5 Ways to Talk to Your Virtual Delegates
The engagement and satisfaction levels of virtual delegates are critical to the success of hybrid and virtual events. A well-designed virtual delegate program is essential to your event’s success.
A key factor in obtaining high attendee satisfaction scores is how well you communicate with your virtual delegates.
Here are 5 ideas to help:
1. Make interaction simple
The more difficult it is for your delegates to engage, the fewer people will participate. If it’s difficult, delegates will just not bother. You want to make it simple, not challenging.
For example, I wanted to post a comment in the chat box at one event I attended. It should have been simple. But it wasn’t. I needed to leave the viewing page, go to a new web page, create a user account, and post the comment, and then I could get back to watching the session. In the end, I did all of this because the panel debate was fascinating, and I knew the speakers involved. But, it was a lot of trouble.
Making interaction simple for your delegates is always best, especially if you want good engagement ratings.
2. Decide which channels are to be used
Do you want delegates to send in comments and questions? If you are using a chat box, where is it located? How do people send in their questions? Are there social media channels that you want used? If so, what are they and what is the hashtag for your event? If you use too many channels you may be creating a lot of work for yourself in responding to the comments. Plus you may also be diluting the impact of your event. If your delegates are familiar with one channel then it’s probably not a good idea to ask them to use a different one or a new one.
3. Answer technical issues
Technical challenges for some delegates are common. And there are many reasons for this. Some delegates click buttons too quickly, some click the wrong buttons and some don’t know where to go to click the button. But you can make their life a lot easier by being able to answer any technical queries. Providing a set of FAQs that are easily accessible and having a contact help number in place will help solve a lot of the issues and give your virtual delegates peace of mind that you do care for them and their virtual experience.
4. Be proactive on programme changes
Virtual delegates will be looking at their programme and they will expect everything to run on time and to time. Remember they may only tune in for specific sessions and if the programme has changed, they will not have a clue what is happening. I have attended hybrid events where changes have been made but not communicated to the virtual delegates. For the in-person delegates at the venue it’s less of an issue. If changes need to be made to the virtual programme, they need to be communicated swiftly and clearly. You could use an event app, message on social media or use a virtual host to keep delegates up to speed.
5. Engage a virtual host
One of the most effective ways of talking to your virtual delegates is by using a virtual host. The virtual host acts as the conduit between your virtual delegates and what is happening at the the event. The host can perform a number of functions. They can let the delegates know what’s coming up, provide advice on any changes and also help delegates understand how to participate fully in the event.
Step into the shoes of your virtual delegate
Become your virtual delegate and put yourself in their shoes. Then you can critique your communications. Do they make sense, and are they easy to implement? You want to ensure delegates have everything they need to get the most from their virtual experience. Be honest in your assessment and deal with any problems before you go live.
Looking for help producing your hybrid or virtual event?
I specialise in creating engaging hybrid and virtual events that cater to both in-person and virtual attendees. If you need help, get in touch and we can start a conversation.