This time last year, very few people ever thought about virtual events. Hosting a webinar? Sure, that was business as usual. But a virtual conference? Not on the radar.
This spring, when the pandemic interrupted business as usual, no one knew what to expect from a virtual conference, and frankly, the bar was set pretty low. But now, 6 months later, it’s a whole different story.
Not only are we all fatigued from a calendar full of Zoom calls, but there are more engaging technologies that people are experiencing which is rapidly increasing attendee expectations at virtual events. What’s become incredibly clear is that just watching a stream of video content isn’t a compelling enough offer for them to spend their time and money with you. Just think about how many free “virtual events” you’ve been invited to lately. They’re mainly the ones that just renamed their webinars as events. Even the organizers themselves know they can’t charge for them so they make them free in the long shot you’ll actually tune in.
Content alone isn’t going to cut it
Attendees can watch webinars and recorded videos of presentations on their own at any time. That’s why I love YouTube. As marketers, we’ve been pushing this type of content out for years. We’ve never considered that an “event” because it shouldn’t be. Watching content is no different than watching the news on television. Is that an event?!! The obvious answer is no, but can you put your finger on why?
What attendees really want from a virtual conference
There’s an entire multibillion-dollar event production industry for a reason and it’s not just to add flower arrangements on tables. There’s an incredible amount of work, design, human touch, and creativity that goes into making an event a compelling experience for attendees. It’s an art. As someone that’s produced countless events myself, it’s frustrating to even consider that just by turning on Zoom I could call that an event. If that was actually effective than the event industry wouldn’t exist.
Meet and talk with other people
Your data may have already told you this but one of the most popular reasons people attend your events is to meet other people. They want to network, spend time with friends and acquaintances, and meet new people. They want to share a success story. They want to get advice. They want to give advice. They want to hear new perspectives and ideas.
They want to enjoy both serendipitous and structured meetups that expand their professional network and give them the insight and ideas they didn’t hear in sessions. The biggest failing of most virtual conferences that we see today is not providing these opportunities for conversations.
Feel like part of a community
At a conference, attendees can look around and know they belong. They’re part of something bigger than themselves—they belong to a professional community. They’re sharing the conference experience with people who do what they do and have shared a common interest. Visually representing the entire crowd or community at a virtual event is harder because most solutions don’t have the concept of a “venue” where everyone congregates. Without a visible community, events can fall flat.
Signal their status
Not everyone gets to attend a conference. Even at the most inclusive of events, the people attending feel special. They’re the ones going places.
Conferences are great opportunities to signal status. Attendees want to be seen by the crowd. They want to share their knowledge as speakers, session discussion participants, lunch table companions, or bar buddies. They also get to play the social connector when introducing attendees to each other.
Escape from their routine
Traveling usually takes care of this desire to get away from the usual. But watching a session at home feels like the typical, multi-tasking webinar experience. You must help attendees carve out mental space at home for an atypical day online. And not just an atypical day online, but an atypical day at a virtual conference.
Give them something to fear missing out on. Differentiate your virtual conference from everyone else’s. Make it the talk of the community. Get the buzz going in the days leading up to the opening keynote and keep it going long after the closing session.
Have a-ha moments
The conference mind is a relaxed but engaged muscle. Attendees are away from the office but still in work mode. They’re discovering new information, best practices, and ideas. They’re making new connections.
Your virtual event must create the conditions for this type of mindset. Spark new ideas and facilitate insightful conversations, but give attendees the space to reflect too.
Turn ideas into action
Far too often, attendees are not given the time to reflect upon what they’ve learned and/or digest it with fellow attendees. A typical zoom-esque virtual event ends abruptly when the last presentation ends. Attendees have sat through a linear flow of presentations: one session after another, and before they know it, they’re back in the office with a full notebook but no time to review it. Help them make plans and turn those ideas into action.
Get motivated and inspired
Ultimately what do attendees really want? They want transformation. They want to return to the office changed in some way. They want things to go differently from now on.
Your content must be top-shelf, no doubt about it. But you must also spend time figuring out how to help attendees achieve all these other event goals as well. And you have to create the right environment for them to achieve these goals—an environment so enticing that they’ll ignore the distractions surrounding them at home and on the screen. At Event Farm we’ve been working hard to develop solutions to create these environments that can help make your virtual conference a real success. Let us know if you’d like to learn more.