Do I need registration for my virtual conference?

In my last post I suggested that you give yourself some time to consider the technology behind your event.  Part of that technology can be a registration system.

When you’re hosting a large event, you will likely need to gather a list to confirm the expected attendance or create follow-up activities.  One of the best ways to do this is to ask your audience to register before the event if they plan to attend.  After a person registers they receive the information for the event. 

First, let’s define registration services.  When you are hosting a virtual event, you may want to have participants register so that you have an idea of expected attendance.  It also allows you to gather more detailed information about your participants without making each person give a lot of information to an operator as they enter the meeting.   You can perform pre-registration by phone or online, but most people opt for the web form…it’s a simple click from your email invitation to register.

Now, why should you require registration for a virtual event? 

1. To simplify the event process:  A pre-registration process can reduce administration time by automating and branding event communications.
2. To increase registration and attendance:  By integrating meeting information with the participants’ outlook calendar integration and having multiple flexible reminders you can increase your registration to attendance ratio.
3. To gather mission critical data:   Gathering demographics and contact information before the event allows everyone to connect quickly at the time of the meeting, because they don’t have to stop and give required information to an operator.  Pre-registration also expands your database, because you will gather information for people who intend to join your event, even if they do not actually show up.  You will also have a way to score leads and may be able to integrate information into your CRM. 

Some best practices for using Event Registration I’ve found over the years include:

• Plan ahead for what your follow-up activities will be, so that you can gather the proper information during registration.
• Check your registration after your event invitations are sent.  Most responses to email invitations occur within one day.  If your registration is lower than expected, consider resending your invitation with plenty of time left before your event.
• If you are going to be using a virtual event for lead generation, don’t be afraid to ask a few qualifying questions in the registration.  But also don’t go overboard...Think about the time demands on your audience.  If your form takes too long to fill out, you may lose some responses as people get distracted at the office.
• Use the information in your registration report to prepare for the event.  If you have asked demographic or qualifying questions, you can tailor your presentation, if necessary, based on they type of people who are registering for your event.

There you go…I hope this “inside view” helps your next event be a resounding success!  And a little easier to manage while you’re at it!  In the next InterCall Blog post, we'll hear from a few different people and discuss the role of the Event Consutant.

Kim has been in the conferencing industry for the past 9 years. She is a Product Manager at InterCall for Mshow Web Conferencing, Events and Registration. She is passionate about the ability to support dynamic, powerful events using audio, video and/or web conferencing. In her spare time, Kim likes to spend time with her 2 ½ year old son, 4 ½ year old daughter and husband. You can often find the Winn family riding bikes together, spending a day at the beach, or going to the rodeo together.

Do you know how to plan a virtual event?

Cambria Vaccaro, Marketing Director, interviews InterCall’s very own Kim Winn, Product Manager for Event Services.

What exactly does “event services” mean in the conferencing world?

Because the world of communications continues to evolve and expand, doing a virtual presentation can involve several types of technology, and often those are new technologies with which you may not be comfortable or familiar. 

Event Services is a professional team dedicated to successfully establishing, executing and delivering post-event details.  Event Services are platform-agnostic and customer service driven…meaning that whether you’re doing an audio call (like IR announcements) or integrating streaming video or web conferencing, the Event Services teams coordinate all the pieces that make the event work the way you want it to.

This kind of support allows you to concentrate on delivering the presentation while the Event Services team takes care of the rest.

How involved should a conferencing provider be in helping me plan my event?

The level of activity at InterCall depends on the actual event itself.  But here are a few guidelines we use to make sure your virtual events are delivered beautifully. When you’re planning an event at InterCall, here is what will happen:

• An Event Consultant will immediately engage you to establish all your business and event requirements
• An Event Consultant will schedule and attend a comprehensive hand-off call between, you, the Sales rep and the Event Producer dedicated to your event.
• A dedicated Event Producer will work directly with you for all pre, during and post event details.
• A dedicated Event Producer will be your event point of contact for all your event needs.
• The Event team allows you to concentrate on an unforgettable presentation that you will deliver without worry.

Can you give me 3 “don’ts” for planning a virtual meeting?

1. Don’t consider the technology last – While you’re planning your topic, audience, and invitations, you need to also consider the delivery method.  Giving yourself, your conferencing provider and your event staff time to research your needs and discuss your options is crucial to a successful event.

2. Don’t proceed without an Event team – this is your “ace in the hole”.  InterCall’s Event Services teams help plan virtual meetings every day and are the professional. They will listen to all your needs and wants, help prioritize them, and provide a comprehensive solution, creating your ideal event.

3. Don’t forget about followup – a critical part of your strategy is knowing what you will do after the event.  Whether you are following up with employees on a training you’ve delivered, or prospecting through a list of webinar attendees, or simply archiving the event for later use…all of these things are much more easily addressed if they are identified up-front and coordinated by your Event team during initial planning.

Stay tuned for Kim’s next post on Registration Services.

Kim has been in the conferencing industry for the past 9 years. She is a Product Manager at InterCall for Mshow Web Conferencing, Events and Registration. She is passionate about the ability to support dynamic, powerful events using audio, video and/or web conferencing. In her spare time, Kim likes to spend time with her 2 ½ year old son, 4 ½ year old daughter and husband. You can often find the Winn family riding bikes together, spending a day at the beach, or going to the rodeo together.

Cambria Vaccaro is Director of Marketing, Corporate Communications and our “Industry News” blogger.  Cambria has been in the conferencing industry for nearly fifteen years, and has seen it evolve from traditional video bridging services to cool web features and remote communication services.  She is an avid runner, cook, wife and mother of two gorgeous girls.

5 Annoying Conference Call Mistakes to Avoid

One of the most common questions I get from training colleagues outside of the conferencing industry is “How do you train over a conference call?  There are way too many distractions!”  While I can see where their anxiety may be coming from, I’ve put together a list of 5 ways to remove distractions from your next virtual meeting.

1. Eliminate Background Noise

I could write a whole post on this one!  Dogs barking, phones ringing, babies crying and the airport loud speaker all fall into this category!  The great thing about conference calls is that you can dial in from anywhere and still run training or meet with your team.  However these types of disruptions not only degrade your experience, they affect the whole call. 

So, if your cell phone has a mute button, use it!  Otherwise, most conferencing bridges have a touch tone command that you can use to mute your line.  If you are the leader on the call you should also have the ability to mute all lines except your own and then un-mute those lines for discussion.

2. Watch Out For Hold Music

Some offices and cell phone providers include a hold music feature.  It’s nice if you’re the only one on hold.  But if you put your phone on hold while in a conference, it interrupts the entire call.  Make sure to remind your participants that if they have hold music on their phone and their second line rings, they should not put the conference line on hold.  All participants on the call will be able to hear the hold music. If they love their hold music and are proud of it, feed it into the conference before the meeting starts!

3. Be Cautious of Static

We all love our cell phones (mine is never more than a foot away from me at all times) but, a conference call is not always the best place to use one.  Ideally, everyone on a conference call would be using a handset plugged into a land line.  I know – that’s totally unrealistic.  Cordless phones, cell phones, headsets and wireless headsets are all very convenient but they can all cause static. 

The easiest way to clear this up is to have that person disconnect and dial back into the conference call without the wireless device or using a different phone.  If that person is unable to hear you over the static you can request an operator and they will be able to zero in on which line is causing the static and either mute or disconnect that line.

4. Test Your Speaker Phone

Using a speaker phone is often a great way to get feedback from a group of people.  These days, most speaker phones are full digital duplex and do a great job of delivering sound quality.    However, do make sure you test your speaker phone before the conference. Consider how many people will be in the room, how big the room is and if the phone will cause an echo into the conference.  If your speaker phone is equipped with microphones throughout the room, definitely test and use them.  If you’re the only one presenting, I would recommend using your hand/headset for the call and then using the speaker phone for Q&A so those in the room can hear the questions.

5. Beeps & Blaring Signals

If you are dialed into a conference call from your cell phone or home phone, you probably have call waiting enabled.  When you hear a tone notifying you that another call is coming through, that tone also plays into your conference call.  So, turn off your call waiting during your meeting.

Occasionally, you may also get a loud blaring sound into your phone.  This is usually feedback caused by another electronic device like a Blackberry or laptop.  If you get this noise, try moving away from those devices and the feedback should stop pretty quickly.

With most conferencing providers there should be an option to go online and manage your conference call in real time.  This is a great option that may allow you to see which line is causing the problem and fix it easily!  So there you have it – my top five recommendations to make your conference calls less distracting and more productive.  If I missed one that really bugs you, let me know and I’ll throw out some suggestions as to how to avoid it.  If these suggestions aren’t helping your call sound better, maybe what you need is an operator assisted call where someone can help control the noise for you! Remember that your conferencing service provider is there to help you get better sound quality.  So, give them a call!

Nicole Scheel is the Director of Training, and the “Tips & Training Blogger”. Nicole has been in training with InterCall for nine years and currently manages our internal and customer training departments, also known as InterCall University. When she's not training someone, you can find Nicole volunteering in her community or finishing her Masters in Training & Development at Roosevelt University.