What Is The Purpose of Running a Virtual Event?

Chapter 1: What Is The Purpose of Running a Virtual Event? From corporate gatherings, industry meetings and roadshows, to trade shows and massive expos, events have been around forever. They provide an opportunity to bring people together to share...

Chapter 1: What Is The Purpose of Running a Virtual Event? From corporate gatherings, industry meetings and roadshows, to trade shows and massive expos, events have been around forever. They provide an opportunity to bring people together to share knowledge and learn from one another. Attendees can network and make new professional contacts while corporations can demonstrate their products and knowledge to potential customers. Along the way, connections are made, business is built, and if things go right, everyone leaves feeling like the event was worth the time, money and effort. Of course, for many organizations, events are a business unto themselves. There are entire industries built around conferences, huge venues dedicated to hosting them, and a whole slew of interconnected industries that do production, light and sound, provide meals, book speakers, and other critical components. Virtual events are not a new thing either. With the advent of digital, virtual events cropped up. The old-school webinar (web-based seminar), for example, has been around for well over a decade. However, with the shutdown of in-person events starting in early 2020, many organizations were pushed to rethink what would be possible if people could not travel or gather in large groups. Given the size of the events industry and the revenue at stake, it is no surprise that some organizations have turned an eye to the potential of virtual events. The trouble is that when people think of virtual events, those old-school webinars are the first thing that springs to mind. While they are a good way to share knowledge and even generate revenue, webinars can hardly supplant the entire events industry in terms of revenue or experience. That said, virtual events have tremendous potential to create fans of the organizations that host them. Done well, a virtual event can be the best marketing a company can do all year. Big issues can be addressed by convening global experts. More sales leads can be generated through these types of initiatives than through any others. Non-profits can secure donations. Trade associations and other organizations can maintain member satisfaction. Building fans of your organization with virtual events In 2015 David began to dig deep into the idea of fandom. He looked at how and why people become a fan of a company, a product, a service, or an idea. We learned that much of fandom is rooted in neuroscience, which explains the power of events to build fans and grow business. Events offer a unique opportunity to build and reinforce “Fanocracy,” a concept coined by David explored in more depth in the Wall Street Journal bestselling book Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans (2020, Portfolio/Penguin Random House), co-authored with his daughter, Reiko. David and Reiko spoke with neuroscientists to understand what goes on in our brains when we connect with other people. It turns out that we humans are hard-wired to want to be part of a tribe of like-minded people. That is where we feel safe and comfortable. This concept is an important survival technique because when we are with people who we know and trust, we are safe. When we are with people we do not know, we can feel vulnerable. This goes back thousands of years and explains why humans live in groups. That is why when you are with your friends you feel great and when you are in a crowded elevator you might feel vulnerable. It is also why you enjoy interacting with people at an in-person event, because everyone is there to learn from one another. A tribe is built by the organization hosting the event and people want to return year after year. But can that experience be replicated or experienced virtually? We think so. However, it is not simply a question of dusting off a conference program and porting it online. Can the dynamic of in-person be retreated through virtual events? To go even deeper into the neuroscience of developing fans, it is important to look at a simple but frequently overlooked dynamic in our digital age: virtual proximity.  It is not always possible to bring people together in-person, a fact that became a stark reality in 2020. However, an understanding of the power of proximity is important background to the concept of virtual proximity, which we can build with video as part of a virtual event. To really understand virtual proximity, we need to look at the importance to all humans of in-person proximity to like-minded people. What is it about being around other people that we humans crave? Why is physical proximity so important? Cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall started studying this phenomenon in the 1950s. Dr. Hall defined humans' use of physical space in a simple way in his 1966 book The Hidden Dimension where he describes how people like to keep certain distances between themselves and others. It explores how our use of space can affect our personal and business relations and explains why in-person events are so powerful. To be effective communicators, we need to learn how to consciously manage the physical space between ourselves and others. The significance of each level of proximity can be predicted and managed to create the most optimal outcomes. For instance, Hall described "public distance" as more than 12 feet away from others. When somebody is further than 12 feet from us, our unconscious brains know they are there, but we do not actively track them. He identified "social distance" for interactions among acquaintances, such as walking the exhibit hall at in- person events, as being from four feet to 12 feet. We unconsciously track people who enter our social space because our ancient brains want to know if there is danger among those people. "Personal distance" for interactions among good friends or business contacts ranges from about a foot and a half to four feet, which would occur at meal breaks or the reception at an event. Understanding these degrees of human proximity at in-person events and how they predict shared emotional connections with others has an enormous effect on building fans at an event. People who are able to cultivate physical closeness by engaging with them face-to-face can create stronger emotional bonds. At the same time, attendees cannot help but feel uncomfortable when walking the exhibit floor if a booth representative approaches them, getting too close in an unwanted way, because it is hardwired in us to be wary.  Normally, when we are able to interact together, the most rewarding encounters in our lives occur within our social space and personal space. It is one of the reasons in-person events are so popular. Building fans with “proximity” at your virtual events People go to an in-person event for more than the programming — they go to enjoy close proximity with other like-minded people. So far, we have looked at the importance of in-person human connection to grow fans. However, not all businesses can have that kind of connection with every would-be fan. And as we write this, in-person events have essentially stopped because of the pandemic. So, given travel limitations or because your audience is spread out all over the world, how can your business achieve similar success? It turns out that virtual events can still deliver the power of connection through another fascinating form of what neuroscience called "mirror neurons." Mirror neurons are a group of cells in the premotor cortex and inferior parietal cortex of our brain. That is a mouthful of scientific language! To keep it simple, these neurons offer some valuable insights for virtual event speakers and planners. They not only activate when we perform an action — biting into a lemon, smiling — but they also fire when we observe somebody else performing the same action. For instance, when those around us are happy and smiling, our unconscious brain tells us that we are happy. Often, we will also smile. A critical aspect of understanding mirror neurons is remembering that it is how we humans are hardwired. Our ancient brain is at work helping us cope with the world around us, protecting us from danger and keeping us healthy. We are not able to choose to turn on or choose to ignore. We cannot help but react the way we do. Here is where it gets really interesting for the virtual events business: People unconsciously bond with people they see on screens and on-stage as if we were together with them in-person because of mirror neurons. This helps to explain why we feel that we "know" movie stars and television personalities. We have seen those actors or commentators on a screen as if they were in our personal space, inside of four feet, and our brain gives us the feeling that we have actually met them. The same thing is true for virtual events. If a speaker’s video is cropped effectively and she looks directly at the camera and presents in a warm and familiar tone, audience members will develop a powerful bond with her. These positive virtual connections serve to make those people fans of your business. Video of people builds fandom in your business A deeper understanding of mirror neurons can help you build fans within your organization, or market any products and services you want to sell by hosting virtual events. Businesses can use the concept of mirror neurons to build fans in many ways. One important aspect is creating connections via our virtual toolset. Video of people, as part of a virtual event, is a fabulous way to reach people emotionally though the power of mirror neurons. However, watching an actor perform is quite different than seeing one in a brilliant fireside chat, or breaking down the fourth wall and communicating directly with the audience. As in face to face encounters, there is something truly profound about eye contact and focused attention. When you shoot video for a virtual event, ensure that speakers look directly into the camera and adopt a friendly and open approach. Beyond employing talented speakers and producers to ensure that virtual connections are enabled, it will take creativity to build lasting connections among attendees. You will need to consider ways to connect fans with each other, with the speakers, and with your business. As with an in-person event, fostering social connections is critical for a virtual event’s success.