We know the COVID-19 disease can be nerve-racking and stressful. We wanted to put together some options for our teams, and everyone in similar situations, to think about when evaluating what to do next with your event planning strategy. Odds are you have read the information shared by the CDC and WHO explaining best practices for individuals to help slow down the speed of infection. This important information can be found here:
When it comes to organizations holding events though, there are some critical things to evaluate. Solutions could include moving forward, postponing, or completely canceling the event. We believe there is an alternative solution that can take advantage of many tools that you may not even be aware that Connect Space offers. Here are some tools that you can use to help navigate through this period of time and continue to provide a great experience to all of your attendees:
Virtual/ Hybrid Event Live Streaming
With Connect Space you have the option of making your entire event ecosystem private to your attendees. Because of this, you have the ability to make certain information like live streams private. This is great for virtual events because Connect Space has an integration with YouTube that allows you to put a live stream video on your agenda. Also within your agenda builder, you can add additional links like Zoom Meetings, Google Meet and others to turn every session into an opportunity to share streamed content.
Matchmaking for Virtual Pre Arranged Meetings
Making your Connect Space Meetings Virtual is as easy as adding a link to the location. That means that anyone in your private ecosystem can create the meetings. It may require signing up for the third-party app, but in many cases, it only takes a second. We prefer Zoom in our office and they offer 1:1 meetings, Group Meetings, and even Live Events!
Connections and Virtual Meetings to Bring People Together
Attendees can use the Connect Space mobile app to be part of the event no matter where they are on the map. It is connected directly to your event registration so as soon as your attendees register they can begin making connections, setting up meetings, and discovering real business opportunities without having to set foot in a conference center.
Event Surveys (New Feature) to See What People Think
We recently rolled out a new feature that allows you to send surveys to all attendees - even outside of specific sessions. This is a great way to learn how they are feeling about the event and will give you an opportunity to start a dialogue and collect attendee data. It will also give you an opportunity to connect with your audience and begin the process of engaging with them if you go the virtual route. It is a very effective ice breaker.
Push Notifications That Inform
When your event goes virtual, keeping people up-to-date and sharing information is incredibly important and valuable to them. You can use push notifications to share new things with them, set up raffles, and generate polling results.
An Agenda That is Connected
With Connect Space, when you create your agenda it is connected to the event website and the mobile app. Each session and breakout description area has a place to add text, links and other information for attendees. This includes links where you can add additional live stream or pre-recorded video.
Additional Pages - Reassuring Your Attendees, Knowledge is Power
With Connect Space you can create additional pages that allow you to give information to your attendees that can help keep the event on track and updated.
Session Surveys can Gamifying Attendance and Make Virtual More Engaging
With Connect Space Session surveys you can send attendees push notifications to take surveys while your sessions are happening to keep everyone interested and engaged during your event, while simultaneously running that live stream to your virtual crowd.
Integration with Google Analytics to See the Results
It is as easy as setting up a Google Analytics account and putting your user key in to see what parts of your virtual event people are attending.
Registration with Session and Breakout selection for attendance demand
You can still run your event just as you did before but include a hybrid option so your attendees have the option to attend virtually or in person. In many cases, it actually improves attendance at future events by giving those who haven’t attended an opportunity to see the value in attending in person the next time!
