So, we’re in lockdown again. Our lives, and our events, are all back online.
Although I note that Madonna is planning a live tour of Australia later this year. This may not excite everyone, but I think it’s fantastic news.
Not only does it mean there are still signs of hope in the live events industry, but it ALSO means, given her age and the demographics of her audience, this ‘Like A Vaccine’ Tour provides the government with a great opportunity to use up the extra Astra Zeneca doses they’ve been left with by offering a “Buy Your Tix, Receive Your Pricks” deal.
And Madonna’s isn’t the only tour being planned.
Kiss is hoping to tour. So is Adele. And so are Guns ‘N Roses, Alanis Morrisette, Harry Styles and … on the local front … Jimmy Barnes, the Hoodoo Gurus, Richard Clapton, The Angels and Crowded House are as well.
My reason for mentioning these possible upcoming tours is to make this point:
If you’re a fan of any of these performers … and their tours go ahead … you have a choice of two vastly different ways you can listen to their music, each offering vastly different experiences.
The first is to buy tickets, get dressed in whatever makes you feel emotionally connected to that artist (in the case of Madonna fans, you can bring those pointy bras out from the top of your wardrobes) and head excitedly to a venue buzzing with vibrancy and sound and light to share an amazing sensory experience with a multitude of others.
The second is to stay home and stream their music on Spotify.
And there you have, in a nutshell, the essential difference between attending a LIVE conference and a VIRTUAL one.
They both offer the same content … but the live one also brings atmosphere, adrenaline and total sensory stimulation … while streaming on a device at home offers you, at best, a sense of being temporarily unaware of interruptions from your partner / children / pets / liquor cabinet.
Live events tend to be virile, while virtual events are, by their nature, more sterile.
Given that we’ll be running virtual events for some time to come, I thought I’d offer some helpful tips on how you can inject into your next one some of the elements delegates really appreciate about live events.
In this article, I will present the first four ideas. Next week, I will discuss the final four ideas.
HOW TO RE-CREATE GREAT ELEMENTS OF LIVE EVENTS AT OUR ONLINE EVENTS
1. ACKNOWLEDGE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Which is the fact that there IS no elephant in the room. Or people.
Your delegates are likely to be at home, dressed down … feeling isolated from each other. Acknowledge it. Embrace it, even.
Engage the delegates with some fun ‘hands up’ questions in the event welcome, even though you know that they know you can’t see them.
Ask them to type into the chat feed “Pants” or “No Pants”, to indicate their current status.
You can’t make an event feel ‘REAL’ if you’re not being real about what’s going on. Make your delegates feel like the event knows they are there.
2. NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Networking is a huge feature of live conferencing. However, it’s not an easy thing to replicate online.
It is often ‘addressed at a virtual conference by having the MC say: “Reach out to fellow delegates by sending them a direct message on the conference platform”.
And that’s it.
There are various ways you can include networking in your virtual agenda, but my favourite is to build 10-minute Networking Slots into the actual program … but always BETWEEN speakers (not next to a break … or some people will view it as merely extra break time).
In those times you send delegates to different rooms (with around 5-10 other people, ideally). You can theme the rooms with a discussion topic or leave it a blank canvas. You can have a sponsor in each room.
Of course, there’s nothing to stop someone from walking away from their computer while this session runs, but … and this is an important but: the people that DO engage do so because networking is an important part of their conference experience.
There’s an enormous difference between there being SOME networking and NO networking at a virtual conference. Including these slots in the program is a no (or low)-cost way of re-creating an important part of the live conference experience.
3. LEARNING FROM PEERS IS WITHOUT PEER
Learning through delegate interaction (such as panel discussions, group break-outs etc) is definitely the best way of ensuring quality learning is achieved at a conference.
It is also often the most mentally engaging part of a live conference program … so it is important to try and provide it in a Virtual Conference program.
The more that delegates hear from, learn from and discuss with their peers, the more they will feel like they are actually part of the event, not just logging in as a passive observer.
And there’s two simple ways to provide this experience.
The first is ensuring delegates and their peers participate in the program through being involved in panels, appearing in brief self-shot video pieces sharing an opinion or a solution to something or submitting ‘shout-outs’ to colleagues for work well done.
The second is placing ‘Delegate Discussion Time’ deliberately in the agenda.
This entails that, after key sessions in the conference, you send the delegates to smaller breakout rooms for 10-15 minutes to discuss with each other what they just heard.
A few of those sessions throughout the day really solidify peoples' learning and give the event a highly interactive and real feel.
4. GET DELEGATES ON SCREEN AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE
For delegates sitting at home, logged in to an online conference, it’s hard to imagine that they are sharing the experience with possibly hundreds of other people.
Unless you show them on the screen.
This is a screen shot from a recording of the wonderful British TV show Mock The Week. There is currently no live studio audience (which, as you can imagine, stifles the vibrancy of the atmosphere) so they regularly show these sorts of screens, so that viewers are reminded that they are sharing the experience with many others.
If you see vibrant signs of life on the screen, you can forget for the moment that you are alone, disconnected and possibly dressed just in your undies.
5. MAKE THE BREAK TIMES COMPELLING
Breaks at a live conference are exciting. There’s people. There’s exhibition booths. There’s scones.
Breaks at a virtual conference, however, are an open invitation to a delegate to leave and disconnect from the event.
So, give people a reason to stay on or return to the screen as soon as possible. Here’s a few tips for conference breaks. I’ll start with a couple of DON’T’s then give you some tips on what you should DO instead:
THE DON’Ts
1. DON’T have a scroll through of sponsor slides. … there’s certainly ways to give your sponsors recognition WITHOUT having them bore your delegates.
2. DON’T play sponsor videos. When people have a choice between watching a piece of corporate fluff or having three extra minutes of freedom … AND they know that no-one can see whether they’re there or not … they’re gone.
THE DO’s
1. Captivating Visuals:
For example
- show brief (one-minute) video interviews with people from their industry or organisation.
- ask a set of fun trivia questions (possibly even tailor-made to the event/industry/client)
- play catchy video pieces … like this one (just click here):
I have a whole library of reels like this specifically designed to grab delegate’s attention and give the event some personality.
2. Absorbing Activities:
For example:
A live trivia quiz
A Music quiz
Creating random smaller groups to either have conversations on fun topics or work-related issues
However, keep in mind that these activities are happening in people’s break times, when they have a genuine need to be doing other things, too. So make these activities drop-in / drop-out in nature.
And don’t forget you can give sponsors some positive recognition by attaching their names to these items.
Breaks at live conferences are more fun and engaging than breaks at home … so make it your aim to bring some of that fun and engagement to your online event breaks.
6. UPSKILL YOUR SPEAKERS
At a live conference there’s many ways a speaker can engage the audience. For example, they can get them to interact with their neighbours, respond to a question, stand and do something physical. There’s many options.
Online, speakers are more restricted … AND it is harder to keep people’s attention. But there ARE things they can do to better engage the delegates.
So, at the VERY least in your briefings to your (non-professional) speakers, send them some tips on online presenting (If anyone would like, I’m happy to share a handout I’ve made).
If you can gather some speakers for one hour Zoom call, to go through some tips on how to engage an online audience, that’s not a bad idea.
If you want to re-create a bit of that live event experience, your speakers’ ability to engage delegates is an important starting point.
7. CONFERENCE GIFTS / HAMPERS
Delegates get a refreshing buzz at a live conference because attending one takes you away from the familiar.
Sitting at your usual desk, surrounded by your usual mess, is not likely to have your virtual delegate feeling that same tingly sense of anticipation.
But there are ways through which you can provide them with a bit of a buzz. That wonderfully refreshing sense that their day is going to be a bit different to normal.
I’m talking about the sending of a Conference Hamper. Or Conference Survival Box.
Often these packages involve food and beverage delights (which are always appreciated … and there’s some great examples here https://www.hamperswithbite.com.au/work-from-home-hampers) but the truth is they also provide an opportunity to bring your virtual conference a tad more to life.
The hamper could contain items that speakers can refer to, items that delegates need to use during a presentation or information that will help them participate in a discussion.
Or it could simply be filled with snacks and the Conference MC tells people, “Ok. It’s time now for us to delve into our Conference Hampers and find the Kit Kat bar. Except you lactose intolerants, of course, who should look for your packet of dried prunes”.
There is a certain feeling of ‘being included’ when things that are being said on screen relate directly to what is happening at home.
These options often do come with a price tag that requires a generous sponsor … but surely the thought of being the brand that delivered to everyone’s home this wonderfully positive feeling is intriguing to some?
Here’s some items you can send out that truly do delight delegates:
1. Vouchers:
For things like UberEats (to order their conference lunch), Fitness Classes, Private Lessons in Interesting Skill Areas, Online Personality Tests.
2. Screen cleaner
Remember many people are watching on a touch-screen device)
3. A “Working From Home” T-Shirt / Cap, with small conference logo.
4. Water Bottle / Portable Coffee Mug but with funny COVID slogan on it
5. A personalised message thanking people for attending the event from a celebrity.
The website www.cameo.com gives you access to available famous people and their fees. I found this idea on https://blog.bizzabo.com/virtual-gift-ideas which seems to have some great ideas on it.
Imagine if all the delegates at a legal conference received a ‘Thanks for Attending’ video on their phone from Harvey Spector from Suits?
6. Of course, don’t underestimate the value of including anything that someone’s kids will like. Or, more to the point, that will keep them occupied so they don’t interrupt while you’re tuned into the conference sessions! (It can work for partners, too!)
8. CAN I SUGGEST USING AN MC?
I’ve probably picked up more new clients for my MCing during the past 12 months than in any of the past five years.
The reason is that organisations that have never considered using an MC in the past have realised that, moving their conferences or events online makes them less engaging experiences for delegates. And online delivery is also a format many organisations have limited experience with.
A professional MC can bring atmosphere, audience engagement, online experience and a safe pair of hands when things don’t go quite according to plan. These are all things that help bridge that gap between what a live event WAS, and a virtual event IS.
IN CONCLUSION
So, best of luck bringing to your online events whatever wonderful elements of live events that you can. I hope I’ve provided some simple ideas for you to consider.
After all, don’t we all want our online delegates to feel some of the buzz they feel when attending a live event … even if they’re at home in their underpants?