Back to Life, Back to (Virtual) Reality

Back to Life, Back to (Virtual) Reality

Face-to-Face meetings and live events are essential to business and will always be the best way to connect, learn, and sell. COVID-19 has changed that for the time being and in this unprecedented time we need to adapt.  Virtual meetings are the way to the (immediate) future because business moves forward, non-profits need their fundraising events, and product launches will continue to happen. With continued safety parameters in place, producing virtual events is something that we need to embrace as an industry until we return to business as usual.

 

Virtual meetings are not a new phenomenon and they take the same dedication and detail in planning as a “traditional” meeting in order to resonate with your audience.  You still need to deliver great content and communicate your messaging in a visually dynamic format that optimizes the vast technological and virtual tools at our disposal.  With the right direction, you and your clients have the potential to reach larger audiences and leverage sponsor or internal budgets in ways that yield a high ROI.

 

Below are some ideas to set your virtual meeting light years ahead…

 

• Reassign your venue rental fees and food & beverage budgets and use them to upgrade your speakers – or have a celebrity as your auctioneer at your fundraising event.
• Create Q&A sessions with one-on-one time with the Keynote or other speakers built in — this will make the experience more intimate for your attendees.
• Deliver the destination to your attendees. The possibilities are endless and you’ll be giving back to the local community where your conferences would have taken place. A specific example is to provide a city tour with a local celebrity.
• Keep in mind that attendee data is much easier to track online – therefore giving your sponsors or event stakeholders a much more accurate picture of who attended what.

Encourage your clients and organizations to consider the virtual meeting format, and open themselves to reconnecting with existing contacts while expanding their potential for new client outreach.  And take advantage of this moment when we have a captive on-line audience.