I’ve been thinking about event engagement and changes over the last 20 years – and how quickly that change has accelerated in the last two. The pandemic has impacted how attendees experience personal and professional events. It is a notable example of when you have a pandemic, you make “pandemicade.”
In the last two years, we have seen innovation at its best. Many developed and adapted to innovative technologies. No one knew Zoom before the pandemic; now it is predicted to be a bet-on-it technology going forward. Virtual events existed but were not popular. When the pandemic hit, hundreds of virtual event platforms were formed and joined a busy marketplace, and virtual events grew by 1000%. Augmented reality and the metaverse were technologies in their infancy that are now are being integrated into our everyday lives.
We Need to Embrace Tech Innovation Developed During the Pandemic
While it appears the pandemic is (finally) fading, the event industry should continue to embrace these new and innovative technologies and avoid returning to the way things were prior to March 2020. I’m not denying that in person meetings, events, conferences will return. I’m saying we should embrace and converge these technologies as complementary offerings within events to enhance how we engage, connect, and build communities.
Delivering a Good Experience Is Key
A 2021 survey by Ernst and Young found that a majority (53%) of executives in the media and entertainment space believe that resiliency of the industry and the popularity of shared in person experiences will return with a new emphasis on venue safety and digital add-ons.
Additionally, this same survey found that 75% of leaders are focusing on reshaping their product offerings to better service customer needs and 65% want to leverage digital connectivity with on demand solutions.
Event leaders from all sectors must realize that technology is moving faster than ever, and we must continue to leverage tech to meet the changing demands and expectations of businesses and consumers.
With these factors in mind, we must adapt event strategies to drive greater engagement. Here are my seven rules of event engagement:
Event Engagement Rule #1 – Make the Mind Shift
Technology will continue to evolve and because technology is changing so quickly, event strategists need to adjust their mindset to adopt and recommend technology to enhance experiences and deliver to your attendees’ goals rather than just tech for tech’s sake.
Event planners need to know about applications and technologies to meet the changing ways attendees engage and consume content. This shifting mindset is critical moving forward as consumers expect choices, engagement, entertainment and more. Whether in person or virtual, short, snackable bites of immersive information are the new normal, not hourlong panels.
Event Engagement Rule #2 – Bring the Metaverse to Your Universe
How we integrate Augmented Reality, the Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence as well as process efficiencies and DIY into events is a necessary skill that needs to be marketed. This technology is already changing the event landscape especially among younger consumers. Did you see the green slime attack on the San Francisco 49ers during their playoff game? Players were covered and fans were splattered with slime that came from within the field.
Home Depot, Lowes, and other DIY companies are reducing the $25 Billion return industry by allowing you to scan a QR code to use augmented reality and see if the product you bought not only fits through your hallway, but also how it looks in your home before you purchase. Imagine using this technology to see if the medical device or instrument fits in the lab, demonstrate the product in someone’s living room, or tour the inside of a product.
Augmented reality can also bring a CEO’s keynote to your living room. AI learns about the attendee, creates dynamic personas, and increases efficiencies for future programming. And the metaverse transforms events into spectacular engaging experiences. Adam Perry writes in Event Industry News:
“Love it or hate it, the metaverse is already impacting the events landscape and changing audience expectations, particularly among tech-savvy and easily distracted Millennials and Generation Z. To win the time and attention of the future’s dominant workforce, events will be less about chronology and speakers and more about exploration and interaction. The end of a standard webinar is coming near, being replaced with live-streamed VR entertainment and Oculus Rift parties as early as next year.”
If you’re not embracing these technologies, you’re not capturing what is becoming the most powerful engagement tool.
Event Engagement Rule #3 – Answer “The Why”
While knowing “the why” has been around for a long time, the convergence of in person and virtual events make understanding “the why” even more important. Knowing your attendee, their personas, and their needs as well as how they consume information are critical components for your event
By understanding their pain points and problems where they need help, planners can create a solution or solutions that drive engagement. Content needs to compel people to come – and that means you need to be able to clearly answer why they should come – why you’re having the event. What do you want them to experience? This needs to be done for both those attending in person and virtual as they will consume content in diverse ways.
“Build it and they will come” might work in Hollywood, but not for events. Knowing how the attendee consumes content helps create compelling content, marketing campaigns, social media posts and calls to action.
Knowing the why also helps you build data collection and measurement tools to understand your program’s ROI. Build a data collection plan to understand key takeaways 30-, 60-, 90-days afterwards to see if your event delivered to the attendee’s needs.
Event Engagement Rule #4 – Your Attendee’s Journey Is the Essential Roadmap
Looking forward, the need to visualize your attendee’s journey is becoming an effective tool to create actionable goals. Put yourself into your attendee’s shoes and experience what they do at every step of your event from registration to post event surveys and resigning them for next year. Don’t take for granted that just because you know the process that your attendee also will. Use the learning to make better business decisions especially as it relates to the attendee experience.
If we are spending time to get to know the attendee, then we also need to take time to understand their journey. How many steps/clicks does it take to register? How many emails do they receive? How easy is it to log in. Use this data to identify pain points, make changes and apply more innovative solutions.
Give attendees a seamless and easy experience no matter where and how they choose to engage. A deeper understanding of your attendee is essential. Where are they starting? Why are they here? What pain points can you solve for them?
Chief Executive conducted a recent poll that found 55% of CEOs are reporting that innovation comes from meeting the end user/ customer needs. Given these data CEOs are incorporating a deeper understanding of the customer journey. This, no doubt, should be a crucial step for every event strategy.
Event Engagement Rule #5 – Take Risks – But Not with Health and Safety
Taking risks is an important way to stand out and be different as long as it does not comprise attendee health and safety, which continue to remain top factors for consumers when deciding to attend an event. Not taking precautions can be extraordinarily costly. In addition to ensuring the attendee safety, always have a contingency plan ready.
But in every other way, it’s time to throw caution to the wind at take a risk or two. It’s too easy to be just like every one of your competitors, but when you do that, you blend into the background. Everyone is fatigue by online conferences and meetings. Take risks. Be different. Stand out. Shock and awe. Make your brand interesting enough that it becomes the centerpiece and trending topic.
Event Engagement Rule #6 – The KISS Method Still Applies
No, I’m not talking about the rock band. The “keep it simple strategy” should be the guiding principle when it comes to making your event accessible and engaging to attendees. In fact, this should apply across the board to your entire business model, according to EY. In EY’s examination of resilience as a factor of survival in the M&E industry, simplification, which includes consolidation of business units, departments or functions and outsourcing back-office activities, but also a significant focus on automation.
Don’t over complicate by adding too many steps to your attendee journey, adding multiple technologies, or promoting too many access points. People want simplicity and ease of use.
As we slowly exit the pandemic, we might see more consolidation of event platforms to enhance and simplify the planning process as well as attendee experience with one-stop supplier experiences.
Event Engagement Rule #7 – On-Demand, Asynchronous Events Replace Hybrid
Hybrid events were a short-term, stop-gap measure that allowed us to get through the pandemic. But the future of events is asynchrony. Content created during the event – keynote speeches, panel presentations, product demonstrations recorded and offered to those who don’t attend in person. It provides the opportunity to extend content access and enhance your revenue model throughout the year. Augmented reality QR codes should be used so that attendees can feel immersed in the event whether they’re in person or at home. Paul Cook has a great write up on EventMB about asynchronous, or desynchronized, events that’s worth a read.
Asynchronous events can also reduce production costs because you do not need the streaming technologies and platforms that can be so expensive.
Event engagement isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky want; it’s the primary purpose for attending or hosting an event. Engagement may be defined differently for different industries and teams, but at the end of the day, every event is an opportunity to create communities and connect with attendees, customers, and colleagues. Are you ready for the future of events?