How do you create live event content that works for everyone?

1 Know your audience

Before you plan your live event content, you need to understand who your audience is, what their needs and preferences are, and how they will access your event. You can use surveys, interviews, social media, or analytics tools to gather insights about your audience's demographics, interests, goals, challenges, and feedback. This will help you tailor your content to their expectations, pain points, and learning styles.

2 Choose the right format

Depending on the type of live event you are hosting, you can choose from different formats to deliver your content, such as webinars, Q&A sessions, interviews, workshops, panels, or demos. Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you need to consider your objectives, your audience's preferences, and your technical capabilities. For example, if you want to educate your audience about a complex topic, you might opt for a webinar with slides and polls. If you want to foster interaction and engagement, you might prefer a Q&A session or a panel with live chat and questions.

3 Design for accessibility

Accessibility is not only a legal requirement, but also a moral responsibility and a business opportunity. As such, when creating live event content, it is important to ensure that it is accessible to people with different abilities, devices, and bandwidths. This can be achieved by using clear and simple language, avoiding jargon and acronyms, providing captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for audio and video content, using high-contrast colors, fonts, and images, avoiding flashing or moving elements, offering multiple ways to access and participate in your event (e.g. phone, email or social media), and testing your content and platform for compatibility and usability issues.

4 Incorporate diversity and inclusion

Incorporating diversity and inclusion into your live event content is not only about meeting regulations, but also about fostering a culture of respect, belonging, and value for your audience. You should seek input and feedback from diverse groups and stakeholders, feature diverse speakers and experts in your content, use inclusive language, pronouns, and terms, and avoid stereotypes and biases. It is also important to acknowledge any potential barriers or challenges for your audience and create a safe and supportive space for them to share their opinions and experiences.

5 Engage your audience

Live events offer a unique opportunity to engage with your audience in real time. To make sure your content is interactive, relevant, and memorable, consider asking open-ended questions and encouraging feedback and comments. You can also use polls, quizzes, games, or challenges to stimulate interest and learning. Offering incentives, rewards, or recognition for participation and action can also be a great way to engage your audience. Additionally, sharing stories, examples, or testimonials to illustrate your points and build trust is key. Finally, providing follow-up resources, support, or offers can extend the relationship and value for your audience.

6 Evaluate your results

After your live event, you want to measure the impact and effectiveness of your content. You can use various metrics and tools to evaluate your results, such as attendance, retention, satisfaction, engagement, leads, conversions, or revenue. You can also collect feedback from your audience, speakers, and partners to identify what worked well and what can be improved. This will help you optimize your live event content for future events and goals.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?