7 Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Brainstorm, From HubSpot‘s Marketing Managers

Brainstorming is an essential tool for developing creative solutions and driving innovation in business. But when your team is dispersed across different locations and time zones, hosting a productive brainstorm session can feel like a daunting task.

Without face-to-face interaction and a physical whiteboard to gather around, how do you ensure everyone feels engaged and heard? How do you capture all the great ideas and translate them into action?

At HubSpot, brainstorming is an integral part of our culture. From developing new product ideas to crafting compelling content, we rely on the collective creativity of our teams. But like many organizations, we‘ve had to adapt our brainstorming techniques for an increasingly remote workforce.

Through lots of trial and error, our marketing managers have discovered what works (and what doesn‘t) when it comes to facilitating virtual brainstorms. In this post, they share their top tips and techniques for driving creative collaboration from afar.

Tip #1: Define Your Purpose and Desired Outcomes

"Before anything else, get crystal clear on what you‘re trying to achieve with your brainstorm," advises Emmy Jonassen, VP of Acquisition at HubSpot. "Are you looking to come up with new campaign ideas? Solve a tricky customer pain point? Having a well-defined purpose keeps your brainstorm focused and productive."

Jonassen recommends communicating the key objective and desired outcomes to participants ahead of the brainstorm. This allows people to start formulating ideas and come prepared to hit the ground running.

It‘s also important to be realistic about what can be accomplished in a single session. "Limit your brainstorm to generating ideas around 1-2 specific questions or challenges," suggests Jonassen. "If you try to boil the ocean, you‘ll wind up with a bunch of half-baked ideas instead of a few really solid ones."

Tip #2: Choose the Right Virtual Brainstorm Tools

When it comes to virtual brainstorming, the right tech tools make all the difference. While video conferencing software like Zoom or Google Meet is a must for real-time discussion, don‘t overlook the importance of a shared visual workspace.

"Interactive whiteboards are a game-changer for remote collaboration," says Margot Lieblich, Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot. "Tools like Miro or Mural allow participants to simultaneously add digital sticky notes, draw mind maps, and build off each other‘s ideas."

Lieblich recommends setting up your virtual whiteboard ahead of time with the brainstorm agenda, key questions, and designated areas for ideas. A well-organized board can help facilitate more productive ideation and keep ideas from getting lost in the shuffle.

If you‘re brainstorming asynchronously across time zones, you may also want to provide a space for people to add ideas on their own time. "Shared Google docs or Trello boards work well for this," notes Lieblich. "Just be sure to provide clear instructions and deadlines for contributions."

Tip #3: Provide Individual Brainstorm Time

It may sound counterintuitive, but some of the best ideas actually come when people have a chance to think on their own before group discussion. This is especially true for introverts, who may feel put on the spot in a virtual group setting.

"I always like to kick off brainstorms with 5-10 minutes of quiet individual ideation time," shares Niti Shah, Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot. "This allows people to get their initial ideas out without the pressure of having to share them right away."

Example agenda for a 30-minute HubSpot virtual brainstorm with individual time blocked off. Source: HubSpot.

Shah recommends providing participants with thought-starter questions or prompts to guide their solo brainstorming. "You can drop these in the chat or add them to your virtual whiteboard," she advises. "Giving people a place to start gets the creative juices flowing."

Tip #4: Run Smaller Breakouts for Larger Groups

If you‘ve ever been in a video call with more than 5 people, you know how challenging it can be to get a word in edgewise. The same goes for virtual brainstorming – the larger the group, the more likely that quieter voices will get drowned out.

"For groups larger than 8 people, leverage Zoom breakout rooms to facilitate small-group discussion," recommends Shah. "Split the team into groups of 4-5 and have them brainstorm a subtopic or question."

Smaller breakouts create more space for everyone to contribute. They also lend themselves to rapid ideation activities like sketching concepts or brainwriting (where participants silently build off one another‘s written ideas).

Give groups a set time limit to brainstorm (10-15 minutes is usually sufficient), then bring everyone back together to share top ideas with the larger group. "Breakouts are a great way to generate a high volume of ideas in a short amount of time," notes Shah.

Tip #5: Foster Psychological Safety

One of the biggest challenges of virtual brainstorming is that people can‘t read nonverbal cues as easily. This lack of in-person interaction can lead to people feeling less comfortable sharing off-the-wall ideas or going out on a creative limb.

"Psychological safety is key to productive brainstorming," stresses Emmy Jonassen. "As a facilitator, it‘s your job to create an environment where everyone feels safe sharing unconventional ideas and taking creative risks."

Some ways to create psychological safety in a remote brainstorm:

• Establish a "no judgment" ground rule upfront and reiterate it often
• As people are sharing ideas, affirm them verbally and with emojis/reactions
• Encourage people to build on ideas with "Yes, and…" instead of shutting things down
• Call on people by name to share ideas so everyone has a turn
• Model vulnerability by sharing your own out-there ideas

"The more you can show your team that all ideas are welcome, the more creative concepts you‘ll get," says Jonassen. "Psychological safety isn‘t just a nice-to-have for brainstorms – it‘s a necessity."

Tip #6: Use Visual Prompts to Spark Creativity

Sometimes the best way to get unstuck creatively is to approach a problem from a completely different angle. One technique that HubSpot marketers swear by for sparking novel ideas remotely is using visual prompts.

"When energy is lagging on a brainstorm Zoom call, I like to share a funny or thought-provoking meme related to our topic," shares Jess Tan, Principal Marketing Manager at HubSpot. "It injects some much-needed levity and gets people thinking outside the box."

Tan has compiled a go-to folder of interesting images, GIFs and videos to pull from during brainstorms. "The key is finding visuals that are inspiring yet relevant to the problem you‘re trying to solve," she notes.

You can drop visual prompts in the video call chat, add them to your brainstorming whiteboard, or screen-share to discuss as a group. The best ones serve as jumping-off points for creative ideation.

Beyond just memes, try collecting images related to your brainstorm topic from sources like magazines, stock photo sites, or even your own camera roll. Challenge participants to come up with ideas inspired by a randomly selected image.

"Visuals tap into a different part of our brains and often surface ideas we may not have come up with through purely verbal discussion," explains Tan. "They‘re a powerful tool for breaking through creative blocks in a virtual environment."

Tip #7: Follow Brainstorms With Clear Next Steps

A productive brainstorm can generate dozens if not hundreds of ideas – but what happens next is what separates the good from the great.

"It‘s important to have a plan for capturing and prioritizing ideas before ending your brainstorm," advises Margot Lieblich. "Otherwise you risk losing all that creative momentum."

Before wrapping your virtual session, Lieblich recommends having the group vote on favorite ideas using your whiteboard platform‘s built-in voting or emoji reactions. From there, narrow it down to the top 3-5 concepts to pursue further.

Assign next steps and ownership for each of those ideas, with clear expectations around deliverables and timeline. "Ideas are just the first step – it takes planning and accountability to bring them to life," says Lieblich.

Within a day of the brainstorm, send a recap to all participants with the top ideas, next steps, and a note of appreciation. "Celebrating your team‘s creativity goes a long way in encouraging more active participation in future brainstorms," Lieblich notes.

Brainstorm Your Way to Better Ideas – From Anywhere

Effective brainstorming is both an art and a science – and doing it virtually adds a whole new set of challenges. But with the right approach and tools, your remote team can ideate with the best of them.

By following these 7 tips from HubSpot‘s own marketing managers, you‘ll be well on your way to hosting engaging brainstorms that bring out the best in your team‘s creativity – no matter where they‘re logging on from.

The key is to keep experimenting with different techniques and tools to see what works for your unique team and use case. "We‘re all figuring out this virtual collaboration thing together," shares Emmy Jonassen. "The most innovative teams are the ones who aren‘t afraid to try new approaches, learn from their mistakes, and continuously improve their brainstorming process."

Now it‘s your turn to put these tips into action. Before your next brainstorm, take a few moments to define your goals, choose your tech toolkit, and consider how you‘ll create an environment of psychological safety and creative risk-taking, even from afar.

With a solid virtual brainstorming strategy in place, there‘s no limit to the ideas you and your team can bring to life. So go forth and brainstorm boldly – your next big "aha" moment is just a Zoom call away.