Over the last two years, the once dormant market for in-person events has come screaming back. Restless road warriors from all sectors of the economy couldn’t wait to return to company sponsored travel and face time with their far-flung colleagues. Does this mean a return to pre-pandemic norms for the events industry?
Absolutely not.
The reality is that budgets have been shrinking and virtual event production is too convenient and cost-effective to ignore as an option. Virtual programming offers functionally limitless global reach, providing access for teams and individuals who cannot travel due to physical, monetary, or time constraints. It allows participating organizations to manage their travel expenditures as well as their carbon footprint. It can also provide valuable future resources in the form of event recordings or video on demand (VOD) for those who can’t directly participate at the time.
The best path forward for planners is one of compromise, adding virtual components to in-person events. Hosts can offer attendees the energy and excitement of face-to-face sessions or the convenience of virtual participation, depending on their individual needs.
Before committing to this path, however, there are a few things you should consider.
Equity is the Goal, not Equality
Replicating the in-person event experience using virtual tools is a fool’s errand. Digital cameras and broadband connections can’t fully convey the energy and excitement that comes with being in the room. Just ask any Taylor Swift fan that shelled out a week’s pay to catch The Eras tour live rather than waiting for the concert film’s theatrical release.
Instead, you should focus on creating an experience for your virtual participants that offers equal value to what their in-person counterparts get. This means thinking beyond simple content delivery and getting to the roots of what will keep your virtual audience engaged.
Theme and setting go a long way on this front. A well-chosen, compelling theme can help integrate your audience, getting in-person and remote participants alike on the same page. Likewise, an immersive virtual setting consisting of unique digital spaces, engaging backdrops, and multi-element frames can create a sense of place for your virtual guests, making them feel like a welcome and vital part of the proceedings.
Most importantly, remember that the magic of events is that they are social experiences. Create opportunities for your remote guests to network and socialize with group chats, breakout rooms, and virtual mixers. They’ll come away from your event feeling energized and satisfied, with a fresh sense of purpose.
Dealing with Distractions
The signature benefit of virtual event components is that participants can log in anywhere that is convenient for them, from a home office to a sidewalk café to a cross-country bus. The downside is that you never know what distractions might present themselves for these users.
The good news: while you can’t eliminate these distractions, you can overcome them. You just need to give them a better place to focus their attention.
A great place to start is varying your visuals. Static shots of talking heads are a one-way ticket to boredom and inattention. Multi-camera setups can stave this off by varying the angles from which guests see your presenters and allow you to cut to views of the in-person audience, adding a sense of scale to the proceedings.
Insert shots of charts, graphs, and slides also help to break up any visual monotony. Sprinkling in video content—anything from teasers to demos to testimonials—goes even further towards keeping your viewers interested and engaged.
The next step up is creating an immersive environment. A cohesive and unique virtual mise-en-scène will always hold their attention better than stock Zoom frames with blurred or canned backgrounds. Using the event’s theme to create a rich setting—as we did in this case study—gets your audience invested in the event and allows you to establish narratives that support your objectives.
The gold-standard for engagement, however, is interaction. Interactive tools have, in recent years, become bountiful and powerful. Polling questions and word clouds keep your guests active and responsive while reminding them that their presence and input is valued. Games not only promote active participation, they can also encourage unconventional thinking and collaboration while boosting morale. Adding in breakout sessions connects your guests with one another, creating networking opportunities and an open exchange of knowledge and expertise.
Don’t Skimp on Support
Technical faults and glitches can quickly and decisively derail an individual’s virtual event experience. AV and connectivity issues can disproportionately affect virtual participants, leaving them frustrated while your on-site crew remains blissfully unaware. Lack of support for these issues will erode your audience’s trust in your organization, making them less likely to sign up for and attend future events.
To prevent this, you need to ensure that your users’ tech stack is as sound as your own. Provide your remote guests with clear documentation beforehand, including hardware and software requirements and noting which browsers work best with your chosen platform. Checklists are especially handy for virtual presenters and participants alike.
If you have the resources, set up a helpdesk to help users troubleshoot any issues they may have. Nothing is worse than getting excited for an event, only to find that you can’t log in. Having a few helpful souls on standby can keep your valued guests from being disgruntled and excluded.
Follow Up and Follow Through
Embracing side-by-side in-person and virtual event production is a process that requires ongoing evaluation and optimization. Exit surveys let you leverage one of your most powerful resources—your guests—by uncovering what did and did not work for them as part of their event experience. Specific, targeted questions can yield important insights to guide you to greater success with future events.
Post-mortem discussions are another vital strategic tool for event hosts. Reports from the front lines can help you identify trouble spots and inefficiencies, allowing you to adapt, evolve, and deliver a better experience each subsequent time around.
The Perks of Partnership
Event planning and management is not for the faint of heart. Each individual production is a complex ecosystem, packed with unique challenges and opportunities. When adding live digital elements to an existing in-person event, it is important to bring in a partner well-versed in virtual event production so they can save you time, money, and frustration. The costs of hiring a production partner are readily offset by greater efficiencies, smoother and more satisfying experiences for your guests, and a solid return on your overall investment.