For associations and chambers, conferences are great opportunities to educate, connect, and inspire members while driving revenue and reinforcing your mission. But in today's digital-first world, knowing how to host a virtual conference that feels as dynamic and valuable as an in-person gathering has become a must-have skill.
In this guide, we'll walk you through ideas, tips, and Glue Up's tools for hosting a virtual conference, covering everything from pre-event preparation to post-event engagement, with examples tailored specifically for your workflows, goals, and member experience expectations.
If you’re new to Glue Up, our all-in-one membership management platform can streamline your entire workflow across CRM, campaigns, events, and finance. Book a demo to see how we can help you save time, boost engagement, and deliver more value to your members.
Key Takeaways
Reliable, scalable technology is non-negotiable—test platforms thoroughly for capacity, compatibility, and integrations before launch to prevent attendee frustration.
Engagement must be built into every session through interactive features, varied formats, and active moderation to avoid passive participation.
Networking drives retention—design structured opportunities like themed breakouts, attendee matching, and guided speed networking to maximize value.
Extend your event's ROI by offering on-demand content, centralized resources, and ongoing discussions long after the live sessions end.
Integrate familiar tools like Zoom into your branded event environment to maintain comfort for members while centralizing data, branding, and analytics.
What is a Virtual Conference?
In 2025, no one is a stranger to virtual conferences. In fact, 81% of event managers host virtual events as a core part of their member outreach strategy.
However, a virtual conference is far more than simply gathering members online for associations and chambers. It's a deliberate, mission-driven initiative to sustain momentum, deliver measurable value, and strengthen the connections that define your organization.
At its core, a virtual conference in this context is:
"An organized, large-scale online gathering for members, partners, and stakeholders, where every session, networking opportunity, and resource is intentionally built to advance your association or chamber's mission."
And unlike conventional corporate or hybrid events that focus on brand exposure or lead generation, these conferences must balance three critical pillars:
Member Education – Equipping attendees with actionable industry knowledge they can apply immediately.
Professional Networking – Creating structured, accessible opportunities for members to connect and collaborate.
Community Impact – Showcasing the organization's leadership and relevance within its industry or locality.
Why? Because what's at stake isn't just attendee satisfaction; it's renewal behavior, leadership pipelines, and the long-term relevance of your organization.
Types of Virtual Conferences in Associations and Chambers
While "virtual conference" is often used as a blanket term, the format you choose should align with your organization's strategic goals, member expectations, and available resources. For associations and chambers, these are the most relevant formats:
Educational Summits
Designed to deliver concentrated professional development, these events feature keynote addresses, breakout learning sessions, and workshops led by industry experts.
Best for: Professional certifications, continuing education credits, and upskilling initiatives.
Annual or General Meetings
Your flagship event of the year, often replacing or complementing the in-person AGM. These conferences unite leadership, voting members, and stakeholders to make strategic decisions, share reports, and set future direction.
Best for: Formal decision-making, leadership elections, and strategic reporting.
Networking Conferences
Purpose-built to connect members, industry peers, and potential partners, these events rely heavily on breakout rooms, structured matchmaking, and facilitated discussions.
Best for: Expanding member-to-member business opportunities and fostering collaboration across chapters.
Hybrid Conferences with a Virtual Core
For geographically dispersed organizations, this model blends a primarily virtual program with localized in-person chapter gatherings, ensuring consistent messaging while preserving regional engagement.
Best for: Associations and chambers aiming to unify members across multiple locations.
Advocacy and Policy Forums
Focused on legislative updates, policy discussions, and lobbying efforts, these events bring together members, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to address pressing issues.
Best for: Organizations that regularly engage in advocacy or represent member interests in regulatory environments.
Key Benefits of Hosting Virtual Conferences
The following benefits highlight why virtual conferences have become an essential pillar in the programming strategies of associations and chambers:
Greater Geographic Reach
Physical location no longer dictates who can attend. Members who might never travel to an annual meeting can now participate fully, making your events more inclusive and representative of your entire membership base.
Lower Costs for Members and Your Organization
Travel, accommodation, and venue expenses disappear, making attendance more financially accessible for members while allowing your organization to reinvest saved resources into programming, marketing, or technology upgrades.
Stronger Member Engagement Throughout the Year
When virtual conferences are part of a broader engagement plan, members remain connected beyond the annual event cycle, helping you foster ongoing dialogue and participation that sustains momentum between major initiatives.
Flexible Program Formats
You can design parallel tracks, breakout sessions, and on-demand content to cater to different member segments—whether that's by industry, seniority level, or interest area—without the logistical constraints of physical space.
Data-Driven Insights to Inform Strategy
Every click, session attendance, and chat interaction can be measured. This data helps you evaluate engagement patterns, identify high-interest topics, and refine future programs with precision.
As you can see, virtual conferences can be a powerful driver of member value, visibility, and long-term engagement. However, achieving those outcomes takes more than good intentions—it requires clear strategy, thoughtful design, and the right technology to back it up.
That's why, in the next section, we'll share practical ideas, tips, and tools to help you turn these opportunities into measurable results.
How to Host a Virtual Conference: Tips, Ideas, and Glue Up Tools
As mentioned, many associations and chambers struggle to turn their in-person strengths into high-impact virtual conferences that deliver real value. So, our tips and ideas are designed to address the key challenges head-on, helping you plan, run, and measure events that engage members and impress stakeholders.
See if any of these apply to you, and learn how you can overcome them with Glue Up:
Ensuring Reliability from the First Click to the Closing Session
A common pitfall for membership-driven virtual conferences is choosing platforms that can't handle the scale, engagement tools, or integrations you need. In fact, 90% of event marketers say technology has a major impact on event success.
In the case of virtual conferences, an unstable stream or clunky interface can frustrate attendees, overshadow great content, and impact your organization's credibility.
Here are some targeted tips and ideas to help you select and validate the right platform before your event:
Vet platforms for capacity, latency, and integration capabilities.
Test attendee experience across devices before launch.
Run a mock event with speakers to troubleshoot technical gaps.
Ensure redundancy plans in case of outages.
Deliver Consistency With Glue Up's Webinar Management
Glue Up's Webinar Management Software gives you a secure, scalable, and fully branded environment for your sessions—complete with registration, automated reminders, interactive polls, Q&A, and post-event analytics in one place. Host everything without sending attendees to multiple platforms, reduce drop-off, and make the experience professional from start to finish.
Keeping Attendees Engaged Beyond Passive Viewing
Virtual attendees often disengage when content is static. To maintain attention, interaction must be intentional and built in. Nearly 45% of event organizers cite audience engagement as the top challenge for virtual events.
Here are some targeted tips and ideas to keep attendees active and involved:
Incorporate interactive polls, word clouds, or real-time feedback tools.
Use moderators to surface questions and drive discussion during sessions.
Alternate session formats—keynotes, panels, and fireside chats—to maintain interest.
Highlight and thank members for participation to encourage more interaction.
Boost Engagement With Glue Up's Interactive Features
Glue Up's Community Management Software includes features like live polling, moderated Q&A, and a community feed that logs engagement data in your CRM to enhance follow-up and retention. Watch the video below and book a quick demo to see it in action.
Extending the Event's Life Cycle for Ongoing Impact
On-demand content is a popular strategy for organizations that want virtual conferences to deliver value beyond live sessions. It allows members to revisit content, catch up on missed sessions, and share insights with peers. Today, 75% of organizers now offer on-demand access to extend engagement and ROI after an event.
So, if you stop the conversation when the closing session ends, you leave valuable content underutilized and members without opportunities for continued interaction.
Here are some targeted tips and ideas to prolong engagement post-event:
Offer recorded sessions for on-demand access after the event.
Host slides, transcripts, and additional resources in a branded hub.
Facilitate post-event discussions or forums to maintain dialogue.
Repurpose content into blogs, guides, or training modules to extend value.
Extend Value with Glue Up's Content Hub
Glue Up lets you host all session recordings and resources in a centralized, branded platform—tracked by audience engagement for strategic follow-up.
Read More: Post-Event Engagement Tactics for Better ROI
When Members Stick to Familiar Platforms Like Zoom
Platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet enjoy widespread comfort and familiarity, making it hard to transition attendees to new systems. However, Zoom comprises over 50% of the video conferencing market, which makes it a problem for associations and chambers whose members may not be willing to learn or adopt entirely new tools for a single event. Hence, their reluctance can lead to friction, reduced attendance, and unnecessary tech support demands.
Here are some targeted tips and ideas to bridge familiarity with professionalism:
Keep Zoom for delivery, but embed it within a branded virtual portal.
Sync session attendance and engagement with your event data.
Streamline speaker access and session control from a unified agenda.
Use integrations to simplify event management and maintain consistency.
Integrate Zoom With Glue Up to Retain Ease and Gain Control
The Zoom + Glue Up integration lets you use Zoom's reliable conferencing tools for live content delivery. At the same time, Glue Up handles registration, branding, reminders, attendance tracking, and analytics in one connected system.
Making Speed Networking a High-ROI Moment (Not an Awkward One)
Speed networking is the go-to format for quickly connecting members, partners, and stakeholders in in-person and virtual settings. In 2024, it's a popular choice for over 60% of associations and B2B event organizers looking to boost attendee interaction.
Unfortunately, without clear structure—like thoughtful pairing, strict timing, and guided prompts—these sessions can feel rushed, awkward, and fail to deliver the meaningful connections they promise.
Here are some targeted tips and ideas to make speed networking effective:
Proactively share a list of relevant speed networking questions to different audiences.
Implement timed rotations for 1:1 or small-group networking.
Match participants based on roles, interests, or chapter affiliation.
Supply conversation prompts to kickstart meaningful dialogue.
Follow up with open networking rooms for deeper connection.
Drive Results With Glue Up's Speed Networking Software
Glue Up's speed networking software automates pairing, provides structured timing, and enables follow-up messaging. Watch the video below and book a demo to see how it could serve your virtual conferences.
Make Your Next Virtual Conference Your Most Impactful Yet
Since launching our platform, we've partnered with 1,500+ associations, chambers, and member-based organizations, helping teams like yours adapt to virtual events and thrive in them. We've seen first-hand that successful virtual conferences aren't just about the right content; they're about the right systems, workflows, and engagement strategies coming together seamlessly.
In reality, hosting a virtual conference in 2025 comes with new expectations: reliable technology, meaningful networking, measurable ROI, and a smooth attendee experience from start to finish.
You can turn those expectations into measurable outcomes by addressing the common challenges we've covered and leveraging our membership and event management platform. Whether your goal is to improve member engagement, strengthen retention, or expand your reach, the tools help you do it without adding unnecessary complexity to your team's workload.
Book a demo today to see how Glue Up can streamline your event operations, integrate your member data, and give your attendees a virtual conference experience they'll talk about long after it's over.
