While we celebrated the end to the unprecedented year that was 2020, we’ve taken a look back at the virtual events we’ve done; what’s worked and what could have worked better. It was with this mindset we set out to interview professionals from a variety of industries who’ve been invited (and sometimes subjected) to other virtual events over the last year. Our goal? To find out in an unfiltered way, what they like, what they want and what they loathe.
Now, I personally love a good, thoughtful critique. I think most folks in the event world would agree. We can’t improve if we don’t receive candid feedback. The responses we got on our ten question survey were not only brutally honest and delightfully refreshing but SO insightful. We came away with a new sense of what a virtual event is and should be – and guess what? You’ll never plan the perfect one.
Yes, that’s right fellow perfectionists. You cannot and likely will not please every attendee. Why? Because everyone may want something different! Some folks love the vulnerability of a speaker being broadcast live while others find miscues take away from the content and feel amateur. Some people love a little team-building while others would rather tune out. What seems to be universally true though is that attendees want a more personalized experience. They want to make decisions about what sort of content they view, when and how they want to view it. After all, even if the content is free, it WILL cost them their precious time.
Top 10 Takeaways:
1. A Variety of Content, Not Overload.
If your goal is education and retention, then it’s best to break up heady, information-rich sessions into consumable “chunks” less than 15 minutes/session and provide that same information in a downloadable format that allows the attendee to revisit for reference. It’s also important to break up mandatory educational sessions with content that will keep viewers excited and engaged.
“I’m looking for a variety of breakout sessions, topics that interest me, & a few entertainment or fun options too!”
“...The events I have participated in this year had too much content slammed in a 9 hour day with almost no breaks. It was as though since we work from home, we are robots that do not need a break.”
2. Make sure your agenda is as easy to navigate as possible! Create tracks, highlight key content, “include” mandatory sessions in attendees’ schedules - use the system you’ve chosen to its fullest capacity to create opportunities for choice without creating confusion.
“I’m done with unclear agendas, huge or confusing catalogs to sift through to register for events or sessions. ”
3. Session Discretion
Some content needs to be delivered to one group, at one time and it’s vital to be able to track who watched it and when. That is probably not the majority of sessions you produce. If we’re honest with ourselves and our clients about the purpose and goals of their meeting we can best determine what is key information and what can be viewed at leisure. If we can provide attendees the freedom to choose how, when and even what to watch within a timeframe, we can win the overload battle.
The benefits of freeing up your attendees is two-fold:
A. They will certainly be able to retain more information from two consecutive sessions than they would from five.
B. They will be able to use their breaks to catch up on email, calls, etc. leaving them feeling less “falling behind,” more balanced and willing to engage.
“I preferred…the ability to watch the content I needed to watch (on-demand) vs. sitting in a live, all-day meeting where only a percentage of the content is relevant to my role.”
“The length…if it’s multiple days, long sessions and I’m still expected to do my job in the background? It’s too challenging and I just won’t attend much.”
4. Keep it 9 to 5.
It’s official, “Happy Hours” are dead. No matter HOW great a conference or a session is, don’t drag your content into family/personal time. Attendees need to re-charge their batteries and not listen to a keynote speaker while trying to make dinner.
“If I’m at home on my computer I can have a drink while the meeting is going on. Keep it moving.”
“After sitting all day, I don’t want any additional entertainment, I want to get off the computer.”
5. Considerate Collaboration
While most events in 2020 were free or very inexpensive, a few major conferences still commanded a hefty price; particularly for sponsors. Companies who shelled out funds for a virtual booth may have been disappointed about their ROI (Return On Investment) right along with the sales professionals usually working a physical booth and networking for their commission.
We need be more considerate when choosing platforms for clients who are interested in involving sponsors. Speaking directly to a potential sponsor can help planners better understand their expectations and set them up for success by instructing them in ways to leverage platform capabilities and employ best practices in a way that equates to real revenue and not just their logo above a session description. Their sales team will thank you.
““These events cost a lot of money and industry feels like they are not getting good ROI for supporting these clinical engagements. Example (no engagements with key customers). Customers are not motivated to engage virtually or don’t have the training to do so.””
““In my industry, virtual events were almost worthless… zero visitors at a virtual trade show booth at 5-7 shows in a row. With vendors trying to charge just as much as live events, I am holding out for live events in the second half of 2021.“”
6. A Connection
Whether respondents wanted live content delivery for the warmth or pre-recorded sessions for the professional delivery, one sentiment was the same – they want responsiveness and they want interaction. If you’re planning to pre-record, be sure to have the speaker or speakers available for live Q&A during and after.
If your speakers are up for it, we recommend them starting off the chat conversation during the session too! There’s nothing that will get comments rolling in faster than knowing the presenter is ready and waiting to interact.
““My preference for virtual meetings is livestream general session delivery. Something about the live session just feels better and more natural to me.” ”
7. A Gift, Not Swag
We’ve all fallen victim to corporate partners who still think a branded USB drive is the ultimate expression of appreciation but in 2020, swag has officially been cancelled. Virtual event attendees don’t need a tote, they’re not hauling anything around. In fact, they also have pens, pencils and charging devices. What they want is less branded junk and more thoughtful gifts.
Think about one, high-end, unbranded, USEFUL item like a Yeti Rambler or something vintage and quirky like a Nintendo Mini! There are so many opportunities to tie these types of gifts into your message and they can always be delivered in a creatively branded box with a card and your recipients will rejoice.
The runners up in the “most-coveted” gifts were consumable! Snacks, sweets and alcohol made almost everyone’s lists. Whether you send something that’s unique to a Headquarters hometown, support a small business, or opt-out of mail completely by sending a virtual Postmates gift card, there are thousands of ways to surprise and satisfy your attendees.
“The gifts I enjoy most are food, high end containers/mugs, annual subscriptions, and charitable giving-oriented gift cards for corporate donation.”
8. An Entertaining Break
Entertainment had mostly positive feedback from our panel and musical performances stood out from the crowd. One way to create a moment a moment that feels as much like a break as it should is allowing viewers to cast the content to their televisions. By providing guests instructions ahead of time, viewers may choose to enjoy the musical performance from the comfort of their couch. Yes, they’re trading one screen for another, but the change of scenery and added freedom to grab a snack or beverage while they watch might just be the thing they remember.
““They had a concert with John Legend that was really neat!””
9. A Custom Experience
Cooking and drinking experiences took top spot amongst the virtual experiences which was no surprise with the overwhelming cry for interactivity. Our advice for finding the perfect service? Carefully consider and empathize with your audience. Schedule the experience during normal work hours as a break in the meeting monotony. Provide options! Not everyone will be into a mixology lesson but perhaps a cake decorating session is more their speed. Variety is the spice of life after all.
““Cooking and drinking-oriented activities are the most fun, especially if you can connect the conference theme/topic or some locational element to the cuisine.””
10. A Human Connection
Whether those surveyed were enthusiastic about virtual or already over it, one thing remained constant: Attendees want a more “human” experience. They want more ways to network with others, the ability to have side conversations and make connections. They also want to be recognized when they DO contribute.
Proper virtual event etiquette means using attendees names when highlighting their question from the Q&A but, even more importantly, taking a moment to acknowledge their emotion (frustration, concern, confusion, joy) and dig a little deeper to be sure the speaker or panelist is providing not just an answer but a solution. We also love when folks offer to connect offline, really augmenting the experience.
“The human element is important…Make certain content more interactive/accessible “live” with the speaker or musical guest or whatever it may be to make you feel like you are there. ”
“I would like to find ways to make things more interactive; For major events, I would really like to see better ways to interact with other participants.”
“For most of our company events, all employees were required to participate with their camera on. I very much liked this as I was able to put live faces to the names of people I have not met before, or only ever seen a few times.”
The MOST insightful information from our survey, and the most encouraging, is that everyone is ready for live events to return. (Cue the fireworks!) Most people even stated, unprompted, they recognize the value in the hybrid model as it allows attendees to weigh their personal risk and also to attend meeting they couldn’t otherwise due to scheduling or finances.
This feedback has been invaluable to sift through and we are looking forward to putting what we’ve learned to work in both fully digital and hybrid formats. A special thanks goes out to those who participated! Do you have any key insights from virtual events you’ve attended? Any you’ve produced? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Good luck out there!
- Tacy