Online community festival is a very new addition in the process of the world turning into a virtual community. And the pandemic has just paved the way for this to happen even faster. As the pandemic hit the world, people tried harder and pushed their limits to find ways to celebrate festivals online just the way they did before the epidemic.

So, do you want to learn how to host an online community festival like a pro?

If yes, then keep reading this blog to know how to execute all the pre-event processes like a pro!

Hosting a multicultural festival is not just about organizing an event wherein members can meet other people from their homes. It is so much more than that. You need to ensure that all the members attending the online community festival are having a great time. Ensuring a good member experience will make it a memorable multicultural festival for them.

By enjoying and having fun in your online festival, members will encourage others to be a part of your community. In other words, this is one of the best ways to take full advantage of the word of mouth methodology to build your community.

Don't we all like to share fun stuff with others?

Yes, that is what will help your community grow in this case - a fun and enjoyable online festival!

In addition to that, if you're looking for a platform to build your online community, then give LikeMinds a try today! From organizing virtual community events and shows to sharing skills and knowledge, you'll find features for every use case here.

In this blog, we're going to cover the following topics:

Define The Objective Of Your Online Festival

An online community festival can have various objectives. And connecting with others is just one of them. So you need to first be clear about what is the objective of your festival. Why do you want to host it? Is it to help people connect with the traditional audience? To provide knowledge of their history? Or just to give people something fun to engage in while still at home?

Defining the objective of your online multicultural festival first will make it easy for you to plan things that follow. Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve will help you in setting deadlines for every next step accordingly. And not just this, it will also increase the chances of having some extra time to refine the event planning process.

Focus On Networking

Once you've defined the objective, start working on networking. Community managers should start networking based on the objective of the online festival. People's power is one of the primary metrics that define the success of an event - the more the attendees, the more successful an event is considered.

So, all the community managers need to make sure that they are inviting the right target audience in case of an open event. Also, if you're planning to host a live event, ensure that you are partnering with the right agencies, artists, and community groups. The more diverse your target audience and partners will be, the more eventful your online community festival will be.

You can consider sourcing talent from within the community as well. If your community is related to any form of creativity or performing arts, then this indeed is a great idea. And even if your community is non-artistic, then too, you can go for this option as talent can be found in any community. This way you might save some costs as well. 

Also Check Out:

• Online Community Events: 10 Different Types Of Events You Can Host In A Learning Community

Choose Games As Per Your Event Objective

Now that we're done with the live performance bit, let us look into what needs to be done for hosting an event full of games. There are a lot of traditional, educational, as well as fun multicultural festival games that one can choose from.

One of the most famous traditional games during the festive season is the teen patti card game. To organize a teen patti card game in your community, you can use websites like CardzMania. Here, you can also play other traditional games like Texas Hold'em Poker.

And if you want to host an educational game, then consider hosting a story-building game. Start the game by saying 3 sentences about the story that is related to the festival, and then ask the community members to continue the story by adding 3 sentences each. Meanwhile, write down the sentences that each member says in a Word document and then share the complete story at the end of the game for everyone to read.

Last, but not least, if your objective is just to host a fun event, then games like virtual karaoke or charades are a great option. No one needs expertise in singing and acting for these games. And everyone will get a chance to participate. Also, an added advantage of these games is that no one needs to know what's going on since the start of the game. Anyone can join in anytime!

Involve Community Members In The Process

And as they say, "A successful community is the one, that involves its community members in the process." So, this is exactly what you need to do if you're confused about which games or what kind of live performance you want to host. All you need to do is ask your community members what they'd like to watch or play.

A super-easy way to get the opinion of your community members is by hosting a poll. Have 3-4 options of live performances and games and then ask your community members to vote for the one that they'd like to watch or play. But make sure you gather this feedback well before time so that you have enough time to organize these virtual community events.

An ideal time for posting this poll would be at least a month in advance. And if the virtual community events and games are organized as per people's choice, then automatically the attendance rate of these virtual community events will be higher. And not just this, it will also help you in growing your online community.

Also Check Out:

• Community Based Learning: The Future Of Online Education

Invest Time In Social Media Campaigns

Involving community members in the process of hosting virtual community events is just one way of increasing event attendance. Another way is to use the power of social media. By promoting your virtual community events on social media well in advance, not only you'll have more people attending your event, but you'll also be increasing awareness about your community.

So basically, running social media campaigns provides double benefits. A great strategy for social media promotion is to share pictures and stories from past virtual community events. By doing so, not only will people feel encouraged to join the event, but will also want to be a part of your community. And if you can share user-generated content for these campaigns, that's even better!

In addition to this, you can also make short engaging videos that are 15-30 seconds long to let people know what they are up for. This is another way of encouraging people to join your event and then your community eventually. Also, consider providing numbers in these promotional videos. Something as simple as telling the number of people who attend the event last year can have a huge impact on increasing event attendance.

Wait, we're not through yet!

If you want to build and grow an online community wherein you can create and share art/content or host virtual community events, then check out the LikeMinds website today!

Key Takeaways

1. Determine the end-objective of your event and use it as the basis of the event plan and strategy.
2. Use your network to partner with audience-appropriate agencies, artists, and communities.
3. Host games that are in-line with your event objective and community members.
4. Ask the opinion of community members to select event types and games.
5. Create awareness about your event and community by running social media campaigns.