Five Ways to Reinvent Online Conferences

We’ve now completed ROUND ONE of the Era of Online Conferences as we adopt new strategies to help live events survive through Zoom.

I’ve been honored to be the keynote speaker at many online conferences over the past nine months and attended a few as a participant.

By now we should be adjusting to these times of crisis but unfortunately, I see too many organizers trying to recreate a traditional conference in a Zoom-like format.

One friend attended a leading marketing event that moved to a digital format and said “It was miserable. They were just trying to stuff all the same content into an online format and it just didn’t work.”

Why do people really go to live conferences?

• It’s an opportunity to see a new city and have some fun … maybe even turn it into a vacation
• There is the appeal of connecting with close industry friends over lunch or drink
• It might be a chance to meet an admired industry leader or celebrity
• The serendipity of meeting like-minded colleagues leads to fresh ideas and new business opportunities.

“Learning something new” is probably down the list of the most popular reasons to attend a live event. That might be the reason we tell our boss we’re going to…