In the era of COVID-19, live events increasingly feel like a thing of the past. According to Third Door Media’s Event Participation Index, the likelihood that marketers would attend an in-person conference before the end of 2020 is only 40%.
Since the coronavirus still poses a significant threat, even with precautions in place, virtual events serve as the best option for many brands. Though the virtual event market is more crowded than ever, it’s possible to use the format to your advantage and produce something truly inventive to elevate your brand, connect with your customers and grow your audience.
So, how can you produce a virtual event that shares the best your brand has to offer? Read on to find out.
Don’t Expect a One-to-One Exchange
A virtual event will never have the same impact as an in-person event – embrace it. While the physical absence is palpable, the connection and interaction of a virtual event can still be authentic, if properly facilitated. Here are a few simple tips.
Size: If you’re hosting a large conference, consider having smaller sections or breakout rooms for participants interested in discussion.
Structure: While you might host a day-long in-person conference, perhaps a shorter webinar would fit better into people’s schedules – learn what’s best for your audience and cater the event to their needs.
Variation: How can you make your event stand out? Create opportunities for engagement, networking and fun. For example, MediaPost’s upcoming virtual event will include breaks for group yoga and trivia with giveaways.
Instead of focusing on what you can’t do virtually, focus on what you can do. Perhaps you can accommodate a bigger audience, reallocate your venue budget to a comprehensive PR or marketing campaign or score international guests who otherwise may not have been able to “travel” to your event. Challenge yourself to think bigger.
Do Your Homework
Your virtual event should be unique, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Take inspiration from successful virtual events you’ve attended and learn from the ones that didn’t turn out as well. Keep tabs on the work your competitors are doing in the virtual event space, not to mention what admirable companies outside of your field are doing. Then ask, “How can we make this our own and create an even better event that provides added value for our audience?”
Here’s a great place to start: many of PR Return’s clients have had substantial success with virtual events, including the following recent examples:
New Frontier Data’s Global Cannabis Town Hall
With attendees from around the world, this highly anticipated event was packed full of insights from New Frontier Data and other cannabis industry thought leaders and brought together businesses, investors and those marketing to cannabis consumers. Offering attendees the opportunity to connect and network with those outside their immediate circle can add immense value.
Logistyx’s webinars: Rethinking Inventories to Mitigate Supply Chain Risk and Future-Proofing
Parcel DeliveryThese two webinars provided timely insights that directly addressed supply chain management concerns sparked by the coronavirus, making them relevant to Logistyx customers.
Kenshoo’s Q1 2020 Quarterly Trends Report
Kenshoo has long hosted quarterly trends reports online, offering key insights into one of the most well-respected data sets by those who follow advertising
performance closely. As a global company, presenting this recurring trends webinar enables participants – including brands, investors, analysts, media and
agencies – from around the world to join virtually.
Put your head together with your colleagues to combine the best aspects of events you like with your original ideas. Be sure you have the proper technology and marketing strategy in place to get the most out of your business objectives. If you can’t achieve all of this in-house, don’t hesitate to get the help you need.
Find Balance for Your Business
Though this coronavirus is novel, the field of crisis communications is nothing new. For your event strategy (and business strategy), you may choose to focus specifically on the impact of COVID on your industry or on other topics. While it is necessary to be mindful of the crisis and its impact on our world and your stakeholders, it’s up to each business to balance how to address the crisis without ignoring it and letting it overtake the other content and data you hope to share.
In a time when more events are shifting from in-person to virtual, it’s imperative to consider ways to stand out and deliver added value to attendees. As you build a tech-friendly and crisis-sensitive virtual event, keep track of your learnings and see how they can apply to future events, both online and in-person. Never underestimate the value of both internal and external feedback. Keep learning and developing your event strategy in ways that fit our evolving world.