I spent an exhilarating weekend in NYC attending EventCamp, which was the 1st industry gathering of its kind. The conference brought together event professionals to share best practices and learn new strategies of leveraging social media and technology to create a successful event. Keep in mind that this was another 1st experience for me…the 1st time I have ever attended an event, since usually I am working at them, so that added another layer of excitement for me!
When the EventCamp organizers announced a CrowdCampaign question, I became very excited when I knew MY answer. The question: “What’s the #1 Take Away from EventCamp?” My answer follows:
I constantly preach that you must gather, engage, and interact with your audience in order to have a successful event. When virtual events started gaining popularity, many in the event community turned a blind eye or became scared that they would replace live events. Yet I have always said that virtual events are a great complement to live events because they offer yet another opportunity to connect with your audience, especially in today’s economy or time-strained society when not all of your audience can travel to your live event.
Virtual events in collaboration with live events also extend your reach to an audience that you have not met yet. We live in a globally connected community due to the internet, so our audience and our reach are larger than ever. Once we find this larger audience, we are obligated to engage and interact with them. And if they are not standing right in front of us, we now have the opportunity to connect with them virtually.
So live and virtual events do not compete with each other because both are necessary to build relationships. When they are used to complement each other, your audience is far greater than when just using one or the other. Just think of how successful your event could be when you connect with both of these audiences!
So what did I take away from @EventCampNYC? I took away PROOF that virtual and live events are friends and not enemies. Just look at the fact that almost every person who was following along virtually commented that they wished they could be at EventCamp 2010 and that they could not wait until they could be at EventCamp 2011! Follow the #EC10 tweet stream and you see constant interaction between the virtual audience and the live audience. Think of the sense of satisfaction that the virtual audience had when they saw that the EventCamp staff and speakers listened to them and responded to their needs, questions, and suggestions. And notice that after EventCamp 2010 ended, we are all interacting with each other as ONE UNITED AUDIENCE. Not only that we are gaining a NEW audience from people who heard about EventCamp after the fact and are going back through the archives and everything that the original audience is continuing to post about it.
The audience will continue to grow virtually, so that the next live EventCamp will be even bigger and better than the first!
Thanks Emilie for starting such an excellent thread.
Having run what became the largest virtual trade show ever (eComXpo), I can attest to the validity of your comments around virtual and physical complementing each other vs. competing. While that was a hard argument to make in 2005 when I started my 100% virtual event, the inherent accuracy of it allowed me to partner closely with my physical “competitors”. I exhibited at their physical events (promoting my virtual event) and they exhibited at my virtual event (promoting their physical event). As you accurately state, it’s all about expanding your audience and reaching your targets wherever they are.
For folks to suggest that virtual cannabilizes physical is to suggest that IMing someone is the same as looking them in the eye, shaking their hand or buying them a drink. Your point about virtual attendance leading to physical attendance is also right on, and here’s a post from Cisco about that very fact. (34% of virtual attendees indicating they’d attend physically next year) http://www.virtualedge.org/forum/topics/once-you-go-hybrid-youll-never
After selling my virtual event, I’ve moved on to Maritz. We produce 2,500 physical events per year for our customers and recognize that it’s not “either/or”, but how to combine the best of virtual with the best of physical. And that it’s not just about the technology, but about making sure these hybrid events are truly engaging and effective (easier said than done…). Your great example of “moderating” the back channel as a key lesson learned is the kind of education that needs to spread far and wide so that more folks have positive, reinforcing experiences with hybrid events. Although I missed Event Camp, I did present at Virtual Edge and that was another great example of a leading edge, hybrid event.
At Maritz, I spend much of time with our strategic partner Freeman, who manages 103 of the top 200 physical trade shows in the world. Freeman has deeply embraced virtual as a complement to physical, and with more and more of the “ecosystem” that is dependent on physical events for a living so aggressively embracing virtual complements, it’s just a matter of time before these threads won’t be necessary.
Long live hybrid!
Thank you for your informative comment, John…I always like chatting with like-minded individuals who believe in the power of the hybrid event!
I especially like your “IM to handshake” analogy with regard to “virtual to face-to-face” interaction. You are absolutely correct that nothing replaces the face-to-face experience, but a virtual experience has it’s own benefits, especially when one can not be at the face-to-face event. Technology has afforded us many ways of communication and interaction, and those of us that utlize all of the communication channels are the ones who will succeed in connecting with the largest audience.
And yes…long live the hybrid!!
Emilie
Last week we streamed the Virtual Edge conference into a Virtual environment and we had numerous attendees who attended virtually the first day and then live the second day and vice versa. Michael Doyle, who is director of The Virtual Edge Institute has shown data that absolutely supports your view, as we have seen this over the past two years.
Thank you for your efforts in helping meeting planners understand that virtual events are not a threat but an opportunity.
Thank you for your comment, James. I absolutely believe that virtual events are an opportunity to extend the reach of a face-to-face event and incorporate a brand new audience. And after all, what meeting planner would not like to have a bigger audience? What we must not forget is to ensure that the virtual audience is welcomed and not treated like an outside observer.
It is so nice to find like-minded individuals that “understand that virtual events are not a threat, but an opportunity.” So thanks!!
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Well said Emilie. I liked the combination because the event felt less of an island. We were constantly reminded of an outside world playing along with us.
I was disappointed the storm kept some of the #eventprofs away as I had been looking forward to meeting them. By mixing the event audience with the remote audience we could still interact with one another and each knew what the other was referring to.
I think this is a huge bonus to companies who cannot send a whole team to an event…some go…some stay, but no one is out of the loop.
You bring up one of the advantages to having a hybrid event, Traci…the 2 audiences were able to interact with each other. I loved it when the virtual audience asked a question of the speaker, and venture to say that some of the best questions came from virtual audience members.
Several people had registered for EventCamp, yet were not able to travel due to the weather. I venture to say that they appreciated still being able to participate in the conference, even from a distance. Was it as great of an experience as actually being there? Absolutely not…but at least they were able to take away knowledge from the sessions and the backchannel that they would have missed all together had there not been the virtual component.
Emilie:
Fantastic post and it was great to finally meet you in person at EventCamp 2010.
I really like what you had to say that live and virtual events compliment each other. Had we not been able to provide some type of connection to and with our remote audience, something would have been missing from the event. It would not have been the same.
And none of our remote audience stayed home because they wanted to take advantage of the EC10 virtual component. Most did not attend face to face because of their jobs, budget and necessity. Yet, everyone we’ve talked to wants to be there in 2011. We were able to extend the reach of EC10. And you are a part of it!
Now if we can just figure out how to bottle that same energy, experience and excitement and sell it to all conferences and events. We’d be in a much better place, don’t you think?
Thanks again for sharing this!
Thank you for the compliment on my post, Jeff…it was so wonderful to finally meet you in person as well!
You mention “Had we not been able to provide some type of connection to and with our remote audience, something would have been missing from the event.” What would have been missing is that remote audience! ;o) And I am confident that remote audience will become part of the live audience in 2011.
It is my hope that event/conference/trade show producers see the success of hybrid events like EventCamp, and realize that they are no longer an option, but a necessity. Looks like the #eventprofs community has their work cut out for them, huh?
Emilie, this blog post is fantastic as you so eloquently described how many of us felt at #ec10!!
As with you, one of my strongest takeaways from this event was that it proved that online connections do lead to face to face meetings. This was by far the most inspirational gathering of people I have been involved with in a long, long time.
Your ability to connect the live attendees with the virtual audience, through your interviews was enlightening! You have a great career ahead of you, my friend!
I am so glad I met you, finally, and look forward to our continued collaboration and friendship in the future!
See ya soon, I hope…
Mike
@michaelmccurry
I am thrilled that I was able to put into words what so many of us felt, Mike! And I totally agree with you about how inspirational the gathering of #eventprofs proved to be. We all said that when we walked into the room, we found ourselves surrounded by friends that we felt we already knew. When have we ever been able to say that in the past? That is the power of social media!
And thank you for the compliment about my interviews…your friendship and opinion means a lot to me!!
Emilie,
EventCamp was my first experience at a webcast event. It was amazing how much two way interaction was going on with people from all over. I was very impressed.
I learned that the backchannel is a wonderful opportunity for sharing ideas and interacting with an audience. Seeing it first hand made a real difference to me. I think the more meeting planners are exposed to this, the more they will see it as an enhancement rather than a threat.
Thank you very much for this post which puts it so well.
I agree that the backchannel is “a wonderful opportunity for sharing ideas and interacting with the audience,” Jenise. And I believe one key component made it work for EventCamp, unlike all of these horror stories we hear where it did not work…it was moderated.
There were not one, but several people overseeing the backchannel to make sure that logistical complaints were addressed, questions were answered, feedback was responded to, and the live discussion included those that were participating virtually. Plus, in the case of EventCamp, the live attendees were interacting with the virtual attendees and bouncing ideas and questions off of each other.
EventCamp is a lesson on using the backchannel successfully, and I am so proud to have been a part of it!
Thank you Emilie and all of the Event Camp folks! It was really a historic moment for the #eventprofs community. I loved seeing you step up to the plate.
Emilie – you are truly a Professional Trade Show Presenter and it was great to experience your talent live.
We did create history, didn’t we Deb? And how much fun we had in the process! It was so wonderful to meet you, and I appreciate the time we had to chat over lunch. Thank you so much for all of your kind words!!
Emilie, so true from my perspective as a virtual attendee, and I am glad to hear from yours as a physical attendee: “And notice that after EventCamp 2010 ended, we are all interacting with each other as ONE UNITED AUDIENCE.”
EventCamp is a great case study for speakers being open to virtual audiences, organizers including and in fact encouraging virtual interaction, and the benefits of greater learning and understanding for both virtual and physical audiences when they are provided tools to communicate.
Great job on the interviews, too!
You said it, Dana! Virtual audiences are an extension of the live audiences…and who wouldn’t want a bigger audience? Hopefully more successful integration of virtual and live events will convince the naysayers that this is the way to make their events as successful as possible.
PS: Thanks for the compliment! It was a spur of the moment request by Mike McAllen and we are so happy that the response was overwhelmingly positive and that EventCamp found another way to connect the two audiences.
[...] Emilie Barta’s post – Live and Virtual Events Compliment Each Other, Not COMPETE with Each Other for [...]
Thank you for stepping in and doing the interviewing for the virtual audience. I know I caught you off guard when I asked, but you are so awesome to have stepped in. I know my next Hybrid event will have you there (maybe we will even have a tad more time to prepare).
Thanks!
Mike
It was such an honor that you asked me to do these interviews for you, Mike! And I am so pleased that our experiment was so well received by the virtual audience. Their comments proved to me that the virtual audience really is paying attention and appreciates anything that is designed especially for them…it makes them feel appreciated; like an active, not passive, participant; and it keeps them connected to the event in a more personal way, even though they are not there to share in the experience.
I can’t wait to see what we can build for EventCamp 2011, especially with input from the virtual audience before the event!!
I will fully support your claim that much of the virtual audience wanted to be there in person, as I was one of them. Despite the convenience of a web feed and the furthering interaction with an online audience via Twitter and other networks, I still longed for the personal connections and side conversations. We take for granted the human element of a face to face interaction and despite the efficiency, convenience and cost effectiveness of attending a virtual event, it will always and inevitably come at a cost.
Emilie, I’d like to personally commend you on being a part of bridging and uniting the physical and virtual audiences. Providing the audience with spontaneous interviews between sessions was an understated genius. Not only did it prove that a hybrid event could be successful in increasing the intimacy for the virtual audience, but it clearly developed a hunger to be able to discuss the topics at hand with my closest peers and colleagues from the eventprofs community. Furthermore, your passion for this event, and events in general, was clearly evident by your actions. Pat yourself on the back!
We do take for granted the human element of face-to-face interaction, Eric, especially since we are tied to our computers all day for business. That human element is why live events will never go away…you can not replace the relationship building, the brainstorming, the camaraderie, and the exchange of idea that can only happen spontaneously in person. With that being said, the idea of incorporating a virtual event simultaneously opens up the event to a whole new audience and allows people who are unable to attend the event in person to still be a part of it. And in a perfect world, the virtual attendees will become live attendees next time, and a whole new virtual audience will be developed!
Also, thank you so much for your kind words about my spur of the moment role in EventCamp! Your response to the interviews proves that we accomplished what we set out to do…and that interaction with both audiences is key.