Hosting a Crypto Virtual Conference: 5 Lessons We Learned
Lessons and Tips from the Leverage Conference
At the start of November, we started preparing for what would become our largest virtual event, and the first-ever virtual crypto-trading conference, the ‘Leverage Conference’. Over the course of the 2 days, the LeverageConf agenda covered a range of topics including DeFi, trading, and DeFi Security from some of the best the industry has to offer.
Our parent company, SMC Capital, has hosted dozens of offline crypto events worldwide over the past 4 years, in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Amsterdam, and London, however, this was the first time any of us had attempted to organize an online event. Here are some of the lessons we took from the experience:
1. Marketing, Advertising and Building a Community Ahead of Your Event is Paramount
Attendee retention is the number 1 issue with any online event, especially when tickets are free. In an offline situation, people are far more likely to commit to an event because they have to make travel plans, source accomodation in some instances, and are keen to network with people face-to-face.
In an online event, there is no need to make any such plans and all networking is done via video chat…. This forces event planners to get creative, offer other forms of value to their attendees, and work hard right up until the last minute to ensure ticket holders actually show up on the day.
We found that creating a strong community around the brand and heavily advertising the event well ahead of time were things we absolutely needed to do to lock in our guests.
Don’t forget! ‘advertise, advertise, advertise!’ One way to do this is to request promotion from your attending panelists, sponsors, and media sponsors.
2. Don’t Count Your Attendees Before They Arrive.
Expands on point above. In online events, just because you have 500 signups, doesn’t mean you’ll have 500 people turn up on the day. Anticipate a 5–15% attendance rate.
Our event was ultimately oversubscribed after all our marketing, and advertising efforts, including reaching out to our own personal networks, through media PR, on social media with our followers, and our Telegram groups.
3. Offer the Best Quality Sessions Possible
We wanted to feature talented speakers and create great quality sessions for our audience. That’s why we carefully curated and chose between some of the top traders in the industry including f i l ₿ f i l ₿ and EXCAVO who we knew can offer top-notch and valuable content for those looking to start, or improve on cryptocurrency trading.
Our sessions were broken down into 30–55 minute sessions where the speaker was directly engaging with those who had questions, and concerns making it a very personalized experience for everyone who had a front-row seat (everyone). Between sessions, the Leverage Conference had networking breaks in between to give everyone time to create priceless connections.
4. Restream Across Multiple Platforms
One thing we found that significantly boosted our attendance rate was partnering with a range of different streaming platforms. This reduces the risk of having an attendee face technical difficulties, leaves them with more options, and it increases our audience reach to include those who otherwise may have never found out about the event, or been excluded.
5. Approach Companies Who Have Sponsored Similar Online Events
Finding sponsors for an online event is a relatively new thing in the industry, and the most likely sponsors to come through are companies who may have been to one of our previous offline events and loved it or companies that already have experience in sponsoring online events! This will boost your chances of closing a good deal.
