Prior to the pandemic, the folding of events into marketing departments added pressure to prove event success with the hard data that marketing teams were accustomed to seeing. The recent explosion in virtual events will undoubtedly amplify this trend.
Occasionally, major unexpected developments force entire industries to rapidly change their business model overnight or face the very real prospect of extinction. While widespread technology adoption is traditionally a slow process, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a rapid and necessary global shift to remote work, travel restrictions and digital communication, putting the live meetings and events industry on pause.In response, the events industry and many private businesses have been developing virtual events that attempt to recreate live interactions. With the opportunity to introduce novel digital experiences and present a potentially unlimited number of attendees with information in engaging virtual environments, event producers and businesses are making plans and building platforms that could deliver the compelling virtual experiences that their audiences deserve.
2020 was very much the year of virtual events, as previously physical venues began offering an online version of their event. Often times this would include interactivity among viewers or participants, letting them feel more involved. With people staying remote due to the pandemic, these types of events skyrocketed in adoption. As outlined in our 2021 video trends webinar, we have reason to believe that this year will also tremendous use of virtual events with high usage and evolution of the concept.
So what types of virtual events are out there? Which ones are right for you, and what might your goal or goals be? We outline 8 different use cases for your virtual events platform and possible goals to help your event be a successful one.
Read the full article at: blog.video.ibm.com
The virtual event isn’t likely to stay that way, but hybrid events can reach more people while delivering in-person benefits.
TechRepublic’s Karen Roby spoke with Ryan Carlson of Okta about virtual events. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.——————————————–
A very interesting interview, listen to how Okta made their second virtual event really different than most other product events. Click the link below to listen to the full interview.
Read the full article at: www.techrepublic.com
As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to go remote, professional development activities like conferences, networking events and education sessions have also shifted into virtual venues. Some of this shift will likely outlast the pandemic, making the skills to manage and maximize these opportunities critical for professional development moving forward.
“Since the start of the pandemic, many of us have been confined to our homes and immediate family, and virtual meetings have been the only way to interact with friends, business associates, and colleagues,” said Will Gilchrist, senior member and chapter programs manager at RIMS. “These virtual meetings, while a nuisance to some, have been a lifeline to others. Virtual events have done wonders in bringing people together across the country and have enabled people who might be confined to their homes to branch out and regain some normalcy.”
Read the full article at: www.rmmagazine.com
Marina Worre is someone who is not afraid of change. She embraces it. As co-founder and CEO of Network Marketing Pro, Inc., she and her husband Eric have produced thousands of hours of video-based training content as well as some of the largest and most prestigious in-person training events in the world. When COVID-19 hit, they had to figure out how they were going to reach their community if they could not hold their two signature events: Go Pro Recruiting Mastery and The Most Powerful Women in Network Marketing. That’s when Marina came up with Worre Studios. She curated a team of audio and video production specialists to build a 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art production studio in Las Vegas to bring more interactive, online experiences to life. She sat down with Jessica Abo to share how companies and presenters can work with her studio and her advice for entrepreneurs.
Read the full article at: www.entrepreneur.com
Breakout sessions give meeting attendees time to engage with their peers and decompress. Learn how to plan one for your next meeting, discover a list of engaging ideas, and draw inspiration from real-life examples from businesses.
Breakout sessions can happen during both in-person and virtual meetings. The former typically send attendees to different areas of a conference venue, and the latter use breakout room functions native to virtual conferencing tools. These sessions are especially important during virtual meetings, where there is already an element of built-in disconnection as attendees are in their own respective locations.
This article from Hubspot goes over some ideas that you can use to incorporate engaging breakout sessions into your upcoming meetings.
Breakout Session Ideas
There are various breakout sessions you can plan for, like those directly related to meeting content and others that are entertainment-focused and involve attendees playing games with each other.
Read the full article at: blog.hubspot.com
Virtual events still sound a little futuristic, but they’ve been happening since 1993 when the world’s first livestream brought us nail-biting webcam footage of a coffee maker in mid drip. The streaming pot brewed up millions of views.
In some ways little has changed in 2020. On TikTok, teenagers have gone viral with sleep feeds, raking in crypto coin as they catch some zzz’s. But tech and social media upgrades have opened the door to new ways to connect online, from virtual museum tours to live Q&As with astronauts in space.
Even some of the largest conferences have gone partially or completely digital. Moving events like this online can reduce costs and carbon footprints, and make attendance accessible to a wider audience. In 2018, Coachella’s YouTube livestream brought Beyoncé’s Homecoming to more than 41 million people in more than 232 countries, rather than just the hundreds of thousands in attendance in person.
From live-tweeting to livestreaming, businesses and organizations are staging virtual events across the web. So, is your company ready to get digital?
Whether you have an event already in mind or you’re looking for ideas, this article is your all-access pass.
Read the full article at: blog.hootsuite.com
Virtual events are growing in popularity, and it doesn’t appear as if that’s going to change very soon. But as planners, venues, on-site teams, and everyone else involved in an event’s life cycle plan for a future full of virtual and hybrid events, there’s still a lot of unknown. That’s where these virtual event examples come in.
The following examples of virtual events span across multiple industries and vary in size, length, and technology. But they all have one thing in common: They took place in 2020, as the need for organizations to pivot to virtual events skyrocketed.
So whether you’re a planner in charge of putting together your first virtual event, a venue manager getting set to host one, or anyone in between, we hope these virtual event examples provide you with some inspiration and maybe even spark some new and innovative ideas.
Read the full article at: www.socialtables.com
In 2020, you might have heard your favorite influencers talking about a mysterious new social media app called Clubhouse.
But, unless you had a huge online following of your own, you might just be getting access to the app now.
Until a few months ago, Clubhouse was a platform where big-name celebrities, company leaders, Silicon Valley investors, and some of the web’s top global influencers could have uncensored audio group chats about their lives, hobbies, work, or industries.
Now, as the invite-only Clubhouse continues to gain media coverage and a growing pool of non-celebrity users, you might be wondering, “What the heck is it? And, how do I get in on the action?”
Below, we’ll explain where Clubhouse came from, what it actually is, and the pros and cons of using it in your marketing strategy.
Read the full article at: blog.hubspot.com
