Networking has always been an important part of the B2B world. Business professionals, vendors, and clients want to be able to connect, interact and learn from each other. Now that businesses are replacing trade shows, conferences and launches with online events, the content is still being delivered but the networking opportunities have fallen by the wayside. But digital platforms can also be great for networking, so we need to find ways to bring networking into online events to make them more interactive and participative, and to allow people to connect to each other as well as to the event host.

Digital platforms allow us to connect from wherever we are. Yet, all too often, virtual events are structured in ways that don’t facilitate networking among participants. Even online events aiming to build relationships, (such as bespoke Zoom meet-ups), can fall flat. People might introduce themselves and talk, but they don’t take that next step. Somehow, the conversation doesn’t feel as actionable as if they were meeting face to face.

We’re experiencing an acceleration in digital trends affecting everything from home working to B2B buyer's expectations. That presents us with an exciting opportunity to re-imagine online events, broaden their accessibility and make them more productive for participants. However, the question remains, how can we create truly satisfying digital networking and social opportunities.

Why Create Hybrid Live & Online Events?

The distinction between Live and Online events is becoming more blurred. It’s normal for live in-person events often incorporate online elements such as streaming, but increasingly we’re seeing more and more opportunities for remote audiences to interact with a live real-time event. It’s now necessary to bring increased participation into events that are solely hosted and delivered on-line.

Over the past few years, virtual components have become an inextricable part of the live events experience. Indeed, according to a 2020 survey by EventMB, 62% of event planners say that the future of events is hybrid.

Virtual and hybrid event models offer several benefits to organisers, sponsors, and participants alike:

They Are More Scalable

There is a limit to how many people you can support at an onsite event, particularly if you’re in an urban area. With virtual event technology, the sky’s the limit on how many people can join and from where. The option to attend virtually also widens your speaker pool since it requires less of a time commitment. Previously unreachable industry figures are more likely to participate if they can stay at home or pre-record their presentation.

They Are More Accessible

Virtual and hybrid events are also much more accessible. People who might not be comfortable physically attending a large event can still join virtually. Participants with hearing or visual impairments can enjoy access to cleanly recorded video/audio content with captions and transcripts. You can also include subtitles in other languages to further increase accessibility.

They Are More Affordable

Hybrid and virtual events save everyone money by reducing the costs of travel, lodging, and food. Instead of having to pay for a massive venue, onsite support, permits, staffing, etc., you can direct funding towards creating a memorable experience.

For example, you could hire virtual event consultants or create great creative assets, including welcome packs to send to participants. Invest in platforms that facilitate virtual networking and increase engagement, high-quality A/V and streaming equipment, as well as top-notch entertainment. You should also invest in finding ways to ‘gamify’ parts of your experience to encourage virtual engagement.

They Are More Flexible

One of the great things about a virtual/hybrid format is the flexibility it offers organisers. If we've learned anything from the pandemic, it's that we have to prepare for the unexpected and unimaginable.

And disruption need not be so dramatic as global lockdowns. Say a broken water main floods out the venue a week before you’re scheduled to start. Or a protest brings public transport in your area to a halt.

If you already have arrangements in place to host a section of your audience online, it's easier to pivot. If the in-person portion is unable to occur, instead of having to cancel everything, you can simply transition to a fully virtual experience.

They Provide Real Time Event Data

The digital nature of online and hybrid events also provides deeper data analytics and more transparency regarding ROI. You know exactly how many people are participating and which live streams and virtual ‘booths’ are capturing their interest. You can also track how many people are clicking through to your website, scheduling demos, etc. As you can imagine, this is valuable information not only for event organisers but for vendors and sponsors as well.

While there are many positives associated with going the virtual/hybrid route, no model is perfect. In particular, digital experiences often struggle with replicating the possibility for networking that comes with being face to face. It’s more difficult for spontaneous interactions to occur when virtual attendees aren't milling around the coffee station. There's no small talk when waiting for sessions to start if attendees can simply log in for a specific session and log out immediately afterwards.

There's also a technological issue. Chat boxes are ok, but they can be limiting. To start, often people don't use their full names or fill out profiles, making it difficult to know who they are. Moreover, the lack of body language and non-verbal cues makes online communication, especially in groups, feel less natural.

Whether you’re hosting a webinar or are planning a virtual conference, creating satisfying networking opportunities will make your online event stand out. Rather than just another virtual meeting, it will become a must-attend digital experience.

How to Create Participative Online Events

Now that we’ve discussed why businesses are pivoting to hybrid event models, here are some tips for creating great online networking experiences.

Before

Define the purpose of your event: Before you get started planning a virtual or hybrid event, you need defined goals. What is it you hope to achieve? What value will participants get from your event? What vendors and speakers will they be able to engage with? Competition is fierce as everyone is now offering online events, so what is your point of difference? 

One way to stand out is to use a participatory marketing strategy. Modern B2B audiences don’t want to be passive spectators. They want to connect and be involved in something meaningful.

Consider your event's purpose from the point of view of increasing its value to your participants. By creating connection, you can turn it into a shared experience and something that people can rally around. Rather than merely attending an event as observers, they become part of it as influencers, buyers, and collaborators. It becomes a space where they can engage with peers, an environment where they can play, create, and innovate. 

Consider your attendees: You want to put some thought into whom you invite. As anyone who has ever hosted a party knows, it is ultimately the quality of the guests that makes or breaks an event. So, who are your target audiences and what do they have in common? You want to invite people who will genuinely benefit from attending your event and will be excited to participate and engage with each other.

You can easily look for invitees among your leads and targets using an integrated marketing automation/CRM platform. For example, people who have visited pages on your website on the topic you’re thinking of hosting. Or have a threshold lead score showing they’re a VIP prospect.

Marketing automation is also invaluable for promoting your event. You can create a segment and target with email marketing, related content, retargeting ads to make sure desired attendees know about your event. And behaviour-based workflows (i.e. those who have RSVPed, those who haven't yet, etc) makes it much easier to follow up with invitees.

Explore different virtual event ideas: Often when people hear the phrase ‘B2B virtual event’ what comes to mind is a webinar. However, when your focus is on creating connection between participants, you should be thinking more creatively and exploring different formats. While everyone else is doing webinars, you could be hosting performances, keynote speaker events, Q&A sessions, book readings, award ceremonies, games, and more.

Creative formats will make your virtual events more engaging, but won't automatically answer the networking issue. You still need to build-in opportunities for people to connect. For example, hosting breakout sessions to create smaller conversational pods where attendees can talk after a virtual panel.

Also, don’t forget that online events are more fatiguing. For longer events, provide an agenda so people can drop in and out and create plenty of natural breaks. Consider doing a mix of live stream sessions and on demand content. Also, be sensitive to time zones.

Make it easy for people: As well as sharing housekeeping guidelines and important information upfront with participants, vendors, and speakers, take steps to make it easy for people to know who’s who. This can include simple things like changing online IDs to include name, company, and role for example. If your event platform has a profile option, encourage attendees to fill that out and upload a photo ahead of time.

Make sure people can spend their time at the event engaging with each other instead of wondering how to use the software. You might consider offering an onboarding session for your platform.

Alternatively you could send out an event information pack beforehand. This could be digital or physical. For example, sending a copy of a book you’re going to discuss along with a branded mug and teabag. If you’ve got permission to share their details, send out an email beforehand listing who is attending and linking to their LinkedIn profile.

During

Be a good host: Greet people and put them at ease as the join the session. Play music and have an ice breaker for them to interact with (e.g. pin where you are on a map). If it’s a smaller event, provide casual introductions for newcomers and help individuals you think should meet to connect. Ask open-ended questions and help guide the conversation to that each participant has an opportunity to share.

Highlight networking opportunities: Have a plan and a structure for creating interaction. Provide your virtual attendees with clear guidance on how they can interact with the event organisers and with each other. This will help promote organic conversations instead of people awkwardly waiting on screen for a chance to speak.

If it’s a larger group, make sure your platform can host multiple conversations at once, where people can pick who they talk to. This will help people be more engaged with the conversation. And the more interested they are, the more likely they are to reach out to their conversational partner(s) in the future.

Also, signpost the chat facility and any event hashtags and social networks you’re using. Encourage people to take that next step in connecting by sharing social media profiles, swapping email addresses, etc.

Invest in the right event technology: To create a good networking experience, you need to use the right platform for your virtual event. There are many options to choose from, depending on the scale and type of event. For larger virtual experiences that won’t work on Zoom/Teams, you try out full-conference virtual event platforms. Three popular options we’ve seen are:

• Hopin

• Gatherly

• Brella

You can also use tools like Miro to add interactive elements to your events to further engage your audience and encourage interaction. Their template library provides lots of inspiration for getting people to collaborate on tasks. Just realise that collaborative tasks or challenges need to be relevant to all participants, so they don’t feel forced or gimmicky. It’s not the same as having a team of work colleagues solving a problem together online.

After

Follow up promptly: Always send thank you emails and follow up content relating to the event. For instance, you can include a recording of the session, presentation slides, workbooks, or relevant blog posts. You can set up automated behaviour-based email workflows to tailor follow up messages depending on what sessions a person attended. 

Keep the conversation going: Make sure to facilitate ongoing interactions between participants after the event. For example, ask people to add their details and contact info to a Google doc that you will circulate afterwards. Or set up a group on a networking platform like LinkedIn so that people can catch up with each other. A social media event hashtag can also help people make connections in the days leading up to and following the event.

The future of B2B networking will be omnichannel rather than primarily in-person. There will always be a place for face to face interactions. However, virtual and hybrid formats offer a level of flexibility, accessibility, and scalability for networking that can’t be matched by in-person events.

Contact us today to learn how 1827 Marketing’s automation tools and creative services can help you market your event and create memorable virtual experiences.