How often have you signed into a webinar with every intention of paying attention, got distracted and moved over to your email, and then never returned again?
Now let’s think about an in-person conference for a second. If you are already mingling with a coffee in your hand at 7AM, and falling into bed exhausted at 11PM, then you’re making the most of your experience. But you can see why you would be hard pressed to do the same thing in an online event!
As many associations are beginning to take their events online, here’s my biggest advice: rather than a cut/paste transmission of your content into the virtual, think about ways you might translate it.
Inevitably, the rules work differently online. Retention is different. The number of distractions is different. Consequently, the ways that we engage have to be different.
This brings us to the biggest consideration required when translating into the online space:
Your members
will have a shorter
attention span.
This means that the 4-hour workshop planned at your conference should, under no circumstance, become a 4-hour virtual workshop! Our data tells us that even when your content is very compelling, your members will hit a maximum point of saturation at about 2.5 hours in one sitting.
So how can you design virtual events with this in mind?
1. Consider planning breaks throughout your content.
You don’t necessarily have to put all of your content back to back. Providing breaks throughout the day will allow for other work to get done, and a fresher step when entering the next session. If you have a lot of content to deliver, you may also consider breaking out your virtual conference over time, even if that means over multiple days (or even months!) I wrote about the value of planning for the virtual after your originally scheduled in person in this article here.
2. Consider shortening session lengths.
Though providing continuing education credits may impact your decision, we have seen a sweet spot with 45 minute sessions, particularly if you are hosting panel discussions. This is particularly the case if you are pre-recording your sessions with the speakers in the attendee chat. When sessions are pre-recorded, speakers can be present for the entire duration, and the need for a designated Q&A period is gone. And speaking of which…
3. Consider pre-recording your sessions.
This is what we do at Matchbox, and it has worked wonders! By pre-recording the session, you can make your sessions tighter in post-production. You can edit as needed to remove silences, off-topic tangents, unexpected interruptions, and the occasional but expected moments when speakers lose their train of thought. Pre-recording sessions means you can condense and get straight to delivering the good stuff. It also means that you don’t have to worry about a faulty internet connection the day of your event.
4. Consider sacrificing the content that just simply would be too long and onerous online.
We have had a lot of associations feeling pressure to move all of their session content into the virtual space and in a very short period of time. The fact is, there are some things that just simply won’t translate well, like that 4-hour workshop!
No matter the situation, I encourage you to start by asking what the desired outcome is of your in-person conference, and consider how this might be achieved a little differently in the virtual space. This is a chance to get a creative at a time when the world is particularly receptive to new ways of thinking and doing.