The secret to planning a not-boring virtual event might be to pull a George Costanza. In an infamous Seinfeld episode, the character decides to do the opposite of what his gut tells him to see if his luck changes.
Entrepreneur Jay Schwedelson, who started the wildly popular Guru Media Hub virtual conferences in 2021 to engage with marketers, thinks a similar approach can turn around digital events.
The Constaza spin: His large-scale virtual GURU conferences prioritize fun. Guess what? People want to go.
How to Keep Virtual Attendees Engaged
What’s fun in a virtual conference for marketers? “Do the opposite of what everybody does. That is our vibe,” Schwedelson said.
In 2023, GURU conference, which runs on the RingCentral platform using integrations, including Kahoot, kept 20,000 people tuning in over two days.
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“Where people get it wrong,” Schwedelson added, “is when they try to treat virtual as an in-person event, and they do live streaming as an add-on to check a box. They are treating virtual as an appendage and not even trying to be creative. That is a recipe for absolute failure.”
Schwedelson’s winning formula is give a virtual event the same love and attention as an in-person event. Don’t try to do a cocktail party or an exhibit hall virtually, for example. “That is garbage,” he said. His formula is to start with short, 30-minute presentations from big names in the marketing world and then follow with something fun after every two tactical sessions.
That could mean interviewing Martha Stewart, filming a hot chicken wing-eating contest, bringing on TikTok dancers or the cast from “Love is Blind.” He has also worked with DJs and hypnotists and run trivia contests. “Engage people rather than just asking them to sit passively,” he said.
Schwedelson calls his experiential communication activations “edutainment,” with the emphasis on engagement. His goal is to have every attendee leave smiling with actionable tips they can apply the next day in a email marketing campaign.
Stania Antoine, director of events at Guru Media Hub, added, “We have to rethink what people think a virtual event should be like. It doesn’t have to be that you’re just sitting in front of a computer and getting the content monotonously. Don’t be afraid to do something different, break things, keep people interested. That not only keeps them on the platform but keeps them wanting to come back to see what you’re going to do next.”
How to Get Registered Attendees to Show Up
Virtual attendees are notorious for registering with the best of intentions and then not logging in. Schwedelson warned that we may be our own worst enemy when it comes to influencing their behavior. Following are three counterintuitive tips that could result in more real-time engagement and value.
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- Don’t offer on-demand, not at first. Telling them when they register that an on-demand version will be available if they don’t show up is like inviting them to do something else. “We’ve trained people to ghost us. That makes our job harder and the short rate high,” Schwedelson said.
- Don’t be afraid to over-email. These people registered. They are interested. Send a reminder the morning of the event and one 30 minutes before it starts. “You’re better off having a higher show rate and upsetting the applecart a little bit. We have to get out of our shell and not be scared,” Schwedelson advised.
- Don’t treat online like a poor stepchild of in-person events. “Have fun and deliver value in ways that will resonate with your audience and get them interacting. The delivery of the content virtually is its own thing and not just a watered-down version of the in-person version,” Schwedelson said.
