Recent events have changed the way we work, think and ultimately live. Remote life has become the new norm, and everyone has had to learn to adapt to different changes in both their everyday lives and their working profession.
Now that we all have had a few weeks to adapt and get our heads around this strange time, we should think positively and look at the opportunities. As time goes on and more rules are being lax, it’s a great time to plan and consider how we can maximise our time still at home.
With social distancing measures still likely to remain a high priority for some time, we’re unsure when the attendance rates of physical gathering will start to pick up. On that, remote events may become the new way of business and it’s important to make sure you’re fully equipped to host the best virtual event possible.
Connect with people
Now is the perfect opportunity to reach out to people across the globe, never has it been easier to connect with all different time zones from the comfort of your own home. See this an opportunity to reach out to those who you might not regularly keep in contact with.
Working with clients and customers across the world is extremely challenging, having to tackle culture barriers and time zones. The opportunity to stay in contact is perfect as the one thing most people have during this period, which they tend to lack is time. Remote events can bring a diverse pool of attendees, improving networking and collaboration that happens during the event.
The quote “time is of the essence” is real – but now more than ever, people are willing to connect, learn and talk to each other. Don’t under-estimate the power of technology and real-time, it is still possible to have that personal interaction over video conferencing.
A perfect time to attract the best speakers is now, no travel is involved, intense planning or commitment – just a couple of hours of prep and attendance for the event is needed. This makes it a lot easier for very busy people to say “yes”.
Key planning tips
Any event, big or small requires planning to make it as effective and efficient as possible, and that rule applies both for a physical event and remote.
The key to a remote event is to keep people active and engaged. A key skill most people have is multi-tasking and it is very easy to get distracted when in the comfort of your own home. A recent study shows that the average adult only has an attention span of 8 seconds, making the content and engagement of the event crucial.
Ways to keep your audience’s attention before, during and even after the event
Before event;
Send delegate packs before the event, this gives your attendees insight on the agenda, pre-reading and other key notes/instructions to prep if needed for the event. Try and stand out from the crowd and think about the impact sending some branded merchandise can be to help keep your audience interested in joining.
Have a clear strategy in place before the event, key things to think about;
- Will you require event registration?
- When’s the best time for the event? (consider where your attendees are in the world)
- Who is your target audience? – following from this, tailor your content based on this
- What kind of an experience do you hope to have?
- What KPI’s and other data do you want to collect and analyse?
Make sure you troubleshoot – test your internet connection, prepare backups of visuals and presentations in case technology fails you. Most importantly, log on and have a practise run.
During event;
It may seem blindingly obvious, but tone of voice is imperative when having communication over video. The physical aspect of the event isn’t there, therefore having a diverse tone of voice is proven to show confidence and personality.
Eliminating background distractions – when hosting an event, it’s important to remain professional, even from the comfort of your home. Make sure you’re sitting at a table, with preferably no dirty laundry in the background! A plain wall works well, the less distractions the better! Lighting should be light and bright, with the camera angle front on and clearly showing the full face.
Have a clear plan of how the time will be used – prep, prep, prep! Make sure you also plan time for the introduction at the beginning and questions for the end.
At the beginning of the event, briefly go through the agenda of the event, it will inform the attendees if they haven’t already read it and prepares them for what to expect throughout the event.
After the event;
At the end of the event, send them some personalised merchandise, this will keep your brand at the forefront of the attendee’s thoughts and it adds a personal touch.
Concluding thought
There’s no doubt about it, getting through the next coming months will be challenging whilst trying to maintaining some level of normality. Its apparent the world we live in has changed and we must adapt to this. Organise your events online, use the technology provided and turn this to a positive opportunity.
Finally, good luck with hosting your online event – we hope it is a success! If you have any questions or interest in any of our products, please don’t hesitate to get into contact with us; SALES@NEXUSCOLLECTIONS.COM or 03330200515.
