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Whether you are running a town hall or offering a new product launch, there are essential steps before an online event you should follow. At V2, we believe in measuring twice and cutting once and below are six simple pre-event guidelines that we check off for every event.

1.  Decide on the webcast/web conferencing platform. Not all online conference platforms offer the same capabilities so it is essential to choose the one that best fits your meeting objective. Some things to keep in mind when choosing a web conferencing/webcasting solution is attendee capacity, video sharing needs, smart phone or tablet compatibility, break out room requirements, social meeting integration, reporting and analytics.
2. Create a registration page. A Registration page is a storefront for your event and the good ones allow you to collect valuable information about your attendees as well as keep them updated on your event. Ideally this will be set up 3 to 4 weeks before the actual event so you can send out your e-mail invites. This is a golden opportunity to truly get to know your audience.
3. Schedule a rehearsal. The rehearsal or dry run is the single most important pre-event activity. Use this time to familiarize the presenters with the technology, test the content for compatibility and rehearse for speaker flow and timing.
4. Create a twitter hashtag. Promoting your event on your social networking feeds will get your attendees engaged before the event even begins. This will also allow you to share or promote resources. Make sure you don’t use spaces in your hashtag.
5. Survey your registrants. If you want to have a lively event, pose questions to your registrants on the registration page. Ask them about current challenges and what information they hope the webcast will provide. Their feedback will help you customize your content to fit their expectations.
6. Upload Handouts. In an online meeting, handouts are the schwag of your event. As with the actual slide presentation, you will want the handouts uploaded and checked for accuracy in advance. Downloadable handouts generally contain reference material as well as marketing information about your company and or products.