Virtual Events: Interactivity, Form Factors, Event Marketplaces

This is the free version of Trends PRO #0037 — Virtual Events

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🔍 Problem

Time, location, health and financial constraints hinder physical meetings.

💡 Solution

Virtual events reduce these concerns. And lead to experiences that are impossible to physically recreate. For better or worse.

🏁 Players

Virtual Events

• Astronomical
• Interintellect
• Indie Worldwide
• OBFH Live
• MicroConf Remote
• Apple Event
• Inside Outside

Tools

• Icebreaker
• Bevy
• Zoom
• Twitch
• Gather
• Hopin
• Run The World

Types

• Presentations
• Q&As
• 1:1 Meetings
• Online Classes
• Masterminds
• Conferences

🔮 Predictions

• We’ll see new form factors. 1-on-1 matching exploded with tools like Icebreaker, Lunchclub, Bevy, Hopin and Run The World. Is Gather (2-D Video Calls) next?
• There will be more virtual event marketplaces. Think Airbnb’s Online Experiences and Winekey. Tools like Zoom and Run The World are also getting into distribution.
• More events will have omni-directional engagement. With no “audience.” Only participants who shape the narrative.
  • HQ Trivia
  • Capiche.fm
  • Clubhouse

☁️ Opportunities

• Make it interactive. Keep your audience engaged with Q&As, polls, challenges and trivia. MicroConf Remote gave founders a challenge. Get a customer testimonial and bring it back.
• Start sawdusting.
  • Use registration information to build your list (Rita Barry)
  • Distribute talks through your podcast (MicroConf OnAir)
  • Distribute talks through your YouTube channel (Everything Marketplaces)
  • Turn user-requested songs into playlists (OBFH)
• Bundle to raise your average order value. Combine your paid newsletter, paid community, digital products or physical products with virtual event access. Teaching an online bartending class? Offer to ship the shaker and glasses.

🔑 Key Lessons

• Virtual events are better at some things. And worse at others. In-person events give us high-fidelity experiences. Virtual events can remove space and time. And create worlds.
• Start with the end in mind. Why are you creating this event? How will participants be transformed? What’s your north star?

😠 Haters

“Virtual events won’t replace face-to-face interactions.”
Yes. And they’re not meant to. Each type of event excels at different things.

“1:1 matching isn’t new. What about Chatroulette?“
Smartphones, tablets and wireless headphones weren’t new either. Then Apple came in. Lunchclub, Bevy, Icebreaker, Run The World and Hopin are popularizing this feature.

“You said that virtual events reduce time constraints. What about time zones?”
Reduce. Not eliminate.

🔗 Links

1. Best virtual event you’ve been to? • The tweet behind this report.
2. How We Hosted a 55 Speaker Virtual Summit in Just 10 Weeks • Foti Panagiotakopoulos shares how he launched the GrowthMentor Summit using no-code tools like Zapier and WordPress.
3. HeySummit Speaker Directory • A growth tool/marketplace from HeySummit that helps speakers find gigs and organizers find speakers.

🙏 Thanks

Thanks to Anthony Castrio (Indie Worldwide), Rob Walling (TinySeed + MicroConf), Nicolás Cerdeira (Failory), Matt Middleton (Advisor Circle), Jack Cohen (FirstMark), Ethan Jones (Tools for MGMT), Karl Mc Carthy (Tito + Campfire), Joey Womack (Goodie Nation) and Brian Ardinger (Inside Outside). We had a great time jamming on this report.

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What you’ll get:

• 27 Virtual Events (285% More)
• 173 Tools for Virtual Events (2371% More)
• 12 Types of Virtual Events (100% More)
• 4 Key Lessons (100% More)
• 8 Predictions (166% More)
• 10 Predictions (233% More)
• 10 Summarized Links (233% More)

With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

• (📈 Pro) How to get more attendees? 
• (📈 Pro) How to boost your average order value?
• (📈 Pro) Which roles should you outsource? 
• (📈 Pro) How to lower your risk of failure? 
• (📈 Pro) How to build a virtual event checklist? 
• (📈 Pro) What apps are shaping the future of audience engagement? 
• (📈 Pro) Which tools to use for your virtual event? 
• (📈 Pro) How to select great speakers? 
• (📈 Pro) What’s the future of hybrid events? 
• and a lot more…