[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#Article","articleBody":"Having to cancel the events that drive bottom lines and cement customer loyalties has become a stark, daunting reality for countless businesses in the wake of COVID-19, leaving the event industry reeling and companies scrambling to find replacements for in-person events.\nImagine being one week away from hosting over 1,000 B2B marketers in San Francisco, prepared to deliver 16 talk tracks, with keynotes from customers and partners \u2026 and suddenly, you have to cancel the whole thing due to a global pandemic.\nShortly after having to make the gut-wrenching decision to cancel their annual ABM Innovation Summit, I got to talk with Demandbase CMO Peter Isaacson on The Marketer\u2019s Journey Podcast.\nIt\u2019s a devastating choice, and one many are facing as the virus continues down an unpredictable path. Marketers in every industry are now in the process of reevaluating their entire 2020 strategy, and for a lot of them, that means bringing their physical events online.\nFlexibility has always important in marketing, but now it\u2019s critical.\n3 tips for pivoting to virtual events\nPivoting to virtual events requires a completely different mindset than planning something in-person. Because, let\u2019s face it, as people become more and more comfortable working from home, the offers for attending one more Zoom session or live-stream are becoming less and less appealing.\nHere Are A Bunch Of Virtual Events You Can Enjoy While You're Social Distancing https:\/\/t.co\/NW5zQb71lA\n\u2014 BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) April 20, 2020\nYou can\u2019t expect your audience to show up \u2013 let alone stay engaged \u2013 if you aren\u2019t offering them something very different than the hundreds of other digital offerings now cropping up. After all, we\u2019re now living in a world where getting a webcam is proving incredibly challenging.\nSo how do you successfully make the leap from show-floor to the web? Here\u2019s three pieces of advice that Isaacson offered up for pivoting to virtual:\n Reconfigure your content Bringing a physical event to a virtual space requires rethinking some of your content. While big keynotes may translate well to video presentations, consider what content would work well as a podcast, an e-book, or a webinar. Give your attendees a variety of options so they can engage on their terms.\n Invest in high-quality production For virtual events, the attendee experience hinges on the tech. Grainy or choppy videos will lose your audience. For the key presentations, invest high-quality AV to improve engagement and give people the best possible experience.\n Presenters, bring your a-game Presenting on stage to a room full of people is one thing; presenting to a video camera while trying to capture that energy is an entirely different challenge. As Peter said, \u201cit becomes incumbent on the presenters to become even more outgoing, even more energizing and to really do whatever they possibly can \u2013 through humor, or insight, or storytelling \u2013 to communicate in a more effective way.\u201d\nTHIS is AMAZING. Need help with figuring out how to present an event digitally? Watch this video!! #wfh https:\/\/t.co\/vjOHJWYsAT\n\u2014 Ursula Ringham (@ursularingham) April 22, 2020\nAdaptation is always a requirement of survival, we\u2019re just needing to adapt much quicker than usual. Keep the customer experience at the heart of your plans, and odds are you\u2019ll find success \u2013 or learn.\nEverything has changed. Learn how to get your business ready for the new normal\u00a0HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Randy-Frisch-1-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Randy Frisch","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/randyfrisch","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/frischrandy\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/randy-frisch\/"},"dateModified":"2020-04-23T06:12:36+00:00","datePublished":"2020-04-23T06:00:27+00:00","description":"Canceling the events that drive bottom lines and cement loyalties has become a stark, daunting reality. Here are three tips for pivoting to virtual events.","headline":"Pivoting to virtual events: 3 keys to bringing your show-floor online","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pivoting-to-virtual-events-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/","name":"Pivoting to virtual events: 3 keys to bringing your show-floor online","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"04","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"23","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/\/23\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Pivoting to virtual events: 3 keys to bringing your show-floor online","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/23\/pivoting-to-virtual-events\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]