This year unprecedented circumstances related to COVID-19 have changed the way marketers as a whole look at their event strategy. It has caused us to pause, pivot, and make drastic changes in a very short time. Given the fact that we have all experienced this shift in our event plans, we decided to discuss “Going Virtual What it Takes to Run Successful Virtual Events” during last week’s HITMC Tweet Chat.
Below is a round-up of some of the best pointers from the HITMC Community.
We dove into the following question first:
T1 As an attendee, what is most important for a virtual event or webinar? Topic? Speakers? Timing? Technology?
Almost unanimously, the idea of having a captivating topic came out as the most important. This was closely followed by the timing and flow of the event. Although speakers and technology are important, investing your time into great topics and how the event is structured seems to drives the community most as an attendee.
T1: Topic has to be first as why else would I invest my time? But the tech experience needs to be excellent to get me to stay. #HITMC https://t.co/cQinJ4PUw2
— Janet Kennedy #LookForTheHelpers (@GetSocialHealth) June 9, 2020
Topic is #1 on my list, followed by length of the event. The tech is not so much an issue for me, as I have access to most if not all, platforms. #HITMC
— larrykaiser (@LarryKaiser) June 9, 2020
T1 – as an attendee, the most important thing for me is the topic. If the event is going to help me grow my skill set, I’m all in! #hitmc
— Jonna Howe (@JonnaHowe) June 9, 2020
T1 – What can I anticipate to learn from this virtual event? Who is guiding the event? Have I learned something from them previously that I could potentially ask questions to expand on this topic? #HITMC
— Corrie Fisher (@Cafisher25) June 9, 2020
T1 – As an attendee, I think all those things are important. But perhaps most important is the cadence and flow of the event. Hours upon hours of slide decks can be a bit much. Frequent breaks and touchpoints for feedback certainly help. #HITMC
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) June 9, 2020
To add on to T1, the next questions we asked the community was about technology.
T2 Does the technology for the webinar/virtual event matter? What features do you want to see?
Basically…technology matters. While it may not be as important as choosing amazing topics, it still is pretty important. Below are just some of the things to ask yourself when choosing a platform for your virtual events:
- Does is allow for smooth access?
- Is the audio clear?
- Is the registration process straight forward?
- Does it include interactive features including breakrooms, whiteboards, and chat rooms?
T2 – Technology does matter, IMO. Not which platform, necessarily, but does it work? Is everyone’s audio clear? And having a way to interact with the audience is definitely a huge plus. #HITMC
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) June 9, 2020
T2 -It totally matters to me. I want to be able to have an ease of access, along with an area to communicate and collaborate with those that are engaged and not just on video — so chat functions. I’d love to see even a DM area where people could move sidebar conversations #HITMC https://t.co/aOlS8fePP6
— Alaina Lamphear (@AlainaLamphear) June 9, 2020
I like the registrations that have submit a question as part of the registration, because that can help guide the convo and presentation to be sure to hit on important points to the audience. #hitmc
— Barby Ingle, BSc Psyc (@BarbyIngle) June 9, 2020
T2. Features I look for are: break out rooms, whiteboards, and chat rooms. I think these help with engagement. #hitmc
— Jonna Howe (@JonnaHowe) June 9, 2020
T2: The tech matters to me inasmuch as it facilitates the format, and ability to focus on networking and learning. The best virtual events I’ve been at have been Zoom with breakout rooms. #hitmc
— Ted Chan (@upwardmobility) June 9, 2020
T2 Continued — Regarding features, do you have a chat feature / moderator? Are you interacting with it or setting expectation that it will be used?
Also, cool hold music is always great, right @stacygoebel? #HITMC
— Dalton Patterson (@MrDollyPat) June 9, 2020
Up next we dug into the heart of a virtual event or webinar….the content.
T3 What steps do you take to build out engaging content for your virtual event or webinar?
The HITMC community had some great feedback on where to start:
- Know your audience
- Think about what you want them to learn
- Make it sparkle and engaging
- Speak authentically
- Don’t drag it on
Know your audience before you build out the content is crucial. Are you speaking to a technical audience, sales personnel? C-suite executive? #HITMC
— Corrie Fisher (@Cafisher25) June 9, 2020
T3 – Start with the value of what you have to say. What do you want the audience to learn? Build the message first, then make it sparkle with visuals. Don’t build the presentation around slides, build slides around the presentation.#hitmc
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) June 9, 2020
T3: Like everything we do in marketing, understand the audience, what their needs are, what they need to feel it was worthwhile, and plan around that. #HITMC
— burtrosen (@burtrosen) June 9, 2020
T3 - I'd also say, if you find yourself saying things that don't require imagery, don't feel forced to create slides. It's okay to just speak authentically, too. Not everything lends itself to a chart. #HITMC
— Claire Pfarr (@clairepfarr) June 9, 2020
T3 If someone has signed up for the webinar, I'm assuming they are somewhat interested in the topic. So speakers need to present the content engagingly, don't just read text. Plus, add in time for discussions. #hitmc
— Jonna Howe (@JonnaHowe) June 9, 2020
T3 Is the topic white noise to the industry? No? Proceed. Yes? Reevaluate.
Have you pulled your SMEs together to determine all aspects of your topic? Yes? Proceed. No? Do that.
Have you used social to ask engaging questions before presenting? You get the idea. #HITMC https://t.co/6kEBNHNota
— Dalton Patterson (@MrDollyPat) June 9, 2020
T3 We're participating in an event this weekend where we've got multiple speakers presenting quickly, hitting their main points, and passing the microphone on. Hoping for high-value in a short timeframe.
Lots of rehearsal for tech & content to make it work. #hitmc
— Michael W. Roberts (@michaelwroberts) June 9, 2020
Next on the docket. How do you get people to show up?
T4 Share best practices for recruiting attendees to your webinars or virtual events. What has worked well?
Scroll to see some of the things that have worked well for the community.
T4 - Add it to your email signature, and if its relevant for the entire org, have other teams and departments do the same. With this, push it on social and have your social linked to your email signature. Multiple exposure points. One mass email blast is always good, too. #HITMC https://t.co/vEi4MXP3HS
— Dalton Patterson (@MrDollyPat) June 9, 2020
T4 continued -- Also, I am a fan of specified drop pages that aren't just the registrations to the event. This gives you the ability to link out to teams and speakers social, give a more detailed description of the speaker, or successes, etc. #HITMC
— Dalton Patterson (@MrDollyPat) June 9, 2020
T4: ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING (sorry to yell...) but breaking down the personas, your target accounts, making sure you have collaborative multi-channel efforts along with sales efforts to makes a huge difference. #HITMC https://t.co/14M9F2EvAV
— Alaina Lamphear (@AlainaLamphear) June 9, 2020
T4. We find sharing on social media and through our email list, having a track record of good virtual events, and topical topics. If your platform has a focus, stay in your focus so people know what to expect and you're always building on, they like it, they share too. 🙂 #hitmc https://t.co/cIw6KAPRWM
— Barby Ingle, BSc Psyc (@BarbyIngle) June 9, 2020
Next we talked about the ways that you can encourage your attendees to participate.
T5 How do you encourage attendee engagement, participation and even networking during your virtual events?
There were so many great ideas from the community on this question. Grab a pen and jot these down for your next virtual event:
- Online twitter chats
- One-on-one networking
- Match-making networking
- Pre-scheduled mail drops
- Free swag and giveaways
- Buy them lunch
T5 doing chats through twitter or behind hte scene lives before and/or after webinars or other events is a nice way to keep the conversation going and encourage networking #HITMC
— Lea Chatham (@LeaChatham) June 9, 2020
@spencerhealth was a sponsor of a converted in-person to virtual event a few month agao. Platform was not great so the networking was shakey. The event organizers facilitated 1:1 introductions and the response rate was very good. #HITMC https://t.co/tm06tjrejS
— Janet Kennedy #LookForTheHelpers (@GetSocialHealth) June 9, 2020
T5 I do enjoy the match making opportunities online. I'm not a big fan of the completely random networking. That's not what happens IRL. Guess what I'm saying is that I want topic or interest-based matchmaking/networking #hitmc
— Colin Hung (@Colin_Hung) June 9, 2020
T5: Know your audience -- work to have a mix of current clients, prospects and others on the webinar. Encourage conversation. Make room to listen and let them interrupt you. Verbal pauses may seem awkward, but the silence means someone will fill them besides you #HITMC https://t.co/yyfojoDEJh
— Alaina Lamphear (@AlainaLamphear) June 9, 2020
T5 - My suggestion is to do a mail drop in advance, giving attendees VERY FUN tools to use DURING the virtual event. Thoughts? Ideas? #hitmc
— mHealth Times (@mobihealthtimes) June 9, 2020
In addition to swag giveaways a big driver is typically a free lunch or dinner. If the webinar is a small gathering, send audience members a gift card for #deliverydudes? #hitmc
— Corrie Fisher (@Cafisher25) June 9, 2020
Last but not least we asked the question that we hoped was a unanimous no!
Bonus: Do you think virtual events will ever replace in-person events?
To our delight, most of the community believe that in-person events will make a come back. However, many feel that a hybrid solution that includes both an in-person and virtual capability will be key for up coming event strategies.
I think adding a virtual opportunity for in-person events could be an interesting idea. Budgets for in-person conferences will change next year and beyond. What if a conference allows for a virtual version for those who cannot physically attend as a second-tier option? #HITMC https://t.co/H3BRKt38vv
— Matt DiVenere (@Matt_DiV) June 9, 2020
T5: In-person won't go away - BIG moneymaker - but I like the virtiual conferences that allowed free reg. A great way to get exposure to junior staff members who don't get to attend events in person. Maybe offer 1 virtual tix for each in-person if you are simulcasting? #HITMC
— Janet Kennedy #LookForTheHelpers (@GetSocialHealth) June 9, 2020
Probably not completely, but I would love to be able to participate virtually in more conferences. It’s definitely not feasible to be at a lot of events I’d like to participate in. #hitmc https://t.co/UPyVGkWdIw
— Michael W. Roberts (@michaelwroberts) June 9, 2020
Bonus I dont think virtual events will replace inperson but they r here to stay, serving similar purposes, able 2 reach more people at lower $ but miss a human connection element #hitmc I did host my 1st virtual run fundraiser this past wknd Loved it People worldwide participated https://t.co/8KTIqXy4JK
— Barby Ingle, BSc Psyc (@BarbyIngle) June 9, 2020
Check out the full transcript of last week's chat here.
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