Virtual events have become the new trend in the event industry since last year’s COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of social distancing, the attendees and the event planners shifted their priority from traditional in-person events to virtual platforms. Not only did this accomplish the goal of hosting remote events it also helped the organisers realise the true potentials of the virtual events and started leveraging the latest technology to make their events more engaging.
Virtual events are essentially audio, video, and text output which is broadcasted all around the world over the internet. People witness your event from their home on their screens, hence it is evidently blatant that media is the means of communication in virtual events and such events and such events cannot be sustained without media. Today, we are talking about audio in particular and understand the importance of audio in your virtual and Hybrid events.
AUDIO- THE SIGNIFICANT PART OF YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT
Since the shift of trends towards virtual events and its compatibility with a wide variety of devices, many attendees have preferred logging in from their mobile phones and attending the event. This essentially means that a certain proportion of your attendees may prefer to attend the event via only audio. Currently podcasts have also taken the mass by storm as they can listen to their favorite speakers or group by simply plugging in their earphones and enjoying the same from their mobile devices. Complementing this trend, we may do the same in virtual events by
allowing the attendees to attend the event with only audio. Having content for both the segment of the event, audio and video, will keep both parts of your attendees engaged as both will have something to attend to and get involved with the same seamlessly. Quality of the content is the key. The content must not vary from the video content,instead just tweaked a little for the audio audience. Having an audio only segment in your event is also functional and preferred by many attendees as many of them may be in between of their chores or everyday activities, hence listening to the event whilst carryout their errands is way more effective and efficient for the attendees rather than looking at their screen for most of the time. Let your attendees hear the content of the event in the background without having to ask them to open their mobile browser and
witness the whole video segment. The podcast community is well established at this point in the world. Many people have started preferring to hear full-length podcasts while carrying out their errands without having to compromise on the content. You may leverage this established trend and record the event in the form of a podcast and make it available for the same audience. The key thing to keep in mind is portability and comfort for your audience, letting them catch up to the event as per their convenience and witnessing the speakers’ words in the form of a podcast, even after the event has concluded! Having
such an attendee-oriented approach by simple inclusion of audio can go a long way in developing a good impression from the attendee’s perspective.
Apart from your speakers and the content of the event audio can also be leveraged to let the attendees interact. Though text chat rooms are available, it is certain that talking verbally is better than textually.Having an audio-only feature will bring about enhancements in your overall event. let your attendees converse with each other and the organiser of the event verbally, not only will this increase the level of interactivity of your event it will also develop a sense of inclusion in the attendee’s perspective.The ability to conversate by simply heading towards the audio rooms plays a significant role in functionality of the event and its effectiveness.
Discussions, presentation of opinions, and even feedback are significantly easier to present in form audio rather than text. The necessity of video can be compensated by incorporating similar audio content in the event- such as depicting the main agenda behind the video or in case of speakers you may simply record the whole conversation in front of a podcast and present it to your attendees. The availability of content at their own comfort may help you engage the audience on a different level.
AUDIO OR VIDEO?
It is entirely dependent on the attendees, some prefer video and some audio. Depending upon the sort of work they do or availability of time to attend the video segment of the event, there are audiences for both the parts available. Audio provides efficiency for the attendees; they may carry out their errands without having to compromise on the content of the event. Some may even prefer audio-only events, which is gaining immense popularity now-a-days as podcasts have now become an established community. At the end of the day, it is recommended to have an audio-only component in your virtual event, which will not only help you engage the attendees but it will also increase the level of interactivity of your event and thus improve overall engagement.
OVER TO YOU
The event industry has experienced a shift of trends from traditional in-person events to virtual events, in light of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent awareness about social distancing. The event planners and organisers have started realising the true potential of the virtual platform and started leveraging the same to attain maximum attendee engagement from the comfort of their home. A segment of attendees also prefers to attend the event with only audio, which is justified given the rising popularity of podcasts. There are also working-class attendees who may have errands to run and hence prefer to be efficient without compromising on the content of the event. The above-mentioned explains the importance of audio in your virtual event, by not increasing the level of interactivity of your event but also engaging a certain segment of audience who prefer, or are compelled, to attend the event with only audio. Either case scenario it is always recommended to have separate audio rooms for your attendees in order to attain maximum level of engagement.
