Virtual events are here to stay.
A staggering 93% of event marketers plan to incorporate virtual events in their strategy moving forwards and, while this is an exciting time for the events landscape, we have experienced a steep learning curve in 2021 around what great experiences look like- ranging from “here is what we used to do…” to “let’s do all of this- on Zoom”, we’ve had to re-create engagement and participation that we mastered prior to COVID-19 disruption.
Below are five reasons that are central to re-thinking event engagement in 2022, based on our experience as a technology partner with events teams.
Impact and participation are more important than ever
As teams start to dig into the attendance data of their 2020/ 21 events there have been a few surprises that have emerged. First, what was a 5k attendee list prior to 2020 disruption suddenly exploded to lists of 5x the previous number. However, when digging into the data a little further, what emerged was that the profile of attendees had become more junior and senior leaders (tasked with executing the strategy activation)- and they weren’t present.
Insight: Not all participation metrics are equal; we need to be more intentional about the experience itself. This could be: running smaller cohorts of leaders of up to 200 where the event itself has a more interactive dimension to it. It could also be stimulating discussion and networking. Excitement and engagement are still the overarching aim across all cohorts.
Meaningful connection — meet teams where they are
Our experience of 2020/21 has taught us that creating a meaningful connection to the strategy during events is a must have. In other words, zoom presentation or a one way dialogue of presentation simply no longer fit the bill for participants who face a radically different business environment. Events teams instead need to think about activating the following elements into their agenda:
- Achieving alignment: Do your participants understand the what and the why of the strategy and are you giving them the opportunity to experience it during your event?
- Igniting the right mindset: Do your participants hold the right mindsets to lead a growth business and to generate enterprise value creation? At see6 we see the right mindset as the catalyst for change, so during your events in 2022, stimulating the right mindset is a must-win for your events team.
- Creating the right capability: Do your participants have the key capabilities needed to make better business choices? An event can be an excellent opportunity to work with wider client stakeholder groups to engage participants to what is being asked of them. We see this as a force multiplier for virtual events in 2022.
Rethinking event measurement — insights in-the-moment
The majority of events teams are more than aware that post-event survey responses have been on a downward trend for 5+ years. Of course you can ask fewer questions to participants, but this moves the problem rather than solves it.
Our experience has taught us to re-think event measurement and capture in-the-moment insights to feed back to the business and capture ROI. The opportunity here lies in finding the right technology partner who can support the connection between your events objectives and outcomes and the participant experience itself.
Embrace hybrid — it’s here to stay
Events teams need to mirror the new hybrid work environment in their events in 2022 and beyond. This means engaging participants to multiple platforms through the experience.
For example, you could run an event for 200 participants of which 50 are in person and 150 are virtual. Events teams need to design experiences that engage with all 200 participants and create a ‘level playing field’ within the experience. A business simulation is an example of this where teams can be set a challenge and configured in this hybrid format that leads to re-creating the moments that matter and making lasting change. They also get to practice executing the strategy during the event in a realistic but safe environment.
Technology partnerships — winning formula
Events teams can create winning relationships with technology partners who have the cloud based platforms and experiences to bring their events to life and achieve what we have discussed here. Great technology partners align to the following;
- Focus on the technology and create flawless execution during your event
- Embed your content and narrative into the technology experience
- Act as a good partner to your delivery team — adapting to change with ease and imagination
Technology partners can really bring a new and exciting dimension to your event.
Why business simulation?
At see6, we are passionate about cloud-based simulation as a lever to create successful virtual events in 2022. In our experience, this can trigger the following with your participants at your events:
- Stimulating leadership with a mature business perspective through gamification of strategy
- People learn best with other people. It’s critical to create learning moments in our 2022 events
- Practice and see what good looks like (while having some fun)!
see6 is a web-based simulation platform where your teams engage with what matters most to your business.
Drop us a call and we’d love to work with you on your next event.
