{"id":231,"date":"2021-02-01T20:50:23","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T02:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eventus.io\/blog\/?p=231"},"modified":"2021-04-11T22:02:08","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T04:02:08","slug":"how-to-host-a-virtual-activities-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eventus.io\/blog\/how-to-host-a-virtual-activities-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Host a Virtual Activities Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are many reasons why you may want to host a virtual activities fair, whether it\u2019s to follow social distancing guidelines or to save on expensive in-person venue fees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, if you\u2019re a first time organizer, it may be daunting to put together your first virtual activities fair due to the new technology that you may have to adopt as well as the logistics that you need to juggle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we break up the process of hosting a virtual activities fair into 7 general steps. At each step, we\u2019ll provide a summarization of the step and give considerations that you should keep in mind when carrying it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps to Host a Virtual Activities Fair<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Set a date<\/li>
  2. Choose a platform<\/li>
  3. Promote your event<\/li>
  4. Set up initial event details<\/li>
  5. Onboard your student orgs<\/li>
  6. Prepare your students<\/li>
  7. Launch your event<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Step 1 – Set a Date<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Although obvious, the first key and important step in hosting your virtual activities fair is to set a clear date for your event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By doing so, you implicitly create a timeframe that you can work off of and can work backwards from that deadline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oftentimes, event coordinators who don\u2019t set a clear date for their event end up procrastinating on key setup tasks which result in confusion and potential delays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 2 – Choose a Platform<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019ve set a date for your event, you will then need to choose a platform to host your virtual activities fair.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This step will be especially important since the features of your virtual activities fair platform will dictate how your orgs and students engage with one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Depending on your event scope, you may want to have a complete solution provided by a dedicated virtual activities fair vendor, or you may decide that your event can be hosted simply with Zoom rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For more considerations, you can visit the following article: Choosing a Virtual Involvement Fair Solution<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 3 – Promote your Event<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    After you\u2019ve decided on a platform, you should then promote your event to your target audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At this point, you can simply promote your event dates and provide a preliminary overview of how the event will be hosted (Depending on your platform of choice). Additionally, you can begin taking student org registrations so that you know who will be virtually \u201ctabling\u201d at your virtual activities fair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Although it might seem unintuitive to promote your event when your event may not be fully set up yet, it\u2019s important to get early buy-in from your students and student-org leaders. By promoting your event early, they can pencil in your event date and make sure that they\u2019re available to take part in your virtual activities fair.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 4 – Set up Initial Event Details <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Now that your event timeline and platform have been decided upon, it\u2019s now time for you to begin the legwork of setting everything up in your virtual activities fair platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regardless of your platform, you will most likely need to prepare and set up initial items such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n