WE highlight the key considerations for digital events…
If only a short few months ago, you’d told me that all live events around the world were going to stop abruptly … for an unspecified period of time … due to a global pandemic …. I’d have thought you were absolutely insane.
Yet that’s exactly where we found ourselves recently.
We’re social beings … we gather… we celebrate … we network … we experience … and whilst this isn’t currently possible in live event forums, we have to ensure that our online events still captivate, inspire and entertain audiences in a manner that’s quality and on-brand.
We’ve given considerable thought to what constitutes a successful webinar or live streamed event and after watching countless online presentations, we keep drawing the same conclusion: and that is - the elements applied to planning live events must also be applied to online events with one exception; Online events should be condensed into a shorter time-span.
In curating and designing the perfect virtual event, let’s look at some key questions you need to ask to get the right answers.
At the top of the list is ‘what’s your desired outcome or end game?’ … Be very clear about what your online event has to achieve - there might be a few different targets you need to hit - like number and quality of attendees or leads plus sponsor engagement.
Secondly - How do we deliver the best on-line experience for your audience? This will come down to what your event is … Awards Night?, Conference?, Educational Webinar?, Product Launch? Brand Activation? … the complexities of your event will play a large part in determining how we deliver the best online experience.
Let’s broaden the experience to include some creative and tactile elements - Maybe a parcel delivered to the door to unpack in stages during the event (think grown-up pass-the-parcel) or deliver ingredients to join a celebrity chef cooking session. Maybe delegates add songs to a post events drinks playlist …
Incorporate one or two creative ideas and you’re on your way to delivering an amazing on-line experience.
Next - How do we ensure maximum engagement with your audience? The most important consideration here is the subject matter and content. This is what will ultimately encourage people to register to attend and drive the audience to your event.
How do we maintain a certain level of energy? is the next question. There are 2 main factors here - Presenter and Scheduling. Selecting the right presenter for your event is critical and structuring your schedule and pacing content to deliver ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ will go a long way to maintaining energy. Breaks, entertainment and well-timed energisers also contribute … just because the audience is at home doesn’t mean they can’t stand up and get their blood circulating.
Lastly - how do we retain your audiences attention? This one is simple - keep it short and well rehearsed. Retaining attention online is more challenging than in the real world, so the key here is to distil the message, keep scripting short and to the point and keep your event moving along.
There’s absolutely no doubt that post COVID19, hybrid events will become a part of our new normal in the meetings industry. To what degree, who knows? One thing’s for sure, imagination and creativity remain firmly at the forefront of developing and delivering memorable events both on and off-line.
By Deauvanne Jarvis, BDM, Workshop Events
Corporate Event Management Sydney, Event Management Agency, Conference Organiser, Brand Activation , Event Agency Sydney, Digital Events, Entertainment Consulting, Event Planners Sydney, Online Events, Virtual Events