We at NJ believe that every event format – virtual, hybrid or live – has a place and a purpose.
Nowadays, many of us are constantly in and out of virtual meetings. It’s great to see how people and companies have skillfully adapted to the situation in the world. Humans really are experts in overcoming adversity!
However, this does not come without its challenges. Perhaps you have seen that while people show up, their engagement is not as high as you would like. Your attendees might be experiencing virtual meeting or webinar fatigue because all those everyday Zoom and Teams calls look and feel the same.
Three key areas to upgrade your virtual events
We at NJ are very curious about human behaviour. Since the virtual event boom started, we have been observing and studying both organisers and attendees. From this experience, we have identified three key areas to successfully deliver a virtual event:
1. Branding – differentiate from competitors and everyday Teams meetings
Your virtual event should be your world. Plan your brand journey and attendee experience carefully because each touchpoint is an opportunity to tell your story and leave an impression. From invites to custom engagement tools, each step must stay true to the look and feel of your company and culture.
Did you know that some event platforms can design tailored emojis and reactions specifically for your event? Ask your next event partner – there are probably more possibilities than you can even imagine. Your virtual space is your event venue, and it should be branded as such. Create a wow-effect when your attendees step in and most importantly, stand out from routines and competition.
2. Engagement – humans are social creatures
Plan your content so that people can engage, interact, and be a part of the dialogue. As they are listening, they also want to feel heard. All live interactions should be carefully planned and moderated. Your event partner should help you create motivating event communication for your target audiences to keep them engaged before, during and after the event.
While planning your attendee journey, prepare each touchpoint so that engagements support and are relevant to your business goals. No touchpoint should be without a plan and no action without a purpose. Engagements are not only important for the attendee experience, but they also bring main input for the third key point: business.
3. Business – it IS personal
Engagements bring you metrics, metrics, metrics! Virtual events have opened many new opportunities to get valuable information for sales, marketing, and HR departments. Although there is a tendency to collect as much as possible, it is important to first identify what data is really relevant and specify appropriate metrics.
Together with your event partner, describe your lead generation process and determine how it translates to your virtual event setting. Find out whether your virtual event platform can provide engagement scores for your attendees to help with lead qualification. Integrations with existing sales and marketing tools make it significantly easier to make use of that precious data. If you had hundreds or thousands of attendees, how to know where is the most potential business and who to contact first?
Rethink your virtual interactions
Focus on creating the most valuable attendee experience. When navigating the world of virtual events, your biggest ally should be a competent partner with knowledge and experience. It can be difficult to make decisions when you don’t exactly know what you need. That’s why your partner should be more than a “yes-man” who just delivers exactly what was asked. Your partner should challenge you to make you better because they care about the best possible outcome. Now is the time to rethink, pilot and take your virtual events to the next level.
About NJ Production
NJ Production is your partner who puts the event experience in focus. We are passionate, we care, and we rise up to the challenge. If you would like to know more and perhaps have a look at your possible virtual solution, get in touch by booking a demo directly in the calendar or by simply sending a message.
Meanwhile, you can check out these links:
- We really love what we do — just look at our latest showreel.
- Planning your next virtual or hybrid event? Head over to NJ Virtual Hub.
- Your next virtual event might get 10 times bigger attendance than your previous in-person event. Read more about how our customer Newsec pulled it off.