"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." -- William Shakespeare
What happens when that stage no longer has a jumbotron, special effects, and a state-of-the-art sound system? How do you amplify your pitch and your prospects when front row, center stage seats go virtual? While the context has shifted, the demand for events that create connections and convert leads into sales haven't.
"Audiences still want what audiences want: content, community and connections," reminds Bari Baumgardner[1], an event planning veteran and founder of SAGE[2] Event Management. "The question is how to deliver what audiences want through live events delivered virtually." To stage a performance that leaves your audience wanting more - and results in revenue and raving fans - create a backdrop for success with these leading practices.
"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed."-- Seán O'Casey
Here are seven things that can help you deliver a successful virtual event:
1. Go off script: What happens when your biggest fundraiser of the year is COVID canceled? You go off-script. At least, that's what WBUR-FM[3], Boston's NPR news station, discovered. Their annual gala is a critical funding source, once they realized they needed to survive. They quickly re-imagined and relaunched their virtual gala as a "Night in Together."[4] WBUR subsequently raised $1 million in just 13 hours from the 450 virtual guests.
2. Invest in a Headliner: Replace rubber chicken dinners with someone famous telling jokes about rubber chickens. "What WBUR did brilliantly," Mathew Sweezey[6], author of The Context Marketing Revolution[7] explains, "Is invest in getting a bigger name - a headliner.