Since March, there’s one thing I’ve talked about more than being bored in the house and in the house bored: shifting in-person events to virtual.
As a former full-time conference event planner, witnessing the cancellation of all in-person events was worrisome. As a current demand generation manager, my plans for 2020 were upended. Like so many other companies, we relied on in-person events for lead generation. So what did we do? The only thing we could: quickly shift to virtual and digital strategies to meet our numbers.
In this shift, a question we get often is: How do I decide which event technology to use for each event?
In-person events are not one-size-fits-all, and that is even truer for virtual events — especially during a pandemic. There’s a lot of conversation about what makes virtual events stand out, but it’s more important to meet attendees where they are.
At Splash, I’m using a simple three-step process to build virtual events that work. First, we define our virtual event goals. Second, we determine the event type and format based on those goals. And finally, we choose the technologies (that are already in our toolbox) that make the most sense.
Take a look at these example use cases to see how pivoting from in-person to virtual can be quick and easy.
The Event: Ask the Experts: How to Plan Engaging Virtual Events
We brought together a panel of event marketing experts to answer questions about a hot topic these days: how to keep event attendees engaged from behind a computer screen. We leveraged common questions attendees asked on a previous webinar, plus new questions submitted on the event registration form.
Funnel Stage: Top
Goals: Increase thought leadership and generate new demand
Setup Time: 1 day
Tech Used
Why did we use ON24?
ON24 has advanced tracking of Q&A and polls. The streaming quality is great, setup is easy, the data connects seamlessly through our integration, and on-demand setup is a breeze. Because Splash, Marketo, and ON24 have complementary integrations, we’re able to create the event and sync registration data automatically.
The Event: Power of the Pivot: Creating & Scaling Agile Event Programs
This session was an interview with a marketing influencer promoting a specific topic and piece of content — A Guide to Agile Event Programs that Can Survive Anything. We partnered with Katie Martell, a marketing influencer to discuss advantages of agility in event marketing, especially during times of crisis. Working with her to co-market this content drew leads into our funnel and increased our social media presence.
Funnel Stage: Top
Goals: Increase thought leadership and generate new demand
Setup Time: 2 days
Tech Used
Why did we use Socialive + Vimeo + Splash?
I liked the ability to bring up visuals of our guide, examples, etc. that is available through Socialive. Vimeo embeds easily into Splash with one click. With the Splash Virtual Event Page touchpoint, I could also brand the full experience for attendees and track attendance and check-in/check-out times.
The Event: Usual Wine in Unusual Times Giveaway & Executive Roundtable Event
This experience was a two-part top accounts promotion. The wine giveaway focused on a specific list of hand-picked accounts. During the registration process, wine recipients could indicate interest in a roundtable event with our Chief Strategy Officer to brainstorm ideas and share knowledge.
Funnel Stage: Full funnel (targeted ABM)
Goals: Generate new demand and impact revenue goals
Setup Time: 3 days
Tech Used
Usual Wines Giveaway
Executive Roundtable
Why did we use Zoom Meetings?
This was a session where attendees needed to engage with each other. It was also meant to be small and interactive, so being able to turn on their cameras, chat, and share ideas was important. Since Zoom is the most widely used video conferencing technology, it’s the most universal and recognizable choice for the end user.
The Event: Weekly Product Demo
This is a recurring weekly event with a short live demo and Q&A with rotating members of our sales team. It is geared toward prospects looking to see the product in action and ask questions with more anonymity.
Funnel Stage: Mid-funnel
Goals: Generate new demand and impact revenue goals
Setup Time: 30 minutes
Tech Used
Why did we use ON24?
This setup is incredibly quick. Also, we have the ability to screen share, manage Q&A privately between presenters and attendees, or broadcast questions to the audience if needed. Attendees can’t see who else is viewing this demo, so it feels more personalized. We also enjoy the ability to download a report of questions asked for easy sales follow-up.
The Event: Splash Community Calls
Led by our CEO and Customer Marketing Manager, these are invitation-only meetings with a formal content agenda, customer use cases, and an open dialogue of networking among all attendees.
Funnel Stage: Customer-focused, but open to all
Goals: Increase customer retention and loyalty, plus build brand awareness
Setup Time: 1 day
Tech Used
Why did we use Zoom Meetings + Splash?
Having the interactivity of Zoom Meetings coupled with the beautiful branding and data sync of the Splash Virtual Event Page touchpoint is a win-win. The experience is also seamless for attendees from registration, to check-in, to interaction. For this event, we linked out to Zoom Meetings from the Virtual Event Page touchpoint, but users can also embed Zoom meetings or webinars directly.
Because the tech setup for all of these examples is made easy through Splash’s repeatable themes and integrations, we’re able to create themes for each and rotate through different formats as needed. Now, I can spend my time creating interesting content and experimenting with new ideas for attendee experiences.
