Sam Colbert-Hile is President and CEO of Brandlive . Brandlive helps the world's best brands create virtual experiences that move people.
In the global economy, marketing budgets are being cut, spending is being scrutinized and business travel is being reduced. Google recently announced that it will no longer allow non-essential business travel when a virtual option exists, and the effectiveness of digital advertising is declining as cookies disappear. Marketers now have to get creative when it comes to creating a marketing funnel—that is, visualizing a company's journey with its customers from lead generation to conversion.
To maximize audience engagement at the lowest cost per lead, marketers must expand their marketing tools to include virtual events, webinars and video content to reach in-person and remote audiences. However, previous virtual events or webinars require a thorough review. After all, the competition for eyeballs is fierce. Both face-to-face and long-distance communications must be highly engaging, memorable, valuable and interesting to attract attention.
To that end, marketers and executives can (and should) turn to the entertainment industry for more engaging virtual events, webinars, and video content. Take professional sports as an example.
The NBA is right, for both audiences.
Professional sports like the NBA are well-versed when it comes to creating immersive experiences for sports fans in the arena and remote viewers. In particular, each experience is completely different. Major sports federations don't just broadcast the game away from the pitch to their remote audiences. Rather, they create a complete television experience that is unique to what viewers see live.
The audience watching the NBA game from the stadium can reach 20,000 people. But the crowd watching the game from their homes or cafeterias is 100 times larger than the crowd watching it live, averaging 1.6 million viewers per game. It takes a lot of thought, planning and execution to make both experiences memorable.
For example, while the audience watches the kiss cam live or films a break between plays, Shaq or Charles Barkley entertain the distant audience, which creates stories about the event and the players involved on the court. side comment. Different camera angles also give viewers a completely different experience.
As companies look to more effectively target remote audiences—from product launches to investor days to annual meetings—they need to think of virtual experiences the way the NBA does: as a stand-alone, standalone experience. Here are some approaches to consider.
1. Connect your virtual audience to action.
No company wants virtual meeting participants to feel disconnected from the content or moderators. The NBA has cracked the code to connect a live venue and a remote audience with its "virtual fan experience" during the pandemic. By allowing virtual fans to watch the game in real time and connect with the venue through live audio and video streaming, they make fans feel like they are part of the event. Virtual fans know that players can see and hear them, which contributes to much higher engagement.
Similarly, companies should try to stay connected during corporate events to avoid the interest of virtual attendees who want to check their email or social media. To this end, consider creating two-way communication channels between the venue and the audience, such as B. Emoji buttons (eg Like, Love, LOL) or ways to ask or answer questions .
2. Use pre-recorded videos to surprise and delight.
Entertaining virtual meeting participants can be a challenge, especially when people's average attention span is just over eight seconds. Additionally, there may be parts of a hybrid event that are only accessible to the live audience, giving virtual viewers the opportunity to focus their attention elsewhere.
Organizations can recreate the live commentary experience of major sports broadcasts with pre-recorded content in strategic locations for their virtual assistants. While live participants take a biological pause or compromise, well-edited video clips can go a long way toward creating an element of surprise or joy that keeps virtual participants engaged. This means writing a clear and compelling script and using visually appealing graphics to meet production quality expectations.
And don't forget the playlist! Just as NBA fans expect their TV viewing experience to be accompanied by high-energy music (for example, jock jam), companies must be careful about the music tracks they choose to reach their virtual audience at scale. global.
3. Use strong leaders.
Companies often forget to invest in transitions between functional segments. Sports broadcasts do a great job of keeping fans in the spotlight with their announcers constantly entertaining and effectively coloring the commentary, creating a welcoming atmosphere and foreshadowing what's to come.
Corporate meetings also require the personality and sophistication of the presenter to really connect with the audience and capture everyone's attention. Don't underestimate the crucial role hosts can play in keeping your virtual audience's energy levels high. For example, if a live audience is relaxing online, consider having event organizers play a fun game with virtual attendees (a crowd favorite is Family Feud). You can also watch the next segment of the meeting to keep your energy and engagement at the highest level. This is a fun alternative to pre-recorded snippets.
Keeping audiences interested in virtual events can be challenging. But with the right kind of content, energy and creativity, companies can take a page out of the NBA playbook, improve their marketing pipeline and ensure their next event is a success.
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