The pandemic has brought with it many changes, including the temporary halting of in-person meetings due to social distancing requirements. While Zoom videoconferences and webinars have become de rigueur, they’ve also become increasingly less effective, likely due to their overuse. Think about it – it’s not unusual for a businessperson to participate on multiple videoconferences daily.
If you’re an organization budgeting for larger virtual events, such lack of engagement can be troubling, especially when filling your pipeline with sales leads depends on it.
In fact, B2B marketers indicate audience engagement is their biggest challenge when it comes to virtual events, with the next biggest challenge being interaction. To compound things, the average no-show rate at virtual events is running at 35 percent.
To put it bluntly, attendees have grown bored with “virtual.” But the good news is that there are things to do to improve the event experience.
Here are three tips for creating virtual events that better engage audiences:
Break them into smaller, more easily digestible segments. Due to the high cost and logistics of getting people in one location, traditional conferences typically ran across a full day or even several. Many organizations continue to use this same mindset when planning for virtual events, attempting to push them through in a long span of hours. We all know that sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end is hard. Because virtual events aren’t confined by logistical requirements, there’s no reason they can’t be broken into a series of shorter sessions. For instance, consider breaking a three-hour event into three one-hour sessions taking place at the same time but on consecutive days.
Keep in mind the attention span of an audience is about seven minutes before you run the risk of losing them. Breaking an event into briefer sessions will help to ensure greater focus and participation.
Increase interactivity. One of the big things missing from many virtual events is the ability to participate and interact with others. The ability to chat with others in real time, take part in surveys, ask questions of presenters, and “walk” virtual exhibit halls and trade show floors will help to encourage engagement. Today, there are a number of virtual event platforms that enable such interactivity and help to ensure a professional production.
Attendees also want a more personalized experience. One of our agency’s clients recently held a virtual event in which gourmet popcorn and wine were shipped to attendees beforehand to enjoy during presentations. Such a personal touch can create a positive pre-event impression, helping boost attendance.
Provide options for participation. Not every online event has to be confined to the computer screen. Consider recording portions of your virtual event for listening to as a podcast or make the entire event also available on demand. Both options enable attendees to have access at a time and place of their choosing. On demand makes sense for those with hectic schedules, and podcasts enable attendees to listen while doing other things, such as exercising, again increasing the potential for reaching more people.
In 2020, the number of organizations planning virtual events doubled. The use of virtual events will continue through the pandemic’s resolution and likely beyond, which means more companies will be looking for ways to improve the event experience and increase attendee engagement.
Don’t be victim to virtual event fatigue. Carabiner has experience helping organizations to successfully plan and execute online events that resonate with core audiences and leave lasting impressions. Contact us today.