25 Sep Three Online Events that Got that Zyng
It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that Zyng. With apologies to Duke Ellington, events always have to have that zyng, or swing, even if they are online.
Over the past few months, my team and I have added Zyng to several types of virtual get-togethers. In doing so, we’ve learned quite a bit as we translated 12 years of Zynger Events, experience from producing award-winning in-person events to this new, exciting format.
As it appears that we will be doing online events in one form or another for some time now, I thought I would share three types of these with you. Perhaps one, or all three formats, will work with something you are considering for the Fall or in 2021.
Go Big with Conferences
Yes! Conferences are still happening. Conferences that offer both education and trade shows are a perfect format for the exchange of education, resources and new ideas. They always have been and now there are even more reasons to hold these online. Several platforms offer ways to create General and Closing Sessions for all attendees with breakout rooms for the smaller meetings. They can be designed for short-term or multi-day conferences. As for a virtual exhibit floor, through video streaming, “live spaces” hosted by exhibitors enable your attendees to see the latest in products and services and even place orders online at the time of the meeting. It’s a big plus all around.
And assembling a stellar education lineup, there are a lot of pluses as well. Now, speakers don’t have to travel, saving you the expense of airfare, hotel and food and giving the speaker more flexibility with scheduling. This opens a wide new world of possibilities for any type of event.
Get Cozy with Fireside Talks and Webinars
These two formats deliver information in an easy-going style that is accessible and creative. Fireside chats – usually a discussion between one or two people that offers a deeper dive into material — can add extra bonuses to a program. Host them live for your VIP group, or those who buy live tickets, then record them and share them after for the next tier of attendees. More people will be able to see your content over a longer period. And you can create a library of talks as further incentive to prospective members to join your organization or become involved in some way. While similar in many ways to a fireside chat, a webinar can be a PowerPoint of information given by one of your speakers that is recorded and then accessed by your attendees at their convenience. This can also turn into a library of content that you can repurpose in many ways.
Dive into Virtual Event Productions
The Big Kahuna of the virtual world — a total event production, soup to nuts. I know “soup to nuts” is a saying, but really, we can deliver soup and nuts to your attendees if that’s what you want! However, champagne and chocolate might go over better. All by way of saying that virtual event productions can contain those human touchpoints we love so much about live events.
Virtual events can either be presented in real time, live, or have some pre-recorded material which is especially good for special segments. For instance, if you have Lifetime Achievement or Hall of Fame Award to give out, we can arrange to have those acceptance speeches pre-recorded and then inserted into the flow of the live show. This assures quality within the broadcast and a pleasing attendee experience.
As for the entertainment portion of the event, we can include live music, magic shows, food and wine pairings, online games for ice breakers, polls and even real-life swag delivered to attendees beforehand. You can break this up into a main portion of the event – such as the awards show, and then have optional after-party activities such as a cocktail making session, cooking demos, bands and other activities. The sky is the limit.
Make it Your Own
Just as we did only six months ago (doesn’t it feel longer?) with our award-winning in-person events, customization is key in all aspects of the event, from branding the invitations and platform to sending out custom merchandise such as photo frames, sweatshirts, window decals and more. The goal is still to create a special moment that keeps your community through creativity and camaraderie.
From all that we are hearing today, it appears that social distancing will continue well into 2021. You have worked too hard to build your community, your audience, your donors, to give up on them now. Coming together, even online, is needed more now than ever.
Email or call me to discuss how to keep your community informed, entertained and engaged during these unique times.
Yours through thick and zyng,
Ryan Zynger
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