This spring, when we shifted to working and learning remotely, my boss immediately got our Sanford team powered up for the virtual event scene. The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is a community of excellence working to improve lives and communities by researching the most pressing public policy issues and preparing students for lives of leadership, civic engagement and public service. Our programming serves to both point people to our faculty expertise in these challenging times and to keep our community of students, prospective students, and alumni engaged, wherever they may be. With more than 8000 alumni and 1000 students worldwide, virtual programs give us the potential to reach a much larger audience.
Why did you choose this format/model over others?
To be honest, it is our content, rather than the format, which makes our programs compelling. This spring and summer, Zoom meetings served our virtual program needs and was readily accessible. However, this fall, I will begin using a Zoom webinar license, which will be a game changer for managing our virtual programming. I’m looking forward to fewer audio and video distractions in webinars, but the communication tools in the webinar platform will really make my work publicizing programs and registering attendees much more efficient.
What resources, skills, and partners did you use in creating this virtual event?
It was clear early on that we needed to establish some organizational standards. To that end, we created the Sanford best practices guide to Zoom meetings. It includes step by step instructions and references for the entire process, from concept through execution. By creating and sharing this guide, we’ve given our Sanford colleagues the tools to brand and deliver virtual programs that consistently represent Sanford excellence. You are welcome to view and download the most current version here.
Some highlights of the guide are a quick reference planning guide for organizers, and the printable checklist for presenters. Another resource we created was a 25 Live “Sanford virtual location” which must be used to schedule any Sanford sponsored events. By using this virtual location, we can ensure our programs have access to the webinar license, tech and event support, and that Sanford events do not compete with each other.
What elements did you incorporate in your virtual event to engage attendees?
Before, during and after events, we use a variety of tools to engage attendees. For instance, I’ve added a Sanford newsletter signup option to the event registration questions. In a recent program, I created a branded PowerPoint which looped the last five minutes before the program began. It included the speakers’ bios, and cross promoted a recent podcast by one of the speakers. We also use social media to strategically engage attendees. In preparation for events, the faculty host and communications staff draft tweets with related content to share throughout the event, along with live reactions and quotes from speakers. To collect attendee feedback and interest in future programs, we are starting to use the Zoom feature which hyperlinks to a Qualtrics post-event survey.
How do you measure the success of your virtual events?
Dean Kelley monitors registration and actual participation counts almost as closely as I do! Of course, one measure, or should I say goal, of a successful virtual event is the absence of any technical issues.
What have you learned from planning these virtual events?
I have come to accept that no matter how much we prepare and practice, something can always go wrong. Once, our moderator actually got locked out of the Zoom meeting, and another faculty member had to improvise. Another time, despite a successful sound check during rehearsal, the featured speaker’s mic failed.
What is your next virtual event challenge?
This fall, in honor of our founder Terry Sanford, we will launch a virtual series called “Stand for…” We will be doing multiple events under this new umbrella to include: Stand for Justice, Stand for Democracy and Stand for Community. These will be more challenging because the topics are more complex, and each will involve several new partners and multiple speakers.
I am truly grateful for my boss, Kirsten Khire, who sets the bar high and brings a wealth of previous experience and best practices. I learn from her every day. Emily Totherow created our first draft of the Zoom meeting guide and has been a great partner as we shifted events online. Huge shout out to my many colleagues at Sanford who aligned their events under the Sanford Virtual Event brand, who work collaboratively to coordinate scheduling, and who are always ready to help behind the scenes. I want to give a special shout out to Tiffany Goetzinger who was such a pleasure to work with on the DCID-Sanford Covid-19 and development series.
Throughout the pandemic and especially this summer, I must also thank my family for leaving me alone during the events so I could put 100% focus on the all-consuming work of hosting a public virtual event.
Virtually yours,
Mary Lindsley
Communications and Events Manager
Sanford School of Public Policy
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Kathy Wright, Editor
