations
- Determine your event format and content types
- Begin speaker and sponsor outreach
- Align internal teams on event goals and success metrics
1–2 Months Before Your Event
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- Finalize your agenda and session structure
- Confirm speakers and begin content collection
- Launch promotional campaigns
- Build out registration pages and email workflows
- Coordinate rehearsals and dry runs
2–3 Weeks Before Your Event
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- Send reminders to registered attendees
- Double-check your tech setup and integrations
- Finalize any downloadable resources or assets
- Confirm sponsor placements and speaker assets
- Prep your engagement tools (polls, Q&A, breakout sessions)
1 Week Out
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- Host final speaker rehearsals
- Publish housekeeping slides or welcome videos
- Share login and platform navigation info with attendees
- Prepare internal support teams for live day execution
Day-of Event
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- Open sessions early to troubleshoot any access issues
- Engage attendees from the moment they log in
- Monitor Q&A, polls and chat for moderation
- Use engagement insights to flag high-intent attendees in real time
You’ve got the virtual event planning checklist – now get the tech. Book a demo for ON24’s virtual events platform here.
