How did businesses manage to launch new products and hold corporate events during the height of the coronavirus pandemic? How did they reach out to their investors, consumers, and other stakeholders? They used technology, of course. It wasn’t until the pandemic that we realized how reliant we have become on technology. There used to be a time when we could organize events by calling guests on the phone and sending them invitations via snail mail. Where have those days gone by?
Before the pandemic, there has already been a shift in the way people organize events, whether for businesses or for personal occasions. They have been using electronic invites and live streaming to reach audiences from far-off places. The same thing happened during the pandemic. Businesses had to be creative in how they create events that will bring them closer to their market.
Look for New Partners
The first thing businesses had to do when switching to 100% virtual events was to find new partners. The old ones are okay, but they might not be enough to launch a successful virtual event. You need to be more creative. Plus, you need more people to get interested in what your business has to offer.
For a long time, patient advocacy groups such as those dealing with cancer and other diseases had to do many things on their own. It is not exactly the sexiest thing to do—partnering with an advocacy group. But the pandemic opened opportunities for many businesses and organizations to get to know what each of them stands for. They can now work together with market research companies, joining fundraising events for patient advocacy groups. Businesses can tap non-government organizations, sectoral groups, and others to join them in virtual events.
Livestreaming
When talking about technology in event management, one cannot deny that live streaming has been a trend. The problem during the pandemic, however, was that companies needed to do virtual events instead of in-person ones. As a direct response, many held events with only a handful of participants and then proceeded to livestream the event to their followers on social media. So, for example, a product launch will only be attended by the company’s employees. But to give others a glimpse of that event, someone has to stream it live on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Event Management Apps
Who are you going to target with your event? Which part of your market will respond positively? Apps designed for event management and marketing will help you figure out the best way to reach out to your audience. The app can even collect the demographics of your participants. This is something that you can use in the future. The app will not only collect the data but also analyze the data for the marketing needs of the company. When you have a pretty solid understanding of who your market is, then that’s the best time to come up with the right marketing strategy.
Artificial Intelligence
What kind of artificial intelligence can be used when organizing events? Event chatbots, facial recognition, voice translation and interpretation, and event newsletter personalization are just some of the examples that you can utilize when organizing virtual events during the pandemic. The chatbots will help answer queries before the event, while facial recognition can be used during the registration. This will eliminate the need for staff in the registration area thus, exercising social distancing.
Data Collection
What good will the event be if you do not know how to analyze the results after? Interpreting the data will empower you to invite more impactful speakers in the future. For example, how many participants actually listened to a certain speaker? What did they do after the session? Did they subscribe to the services or buy products? After you collect all this data, what do they tell you about the audience?
The real-time collection of data will also allow you to adjust the parameters of the event so that they suit your audience better. Trackable statistics, attendee analytics, and real-time reports are an example of how data collection technology can be used to improve an event during the pandemic.
Every conference, meeting, seminar, and workshop will be different because of the pandemic. They will also require different tech devices and features. While some of these features may work well for certain kinds of events, others need to be personalized and customized to suit your market. Identifying what your event needs and how to get there will help you find what technology it needs.
