As we settle into new realities and new routines, we believe it’s time to stop trying to “pivot to virtual” or simply translate a live event to a virtual space. Instead, we see incredible opportunity to embrace this moment in time to make virtual events something even more special for your audiences.
An in-person event is typically one-to-many; virtual events, though they may still be one person delivering content to a wide audience, feel more like one-to-one. Delivered to screens and devices in homes across the world, they’re necessarily more intimate and direct. Because of this, we believe virtual experiences require a thoughtful and specific approach to storytelling and interactivity.
As you rethink and begin your event planning, you may experience added internal pressures, and start receiving questions you’ve never had to think through: How do I make this event happen virtually? How do we connect with audiences in an authentic way? Do we still need to have our event, or should we cancel until “normal” times return?
Inspired by our team’s extensive virtual-event experience and ongoing research, here are the best practices we’ve identified to make your next virtual experience amazing for all attendees.
1. Pay attention to the current state of the world
Before planning your event, consider the current state of the world and let that context inform your planning. Racism in America, Covid-19 around the world, and the general political climate all inform the attendee mindset. Make space in your plan for acknowledging or responding to current realities. Face masks and social distancing, or a moment of silence for the Black Americans lives we’ve lost. For example, right now racial justice is top of mind for our society, and it’s important to examine how that impacts your business, your work, your stakeholders, your extended alliances and your partnerships. For events happening right now, we recommend starting the event with taking a moment of silence and addressing the tangible actions your company or organization plans to take to address racial equity and how you plan to show up for stakeholders, both internal and external.
2. Lean into your mission and values
While a virtual format may feel unfamiliar, make it familiar by spotlighting your mission and values, or other guiding beliefs that have long been core to your brand or your work. Now, maybe more than ever, mapping values to action is a critical part of creating a just and sustainable world. Consumers demand accountability from the brands they support, partners want clarity about the mission of the organizations they’re working with—and we all have a role to play as agents of change.
3. Be thoughtful in crafting the agenda
Time is precious. Carefully consider your individual agenda components within the context of a holistic experience. Whether in-person or virtual, it’s always important to ground experience design in a strong narrative arc to deliver a compelling story that resonates with each attendee. Approaching agenda development with the strategic lens of goals and objectives, timing and length of the event, and other interactive decisions such as Q&A’s and moderated panels allows you to make informed production and format decisions from the beginning.
4. Orient your platform decisions around the experience
Once you’ve identified your goals and objectives, consider the experience you want to create and deliver. With that clarity, evaluate platform options to identify which configurations best support the experience. The platform you choose will need to meet the needs of your speakers and your audience, and there are several additional considerations: Do you want to pre-record all content? Do you want interstitial content to break up sessions? What about a collaborative component? Do you want to have a networking component?
5. Remember: Experiences are for people
Think through ways you can humanize the virtual experience by considering time and the physical space of each attendee, and incorporate physical elements to enhance key moments. There are several ways to engage your virtual audience and provide an additional humanizing “surprise and delight” element, including sending attendees themed “swag” bags with content that relates to the event agenda; “behind the scenes” videos that showcase speakers’ home offices or work-from-home silver linings; or gamifying the experience with live polling and surveys.
Virtual events are here to stay, and that’s exciting! We believe that with optimism, plus a strategic approach to design and delivery, memorable event experiences that continue to inspire and delight may also be here to stay.