Most companies will understandably brag of previous success in producing digital events. But if their portfolios are limited to mainly one-day, 100-person events, you might wish to shop around some more to find help staging your 6,000-attendee user conference that runs for five days. The more similar their events are to the one you're planning, the more closely you'll be able to accurately estimate upcoming costs, production times, technical requirements, and other concerns. Despite their recent surge in popularity, online events are terra incognita for many marketers. One way to navigate this unknown terrain is to ask to look at how other companies approached them and succeeded – thereby giving you evidence as to what strategies and tactics are likely to be successful and which ones might stumble. The answer to this question will also help you establish appropriate objectives and expectations based on potential partners' past successes. Any company trying to sell you on its digital services will put the best gloss possible on its track record. But the ability to see a virtual event that's presently taking place allows potential customers to get an unvarnished look at how well the company's platform actually works in real life. From swag to food to floors, branding a physical event or booth can appear easier than an online one. It's important to determine what aspects typically associated with branding – such as company fonts, colors, logos, taglines, etc. – can be worked into the overall event platform. These can take the form of branded signage, titles, equipment, and even presenters' apparel that appears on-screen. Further, chyrons, the graphics that run across the lower portion of the screen during televised news shows, might also serve as an effective way to keep your brand continually in front of viewers. With the U.S. economy shrinking by 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, (the worst drop since the Great Recession) and likely to plummet even more, the ability of companies to make money from products and services through virtual events is a paramount need. Inquire with vendors about the ways a digital event can drive revenue, and see if there are examples from their other clients that the provider can point to. Just because a vendor offers a complete online-event model doesn't mean you'll like all of its various components. If you have a strong preference for certain event technologies – such as a particular registration and/or networking tool – ask if those can be incorporated into the event. The answer will also give you valuable insight into the vendor's flexibility. Many experts recommend recording your event's content so attendees can view it on demand at some point. This can accommodate attendees in far-flung time zones for whom, say, a session officially scheduled at 8 a.m. EST might be in the middle of the night. Plus, recorded content is an effective way to handle sessions that are atypically long or packed with an enormous amount of technical detail that attendees might wish to peruse slowly or in discrete amounts. On- demand video can also be used as bonus material for attendees to enjoy after the event closes. While some attendees may be comfortable with a simple username to enter the event, others may feel safer with a login that requires a robust password. Still others may prefer the convenience, for example, of signing in via their Facebook or Google accounts. The more options you provide for accessing the event, the more likely you are to meet your goals for attendee satisfaction. One way to expand your event's influence is to allow participants to share content in a multitude of ways, from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. By enabling your attendees to easily share your event's content on social media, the greater the chance of them evangelizing it – which will, in turn, multiply your reach and extend the event's shelf life. To accurately calibrate the effectiveness of their digital events, marketers need to know if they'll be able to track the metrics that best gauge how well they accomplished their goals. These can include the number of attendees who participated, conversion rates, video views, social sharing, number of downloads, etc. Knowing which metrics are trackable can help in choosing one provider over another early on in the selection process. Will you be able to track metrics on the fly, or will you have to wait for them to be compiled after the event concludes? Being able to do it during the event can help you pinpoint hot spots that are succeeding – or floundering – and possibly adjust accordingly then and there. While sponsorships in the corporeal world can include taxi toppers, headrest covers, floor maps, elevator wraps, etc., few such tangible opportunities might seem to exist for online events. Instead, marketers should investigate how a virtual-events company might work in digital sponsorships, which can encompass e-newsletters, event apps, and more. Just because an event is online doesn't mean potential snafus are any less real or less threatening to your goals. Evaluate any virtual-event producer for the full range of support it offers, from the more obvious technical support for both organizers and attendees to less evident things such as speaker training. Be sure to ask how much support it provides during an event – and how quickly it can respond when something goes wrong.