Online Event Planning, Workflow, Promotion and Hosting Checklist


Are you planning a Zoom Webinar or other online event? Why and what do you hope to achieve? Who are you trying to reach and influence? Is the event part of a larger initiative, curriculum or student engagement, faculty promotion or donor stewardship strategy?

The following workflow and checklist are intended to help members of the Dean’s Office, chairs, directors, administrators and coordinators, faculty from across the school and our partners in Public Affairs, Development and Alumni Relations, the Office of Enrollment, and other offices in organizing, hosting and promoting School of Humanities online events.

If you have questions and would like to discuss ideas, strategies and resources for planning and promoting online events, please contact John P. Waterhouse, director of communications for the School of Humanities, at jpwaterhouse@rice.edu.

Phase 1 – Initiation and Awareness of Events
The dean, associate deans, chairs, directors, administrators and coordinators initiate events and make the director of communications and other members of the Dean’s Office aware of those events that require the support of the Dean’s Office and Public Affairs teams. The director of communications enters event information into the Humanities Events Google calendar so that others can see event dates and other details for planning and scheduling purposes.
Phase 2 – Determination of Platform and Resources Needed
The director of communications and other members of the Dean’s Office determine the platform and other resources needed for events managed by the Dean’s Office, those initiated by programs that do not have staff to support the promotion and hosting of events, and select other high-profile events.
Chairs, directors, administrators and coordinators determine which online events they can support and which require support from the Dean’s Office and the university’s student tech TAs.
Phase 3 – Pre-Production, Registration and Scheduling
Is the event that you are planning open to the Rice community, including faculty, staff and students? Is it open to alumni, parents, and other current and prospective donors? Is it open to the public? Is it a meeting or workshop for a smaller group?

Will the speaker or speakers be sharing slides and/or videos? Will the event include a moderated Q&A segment? Have you shared best practices and tips with speakers and moderators? Have you arranged for a pre-event technical run-through and rehearsal with all event participants? Do you wish for the event to be recorded and made publicly available? Do the speakers consent to being recorded? How will the video be promoted following the event?

The questions above and the action items below are meant to stimulate ideas in the planning phase and streamline event production and promotion. They also are intended to support the development of online registration forms and event calendar listings, as well as promote best practices and minimize technical problems and issues.
 

In most instances, you will want to create a Zoom registration form and an event listing in the university’s event calendar, providing event information such as:
 

The names of any offices, departments, centers, programs or other units, groups or individuals that must recognized as organizers, sponsors, supporters or benefactors
Any contact information and webpage and email links for more information

When requesting promotional materials and visual images from the Dean’s Office and Public Affairs teams, in addition to the above event details, please provide:

Professional headshots of all speakers as high-resolution jpeg files (at least 300 DPI, or, dots per inch, at a 5 x 7 aspect ratio); be sure the file is labeled appropriately with the full name of the speaker
Suggestions for compelling visuals that thematically support the subject matter
Phase 4 – Promotion

Your tactics will vary based on the type of event and intended audience, but some channels and approaches you might consider include:

Promoting on social media, including via institutional and individual channels
Advertising through electronic flyers, and in some instances, print materials
Asking speakers, moderators and other participants, organizers and sponsors to promote the event with their own networks by reaching out by email and social media and encouraging registration
The purpose of your event and the audiences you seek to engage will determine the tools, channels and individuals, offices and organizations you connect with to help you spread the word about your event and drive registration.
 
Phase 5 – Pre-Event Rehearsals and Reminders

The Dean’s Office can provide you Zoom event best practice tips and reminders for sharing with speakers, moderators and other participants. The Dean’s Office can also advise on online event management and direct you to resources to provide technical support.

Depending on the event, you might consider:

Scheduling pre-event rehearsals with event speakers, moderators and other participants to run through technical aspects of the Zoom platform, to review the event run of show, and to check sound and video quality and playback
Securing Rice back-up speakers to step in if technical or other circumstances prevent hosts, moderators or other Rice participants from joining the online event
Scheduling automatic reminders to all registrants in advance of the event
Phase 6 – Post-Event Follow-Up and Audience Engagement

Depending on the event, you might consider:

Sending thank-you notes to speakers, moderators and other event participants, as well as to event organizers, sponsors, supporters and benefactors
Providing the School of Humanities fundraisers, Emily Stein and Tiffany Rechsteiner, the lists of who attended and who all registered

BACK TO EVENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS >