Over the past year, the working world has experienced a multitude of changes – some for the better, some for the worse. As we move to an almost full adoption of remote working, for the foreseeable future at least, the dynamics of conferencing and networking have been fundamentally revamped.
A move to all things digital has proved positive in many aspects, but does that apply to virtual conferences? Merely taking the concept of a physical event and copying it online does not mean that everything has been translated correctly.
It’s just not the same online
Ask any regular conference-goer what the most important part of the event is, and they’ll say networking. Networking is the life and soul behind every conference, and something that cannot be simply replicated virtually by adding the ability to chat with someone on the network. Online, you can easily ignore people who want to connect. Messages are not sent and read at the same time, causing a disconnect. Ultimately, by attending virtually, you miss tons of opportunities that you would’ve taken at a physical event.
Though Zoom has revolutionised remote working, and has many positives, it is a poor substitute for the spontaneous networking that might arise at a conference. Virtual meetings will never have the same level of chemistry a real interaction would. Meeting someone in the queue for a coffee, sitting next to someone at a speaker session and discussing the key takeaways, is the je ne sais quoi that makes a physical conference unique.
However, there are other networking opportunities that virtual attendees can capitalise on, such as joining the event’s social media chatter. By skimming conference hashtags, you can join the online discussion. Essentially, you can share your thoughts, reshare others’ posts, ask questions, and so on, engaging with fellow attendees in a different way.
There are more barriers than bad wifi
It’s also hard to maintain immersion and attention online in the same way you would at a physical event. You haven’t had to carve out dedicated time to travel to a venue and commit yourself to the content in front of you. Sitting at your home desk, it’s all too easy to fall foul of on- and off-screen distractions – from answering incoming email or Slack messages or getting ahead on writing that report that’s due at the end of the day, to making lunch for your kids or putting a load of laundry in the machine. With reduced immersion and increased distraction, many online event attendees miss out on speakers and the resulting anecdotes and knowledge.
Even if you are giving a speaker your full attention, the experience is simply not the same through a screen. Content can seem boring as speakers have less opportunity to engage with an audience, make eye contact, feed off the atmosphere in the room, and so on.
However, new edtech solutions designed to create a more engaging learning environment at home could be replicated or repurposed in the online conference world. With the addition of experiential activities for conference-goers, from fishbowl meetings (participant-driven meetings diverging from the standard conference format of presentations followed by Q&A).
to building something at home, other senses are stimulated. Zoom breakout rooms could also be used to stimulate networking by breaking event audiences into smaller groups, facilitating a more natural conversation.
Gamification is another tool that could spice up a virtual event, allowing for a more captivating experience. By capturing interest in this way, attendees could feel more enjoyment, as well as engagement, and be left with a more lasting impression of an event.
Timing is everything
A conference’s international reach is great, but comes at a price – time zones. We’ve all experienced the headache of time zone changes and the adjustment process, which also unfortunately, applies to virtual conferences. Logging onto a virtual event is different than flying there and adjusting to a new time zone beforehand. Though attending virtually could be a convenience, allowing people to join events that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to, joining in a different time zone hampers attention and ability to focus.
It’s less of a spectacle
Many businesses rely on conferences for their exhibition capabilities. However, moving online shifts exhibiting from active to passive. It is impossible to bring people to your stand in real time, and the essential element of face-to-face personal interaction is removed. The amount of people coming and going cannot be calculated, and any potential incidental comments or takeaways that could improve the exhibit are also lost.
It will be a while until we can go back to physical conferences, so what can be done in the meantime?
A possible solution
Virtual does not, and will not, work with masses of people. Instead, big conferences need to be broken down into more manageable chunks, such as virtual roadshows. It is imperative that event companies pivot their strategy and use their network to interconnect with companies, startups, and investors on a more personal level, facilitating a new type of online event.
Instead of investing capital to create new platforms that try and mimic the real world, investment should instead be used to establish connections and run these ‘micro events’. Event businesses have an extensive network of all kinds of businesses, from large to small, as well as service providers. It is imperative that they place effort in segmenting the network and begin to offer small niche networking opportunities, essentially trying to maximise the virtual experience and bring it closer to mimicking ‘the real thing.’ Micro events can be anything from a small networking event, to pitches and larger roadshows.
Businesses looking to find new partners should use their resources for business development, marketing, public relations, and sales to drive awareness. If a company is looking to find innovation, they should work with their Innovation Managers, scouts, and third-party businesses to find and action the right solutions. These solutions can range from reverse pitch events to small networking events with relevant companies.
Finally, speakers looking to present and be heard must ensure, more than ever, that they are expanding their knowledge by joining the host of smaller online events that are springing up, so that they can deliver up-to-date, valuable, and insightful content, not just the same old recycled “big stage” talk one more time.
As Published on Air Doctor.
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