The Top 5 Virtual Summit Software Solutions to Choose From in 2024

Are you planning to host a large online event? Looking to boost your event's success and engage a larger audience? Hosting your own virtual summit may be the answer you're searching for. In this ultimate guide, we'll explore the world of virtual summit software, its key features, how to compare different options, and how to implement it successfully to host an event you and your audience are proud of. We'll also share tips on maximizing its use and discuss future trends in virtual summit software. Let's dive in and discover how virtual summit software can elevate your online event experience.

Understanding Virtual Summit Software

Virtual summit software plays a crucial role in hosting successful online events. It provides a platform that enables you to bring together speakers, attendees, and sponsors virtually. With its advanced features and functionalities, virtual summit software allows you to recreate the experience of an in-person event in a virtual setting.

The Difference between Virtual Summits and other Virtual Events

A virtual summit is a virtual event type that typically involves multiple speakers, tracks and sessions over a period of time, focusing on a particular topic or industry. Virtual summits often include keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities.
Other types of virtual events can include virtual conferences, virtual trade shows, and virtual meetings. These events don’t often have multi-tracks where sessions are running concurrently. Virtual summits are often larger and more comprehensive, with a wider range of speakers and topics covered.

The Role of Virtual Summit Software in Online Events

Virtual summit software acts as the backbone of your online summit. While there are tons of virtual event platforms on the market, virtual summit software needs to enables you to create and manage event schedules, facilitate speaker sessions, and engage attendees. By offering interactive features like live presentations, Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities, virtual summit software helps you deliver a rich and immersive experience to your audience.

Imagine hosting a virtual summit where attendees can join from the comfort of their own homes, yet still feel connected to a community of like-minded individuals. With virtual summit software, you can create a virtual lobby where attendees can gather before the event starts, chat with each other, and even participate in icebreaker and networking activities. This not only helps in building community but also fosters a sense of belonging and camaraderie among participants.

In addition to facilitating networking, virtual summit software also allows for seamless content delivery. You can easily upload pre-recorded sessions, live stream presentations, and even offer on-demand access to recorded sessions after the event. This flexibility ensures that attendees can consume the content at their own pace and convenience, maximizing the value they get from the event.

Key Features to Look for in Virtual Summit Software

When choosing your event platform, it's essential to consider key features that align with your event objectives. Look for features such as customizable event branding, registration management, agenda building, speaker management, and audience engagement tools. These features will ensure that your event runs smoothly and effectively.

Customizable event branding allows you to create a cohesive and visually appealing event experience. You can customize the colors, logos, and overall look and feel of the virtual summit platform to match your brand identity. This helps create a consistent and professional image for your event, leaving a lasting impression on attendees and sponsors.

Registration management is another crucial feature to consider. Virtual summit software should provide a user-friendly registration page and process that allows attendees to easily sign up for the event, select sessions they want to attend, and receive automated confirmations. Would your target audience be appreciative of a one click registration process? Does it greatly impact your ability to get registrations? If so, prioritize that in your evaluation. It should also offer options for collecting attendee data (via a form on the landing page), such as demographics and interests, which can be valuable for future marketing efforts. Do you need GDPR compliance during your registration process? Make sure your platform covers that.

Agenda building and speaker organization features are essential for event management. Look for software that allows you to easily create and update the agenda, assign speakers to specific sessions, and provide them with the necessary tools to deliver their presentations seamlessly. This will ensure a smooth flow of the event and keep attendees engaged throughout.

Audience engagement tools are crucial for fostering interaction and participation. Features like live chat, polls, and real-time Q&A sessions enable attendees to actively engage with speakers and fellow participants. This not only enhances the learning experience but also creates a sense of community and connection, even in a virtual environment.

Lastly, your software needs to seamlessly integrate with your CRM or marketing automation software. This is required in order to add your registrants and attendees to your email list, invite them to future events, and ultimately track the ROI on your successful virtual summit.

Comparing Top Virtual Summit Software

With numerous virtual summit software options available, comparing them can seem overwhelming. However, by understanding the criteria for comparison and weighing the pros and cons of popular solutions, you can make an informed decision that best suits your event's needs.

Criteria for Comparing Virtual Summit Software

When comparing virtual summit software, consider factors such as pricing, ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, and support services. Additionally, assess the software's ability to meet your event's specific requirements, such as the number of attendees, session formats, and customization options.

Price is a crucial factor to consider when choosing virtual summit software. While some platforms offer a flat fee, others charge based on the number of attendees or sessions. It's essential to evaluate your budget and determine which pricing model aligns with your financial and business goals.

Another important criterion is ease of use. Look for software that has an intuitive interface and requires minimal training for both event organizers and attendees. The last thing you want is to spend valuable time and resources on a complicated platform that hinders the success of your virtual summit.

Best solutions for hosting virtual summits

Demio

Overview:

Demio is a browser-based virtual event platform designed to facilitate engaging experiences that turn into analytical insights.

Features:

Demio features include engagement resources such as polls, Q&A, live call to actions, and handouts that drive real-time feedback to the host. Presentation materials such as videos and slides can be uploaded for ease of use, and sessions can be live or pre-recorded. Each event comes with a fully customizable registration page and form that ensures consistent branding, and the gathering of information that matters most to you and your business objectives. Automated email notifications make communication with registrants easy. Demio integrates with every marketing tool you need including Marketo, Salesforce, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Pardot. Demio offers advanced analytics providing hosts with the engagement analytics they need to qualify event attendees.

Pricing:

Demio offers monthly and annual pricing options, as well as a free trial. All pricing can be found on Demio’s pricing page.

Livestorm

Overview:

Livestorm offers an all-in-one browser-based video conferencing platform.

Features:

Livestorm offers breakout rooms, custom branding, email cadences, registration pages, calendar integration and more.

Pricing:

Livestorm pricing is based on Monthly Active Contacts, defined as any registrant or team member who registered for your event. All pricing can be found on Livestorm’s pricing page.

Zuddl

Overview:

Zuddl operates a modular platform that allows users to choose the modules they need to create their ultimate event experience.

Features:

Modules include registration and ticketing, speaker & exhibitor portal, attendee app, onsite solutions, virtual & hybrid events, and integrations. For their virtual and hybrid module specifically, they boast effortless video production & streaming capabilities, customizable branding, and polls and Q&A.

Pricing:

Virtual Events and Hybrid Events pricing is custom. Interested parties can reach out to the Zuddl team to inquire about pricing from their pricing page.

Zoom

Overview:
Zoom enables multi-session, multi-day, virtual or hybrid, events with features that help you create a successful virtual experience your audience won’t forget.

Features:

Features include a virtual expo floor, event networking, event hubs, event sponsors, video on demand and enhanced branding opportunities.

Pricing:

Pricing for Zoom events starts at $150/mo and spans up to $26,490/yr.

Webex

Overview:

Webex Events provides everything you need to elevate the event experience, whether your audience joins in-person or virtually.

Features:

Features include native chat, moderated Q&A, polling, gamification, and video rooms so your attendees can connect with your brand, your sponsors, and each other. Mobile event app and registration and ticketing are also features of Zoom events.

Pricing:

Webex Event pricing for Virtual Events can be accessed through their pricing page, by connecting directly with the Webex team.

Implementing Virtual Summit Software

Now that you've chosen the virtual summit software that best fits your needs, it's time to successfully implement it. By following a few key steps and addressing common challenges, you can ensure a seamless implementation process.

Steps to seamlessly implementing Virtual Summit Software

Implementing virtual summit software requires careful planning and execution. Start by planning your event's structure and content. Set clear goals (with actual metrics) for your summit and define your target audience. Remember that one of the challenges in creating virtual events is often found in the lack of goal setting.  Are you trying to get MQLs with your virtual summit? Are you trying to retain a key segment of your customer base? You can’t know whether or not your event was successful if you don’t know what success looks like. You can then create a comprehensive event schedule that includes various sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Take advantage of the software's features to customize your event and make it engaging for your participants.

Communication (both internally and externally) is key when implementing virtual summit software. Reach out to your speakers and sponsors and provide them with all the necessary information and resources they need to participate in the event. Ensure that the software is set up correctly and conduct thorough testing to identify and resolve any technical issues before the event. Ensure your internal team and summit hosts are adequately trained and can troubleshoot common challenges as they arise. This will help you avoid any potential disruptions during the summit and ensure a smooth experience for both the organizers and attendees.

Common Challenges and Solutions in Implementing Virtual Summit Software

While implementing virtual summit software, you may encounter challenges such as technical issues, participant engagement, or managing concurrent sessions. To overcome these challenges, have a dedicated support team in place, provide clear instructions to participants, and leverage the software's engagement tools to keep attendees captivated.

Technical issues will ruin your virtual summit in less than 5 minutes. Plan ahead by having a dedicated IT team available for support. This team can provide technical assistance to participants and address any issues they may encounter during the summit, mitigating the risk (and headaches) of technical challenges.

With multiple sessions happening simultaneously, it’s important to ensure that participants can easily navigate between sessions and access the content they’re interested in. The chosen software should have features that allow for easy session switching and provide participants with a seamless experience. By leveraging these features and providing clear instructions to participants, you can make sure that they can make the most out of the summit and attend the sessions that align with their interests.

Another challenge that you may encounter while implementing virtual summit software is participant engagement. With attendees joining remotely, it can be challenging to keep them captivated and actively involved throughout the event. To overcome this challenge, we recommend having a team in place that is strictly focused on solving this challenge. Without other responsibilities, this team can 100% focus on the experience your attendees are having. Additionally, providing clear instructions and guidelines to participants on how to navigate the software and participate in sessions will help them feel more confident and engaged.

Maximizing the Use of Virtual Summit Software

Virtual summit software not only helps you host successful events but also offers opportunities to enhance your online event experience. Consider these tips to make the most out of your virtual summit software.

Tips to Enhance Your Online Event Experience

Focus on creating engaging and interactive content to captivate your audience. Incorporate elements like polls, quizzes, and live chats to encourage participation and foster meaningful connections. Additionally, provide ample networking opportunities to facilitate connections between attendees, speakers, and sponsors.

Leveraging Virtual Summit Software for Better Engagement

Utilize the advanced features of your virtual summit software to maximize attendee engagement. These features can include live streaming, breakout rooms for smaller group discussions, and virtual exhibitor booths. By leveraging these tools effectively, you can create an immersive virtual event that keeps attendees actively involved throughout.

Check out other examples of engagement marketing here.

Future Trends in Virtual Summit Software

As technology continues to advance, virtual summit software is poised to evolve as well. Let's explore the emerging trends that will shape the future of online events and virtual summit software.

Emerging Technologies in Virtual Summit Software

New technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) are finding their way into the virtual summit space. These technologies offer enhanced virtual experiences, improved networking capabilities, and increased personalization for attendees.

Predictions for the Future of Online Events and Virtual Summit Software

In the future, we can expect virtual summit software to become more user-friendly, customizable, and accessible across various devices. The integration of AI and VR will enable event organizers to create immersive experiences that rival traditional in-person events, making virtual summits an even more appealing option.

In conclusion, virtual summit software is your ticket to hosting successful online events. By understanding its role, comparing different options, and effectively implementing it, you can boost your event's success and engage a larger audience. Additionally, by maximizing its use and keeping an eye on future trends, you can stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of virtual events. So embrace the power of virtual summit software and make your online events unforgettable.