Five tips to navigate events in a post-pandemic world
On 10 June, Natalie Jackson, head of events at 丝袜会所 Media, took part in Best of Both Worlds: How Event Creators are Preparing for a Hybrid Future, a webinar organised by Eventbrite. Here are five takeaways she shared during the discussion:
- You can include hybrid elements in virtual events. In early June, 丝袜会所 Media arranged for the panellists of a wine-tasting event to meet in person in a Covid-compliant studio. 鈥淚n terms of hybrid, it鈥檚 bordering on that idea: the panel is together, so you鈥檝e got that great interaction, but it was broadcast to a virtual audience, which was massive,鈥� said Natalie.
- Find creative ways to make people engage virtually. 鈥淥ne of the things we do, for example, is we have surveys that go out [during events], but they鈥檙e turned into a competition, so people can win things if they enter,鈥� said Natalie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 right at the end of the event, too, to keep people on.鈥�
- Add paid-for layers to free digital events. 鈥淲e鈥檝e added on a VIP experience to [some of] our events,鈥� said Natalie. 鈥淲e take viewers from a webinar to a [different] Zoom meeting, where you have all the people on camera, to give that face to face time鈥� and [where] they can ask questions directly to our panel.鈥�
- Marketing hasn鈥檛 changed, but the budget has. 鈥淲e still find the best way to get the messages out there is through digital advertising, whether it be a newsletter or social media,鈥� said Natalie. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 important to recognise is that our clients won鈥檛 spend the same sort of money as they would for a live event at the moment, and that鈥檚 going to affect our marketing spend.鈥�
- The future is hybrid. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing surveys: 60% of our viewers said they鈥檒l continue to watch virtual events, while 25% of them would go to live events,鈥� said Natalie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a scary time鈥� because we don鈥檛 know if people will feel comfortable going back out. I think we鈥檒l have a combination, people will like to do both.鈥�
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