Why are we getting more and more frustrated with online events?

The first days of the pandemic have seen a spike in the online event industry. Following the pioneers and experimenters, the whole world has blown out with an overwhelming number of online events taking place every single day. 

This flux of virtual conferences and meetings resulted in the escalation of competition, which, in turn, ended up with most events’ attendee counts dropping way below the organizers’ expectations. Even those who decide to attend the event don’t stay till the very end. Nowadays it is very common to see live-streams with only a few people watching, which inevitably leads to the question: Was it worth the effort of the organizers? And most importantly, many people who love in-person networking are simply not able to get this experience via online events.

Having experimented quite extensively with virtual events in the last nine months I can say with confidence that online events can be fun, well-attended, and productive. But there are several fundamental things the organizers should keep in mind to make sure their next event does not turn into a disappointment.

1. The competition for the viewer’s attention between events and other content on the web has grown ten-fold. Ten-fold, to say the least. Now that all major events have gone online and many more new online projects have risen up, all to the cost of organization falling dramatically, the cost of attendee acquisition has symmetrically jumped up. You have no choice but to put forth ten times more resources to attract the same number of attendees than only a year ago.  

When I say ten times more resources, it does not always mean hiring ten times more people or spending ten times more money. You could just as well be ten times more creative in your content — the most essential part of any online event.

It is very common to see live-streams with only a few people watching, which inevitably leads to the question: Was it worth the effort of the organizers?

2. Poorly created titles. Have you ever thought about what was that main trigger that persuaded you to click on the “Register” button? Titles are the key beacons attracting attendees, if formulated properly.

Running through an event program, people usually skip titles that are not addressing their own problems or pains, even if the title refers to the industry they work in or talks about their profession.

That’s why the announcements like “The future of AI”, “Challenges and opportunities in the COVID-19 era”, or “Investment opportunities in the UK” will not get high click and registration rates. Even if the future talk is going to be highly engaging and inspirational, you won’t see a lot of people tuning in for such general titles. That’s how the highly anticipated events turn into online gatherings of the speakers’ and organizers’ close friends and colleagues. 

What makes a good attractive title then? Let me give you an example: “How to get rid of an extreme headache in 3 minutes: a step-by-step instruction for people over 60”. A perfect title must-haves are practicality, problem-solution focus, and target audience indication — everything that makes people who see it go “I can’t miss this one. It was made just for me”.

3. Wrong expectations about the online events. And that is where the frustration mostly comes from. In the case of offline events, people would primarily come to shake hands and mingle during the coffee breaks. They hardly cared what the speakers talked about from the stage. So getting star speakers and guests was a perfect recipe for a successful offline event.

Shaking hands and mingling during online events proved not to be working. Even though most conference platforms have networking features, it is much easier and more effective to do online networking on Linkedin than on any other platform. Why? Because on Linkedin you can find almost every business person on Earth, and your search results are not limited by the number of a conference’s attendees or its duration.

At the same time, with online events, people started paying much more attention to the virtual stage. Thus, the importance of content relevancy and quality has been drastically increasing. So, if your speakers are giving a generic talk or focus only on the very well known things, even if they are world-class stars, the attendees will start leaving your virtual event very quickly, switching to their work, social media, offline issues or just turn to another more engaging piece of online content.

4. Low-quality content. As it derives from the previous point, the speaker’s preparation for an online appearance requires much more prudence than that for a physical event. When it comes to the physical presence in front of a live audience, especially if you are famous, it is enough to show up and your legacy will work for you. When speaking online, every word you say and every slide you put into your presentation decide whether the audience wants to stay with you or leave for somewhere else.

Therefore, not only the titles that attract audiences should be well-thought-out, but the content itself needs to be well prepared to make the audience follow every second of your presentation.

Even if you are a star but say things people have heard from you many times before, you’ll very soon see the number of viewers dropping. 

All of the above causes of our frustration derive from one simple reason: online events have become ridiculously cheap to arrange which made it possible for every single person on Earth who has an Internet connection to organize one. 

At the same time, with numerous online events springing up like mushrooms after the rain there is a big lack of understanding among the organizers of the fundamental differences between online and offline events. 

Content preparation, overlooked by many of them, has become the key to success. Starting from the title and ending with each sentence and slide that speakers are going to deliver, it should resonate with the most itching pain points of the target audience.

Every word you say and every slide you put into your presentation decide whether the audience wants to stay with you

Therefore, the event managing skills of the new era will require much more industry knowledge and analytical background than those of logistics, catering, food, and design, in addition to digital and online marketing skills. With that being said, we also expect that in 2021 the world will see a big decline in the popularity of global broad-themed online gatherings and the rise of closer-targeted and more specialized events. 

Whatever happens, is for good — the attendees will definitely benefit from better quality content, all while saving themselves from spending tons of money on traveling and taking their personal efficiency and time management to a whole new level.