Virtual Events: Could Unpredictability be the New Key to Engagement?

As long as virtual events have existed for enterprises and brands, they've mostly been the entertainment equivalent of a City Council meeting. Between the rehearsed intros, mechanical presentations, clunky handoffs, linear timelines and scripted Q&A sessions, the only thing most of today's virtual events manage to accomplish is teaching attendees to effectively manipulate multiple browser windows, while pretending to pay attention.

Then work at home happened, and things took an interesting turn. Kids blasted into rooms while their parents were broadcasting live and Internationally. Last-minute preparers with high-angle cameras were showing up to meetings without pants. Some of the brightest minds on the planet shared their solutions to some of the most complex worldwide problems . . . while never taking themselves off of mute. And for the first time since webcasting was invented, virtual event attendees simply could not look away, for fear of missing something memorable.

But of course as event owners and marketers, the concept of unpredictability is not one we freely embrace. So as the chaos of 2020 became a semi-distant memory, we scrambled to create comprehensive checklists, reusable templates and lengthy process documents to make absolutely sure our virtual events were flawless. We mandated dress codes, standard backgrounds and green screens—all while asking presenters to equip their work-at-home spaces with extra lights, foldable teleprompters and $200 microphones. And once again, our attendees stopped paying attention.

The Upside of Unpredictability

Near the middle of 2020 my company executed a virtual customer conference that included a Director at one of the largest organizations in the world, discussing my company's product from his tiny New York City apartment. As we cut over to his session, it was immediately obvious the speaker had decided—to the horror of the event producer—to deliver his topic from the foot of his unmade bed. But surprisingly, his choice of background wasn't unprofessional or distracting to me, as so many event managers and marketers would claim. It was also clearly not a distraction for attendees, as this particular session was among the highest rated at the conference. A coincidence? Maybe. But over a year later, I still remember most of the session content, and I'm still telling people about it.

Around that same time I attended a virtual professional development event, where the keynote speaker began by stating her mother was temporarily living with her. She briefly explained her mother had no concept of what a live video keynote was, and informed us if there were random noises or walk-behinds in the next 45 minutes, we knew why. I immediately identified this as foreshadowing and went into full engagement mode, only to be paid off minutes later. In the five-second pause between her intro and the main topic, the speaker's mother approached from stage left, kissed her on the cheek, and proceeded to explain how much she appreciated her daughter opening her home—in front of a live audience of 2,000 people. I don't recall a single other session from that conference, but I will never forget the keynote.

It's Time to Just Let it Happen

As virtual event owners, our primary directive from leadership is to make magic happen: to plan something unforgettable, and possibly even viral. But the reality is, magic doesn't happen when everything goes to plan. And viral can't be earned through a checklist. True virtual event success is only possible when attendees are reminded there are humans involved in our events, and those humans are not flawless or controllable. Yet as virtual event owners and marketers, we do everything we can to drive risk and uncertainty—or more specifically the human element—out of our events whenever possible.

Over the last two years the world has been exposed to celebrities, talk show hosts, politicians and influencers engaging us from their living rooms and kitchens, with minimal production and no scripted setups. And it turns out we love it. Why? Because organic communication creates moments, memories and connections. It stimulates the senses, and increases both engagement and retention of the information being presented. And it proves that just like us, the people we turn to for advice, knowledge, news and education are not perfect.

Today's virtual event attendees—whether they are employees, customers, partners, prospects or other stakeholders—have moved on from the highly produced and scripted world we created for them. The new relationship they're demanding with our enterprises and brands involves real, organic communication. And it's time we stopped over-managing their experiences, and let our audiences get to know us a little.

Look for my next article soon, and thank you for giving me five minutes of your day. Have a great remainder of your week!

About Eric

Eric Rudolf is the VP of Go-to-Market (GTM) Programs for Brightcove, the industry leader in empowering organizations to touch audiences with video in bold and innovative ways. With 20 years in SaaS-based Enterprise Technology, Eric has led GTM strategy for multiple Gartner-named leaders. You may?connect with Eric on LinkedIn, or send him an email any time at [email protected].