How to Network During Online Conferencing?

Companies prefer online platforms to create networks day by day. Online conferencing concept is no longer unusual and unconventional, as almost all industries are getting used to this new order in the business world and integrating online environments into their workflow. Although we know how widespread virtual platforms are, we should not ignore the fact that there are companies and employees who have not yet met these kinds of platforms. For this reason, a person who wants to organize a virtual conference for the first time may not be able to answer the question of how to create a network in events organized using online platforms such as online conferences.

This is a major concern for those considering organizing a virtual conference for the first time. It is quite natural for people who have no experience in this matter to be worried.

What are the most effective methods to get more effective results and create a wide network in online conferences?

1. Chat Rooms

Chat rooms are one of the tools that will add dynamics at most to your event during an online event. As an online conference organizer, you can integrate the live chat feature into your event on a single platform. By providing access to chat rooms, you can allow your attendees to easily share their thoughts, comments or concerns about the event. In terms of this process, it can be compared to a discussion forum. At the same time, you can easily interact with experts in your field with the live chat feature. Audio and video features can also be integrated into the live chat feature. You can give your visitors a holistic experience.

2. Schedule Meetings 

If your virtual conference does not include post-event meetings, your virtual conference may be deemed to have not served its purpose. There are actually very simple explanations for this situation. One of the main goals of the participants participating in virtual events is networking. With this purpose, they devote their time to this process. Participants want to reach the meetings planned in detail on the calendars and participate in the most suitable events for them. Here, one of the important points that will distinguish you from other event organizers is that you can make a successful plan.

3. Virtual Lobby

Thanks to the virtual lobby, the organizers enable their visitors to communicate and connect with each other during the live sessions. The virtual lobby is the first and important step towards networking. Meanwhile, visitors can view the order of the day before entering the live sessions and easily view the speakers' profiles and contact information. Some companies may also post their social platform links in the lobby area so that they can connect later. If we think about it in detail, this is a smart advertising method. Some sponsors also use this feature to increase their market reach.

4. Network Spaces

As someone who uses online platforms, you need to think about the ways you can engage your visitors the most and for the longest time. At this stage, you can also add a survey to your registration form, which can help meet like-minded visitors by applying search filters and connecting them to the virtual platform. Here are some examples to help you bring this to life. For example, you can make it easier for your visitors to reach potentially relevant experts by adding some fields that are related to their interests. You can also use the form to measure the reasons for attending your virtual event.

5. Live Polls and Q&A Sessions

During a live conference, participants can not only share their feedback, but also interact with panelists. In this way, they can also participate in question and answer sessions. This feature often encourages knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas among participants. It can also encourage some productive discussion among your visitors, which means increased chances of lasting networking.

6. Gamification

Gamification is definitely the way to increase social participation during online conferences. It is a very effective way of integrating fun ways of hosting a collaborative online event and giving attendees a more dynamic environment. With the gamification feature, your participants will both spend a long time at your event and experience an unforgettable event process. This will allow them to have a fun time during the online activity and at the same time create a network.

To summarize the aforementioned issues, in order to keep up with the ever-changing and developing business life, you also need to stay dynamic and not compromise your research spirit. Online conferences are an age-appropriate type of event that makes your business life easier and allows you and your participants to have a wide network. If you want to take your business network to a much wider area, you can integrate the best methods of networking, which we have mentioned in detail in our blog, into your business life. Stay tuned to Endless Fairs for this and other methods to make your business life more dynamic.