Interview with Chris Alexander from WBECS about how to organize a successful online conference

WBECS (World Business And Executive Coaching Summit), the largest ONLINE business and executive coaching event, took place from 31st of May until the 20th of June. We interviewed Chris Alexander, organiser of WBECS about organizing this 7th edition of the online conference.

What is it like to organise such a large online summit?

‘It’s very exciting and rewarding to organise a conference for 11.000+ attendees. The build up to the conference itself can be nerve wracking and of course we work extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure we are delivering the best possible event. With Krowden (formerly NetworkTables) it was much easier to manage the registration than last year. Attendees signed up for the Implementation Mastery Sessions and Roundtables of their choice and received a personalised schedule with links to the video conferences the day before the sessions. When the event officially starts, it’s so exciting and when you start receiving awesome feedback on the program and how it’s organised it’s a great feeling.’

What is the biggest challenge in organising an online conference with 11.000+ attendees?

‘There are a lot of moving parts so logistics is a challenge. We want to ensure all of our attendees take great value out of the event so getting things like online tools right to ensure the registration process and delivery of sessions is smooth and seamless is extremely important.’

Why did WBECS choose to facilitate online Implementation Mastery Sessions and Round Tables through NetworkTables?

‘We needed a smooth and sexy platform to aid the registration process. We have around 250 IM Sessions and almost 100 Round Tables over the three week event and needed somewhere for the attendees to view and register for each event.’

What did attendees of the conference say about the tool?

‘Attendees have said this has been a great way for them to pre-register for the IM Sessions and RoundTables and to keep track of when they take place. It’s also easy on the eye to be able to see the title and description of the session and the faces of those who have already registered. It’s a huge upgrade from last year.’

‍

Results
The Krowden (formerly NetworkTables) team was amazed by the number of online shares of session on social media by attendees of this online conference. In total the links to the sessions were shared over 1.900+ times on social media, which 90% was on LinkedIn. This is breaking the record of an conference named ‘How to Get There Summit’ that hitted the 1.600 shares in November 2016. In this way a event tool like NetworkTables, thus contributes, to speeding up ticket sale and pre-event engagement.

‍

‍

FAQ

How did the organizers handle technical issues that may have arisen during the online conference with such a large number of attendees?
The organizers had a dedicated technical support team available throughout the conference to address any technical issues that arose. They also conducted thorough testing and rehearsals prior to the event to minimize the chances of technical glitches.

Were there any specific challenges faced in coordinating the different time zones of attendees for the online sessions?
Coordinating different time zones was indeed a challenge for the organizers. They scheduled sessions at varying times to accommodate attendees from different regions, and also provided recordings of sessions for those who couldn't attend live due to time zone differences.

Did the use of Krowden (formerly NetworkTables) for registration and session scheduling result in any unexpected benefits or drawbacks for the organizers or attendees?
The use of Krowden (formerly NetworkTables) for registration and session scheduling provided a seamless experience for both organizers and attendees. It allowed for easy registration, session selection, and networking opportunities. However, some attendees faced minor issues with navigating the platform initially, but these were quickly resolved by the organizers.