Challenging Times Make for Greater Focus on Creating Value

Thoughts from Digitell’s CEO James Parker

These are certainly challenging times for the meetings industry and for the world at large.  The past 18 months has forced organizations to rethink their conferences and offerings to their members. Meeting organizers have had to move their meetings from physical to online and from facility to facility in a matter of months.  Even though we are still in these challenging times, organizations are coming away stronger and with greater focus on creating value for their members by adapting a virtual option for their future events. 

So much effort has been invested in pivoting meetings and delivering events online and as a result, new communities of professionals from every industry across the globe have been created and engaged.  Thousands of professionals, who otherwise would not have attended conferences physically, have been exposed to organizations around the world and are interested in continuing that engagement.  Virtual and hybrid events have proven to be very successful at reaching this audience by providing them an experience worthy of their time. It is important to continue to engage these professionals with a virtual option. The comments below illustrate the value virtual attendees receive:

“I would like to thank everyone involved in this virtual conference that presented and just made it happen. I have tried for several years to attend and was never able. This has been a great experience that will allow me to give better, improved care. I hope to attend future conferences. Again, thank you ”  — K. White

” This was a great conference and so much easier without having to travel – it was easier to get it reimbursed. It was very well orchestrated, and I felt right there – better than being in a large ballroom or conference room.” — M. Doyle

Virtual and Hybrid events are not new, as organizations have been engaging the world with their online events for over a decade.  As a result, new revenue streams have been created and thousands of hours of education and networking have been delivered. The industry grapples with the fluctuating situations of the Delta Variant, organizations are struggling with keeping up with planning a physical event and continuing to engage their online audience with virtual and hybrid options. Now would be a good time to reach out to a digital partner to help your organization with your year-round strategies to continue to engage this new audience.  A digital audience needs to be engaged throughout the year and so finding a vendor/partner that offers a full suite of services, including a platform and production, can alleviate your stress and allow your organization to continue to engage these professionals.

The Virtual Conferences report by Tagoras will provide you with an overview of what organizations like yours are doing to continue to engage this audience.  You will learn about the most recent trends and best practices, allowing you to deliver the very best experience to your online audience.  As an experienced online events producer for the past 15 years, I can assure you that your online audience of professionals are interested in what your organization is offering and engaging them will provide you with increased revenues and exposure to the entire world.  Prior to Covid, surveys told us that 86% of online attendees had never attended a physical conference, and so this is an opportunity for your organization to considerably grow your total audience and fulfill your organization’s mission to educate the industry.  We see this comment from so many online users:

“I’ve REALLY enjoyed the virtual format better than I expected. I have been wanting to attend this conference for a decade and so glad I was able to this year, virtually.”

Digitell has been educating the industry on the value of online events for over three decades and we are proud to sponsor this report by Tagoras.  Tagoras has also been instrumental in educating the industry for years and we applaud their efforts and want to thank Jeff and Celisa for their years of service to the association industry.  Digitell looks forward to continuing to support the industry with innovative strategies for executing successful online events.

The Virtual Conferences Report is available for download here.