Comments on: Do people really stay online all day for a virtual event?

By: Steve Gogolak

Steve Gogolak — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:48:08 +0000

James, I agree with the “WOW” factor issue you present – on one side the traditional event marketers try to emulate the face to face event experience online, which never really works. The “WOW” online will come from web-centric features that provide value through functionality, not visual appeal. Understanding which features are most important to your audience is the hard part. Thanks for the comment, too!

By: James Parker

James Parker — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:07:09 +0000

Steve, I would agree with Dennis, that the quality of an experience is far greater than the quantity. Therefore, when designing an online event, one should consider the end users experience and design it to fit into their schedule and allow for them to be able to conduct daily business while gaining access to your event. Scheduling educational sessions for 8 hours just doesn’t work.
What concerns me is that we need to “WOW” the attendee with the engaging experience, at least for association based events, so that they are looking forward to the next event. We need to provide the user with a level of sophistication that enhances their experience and sets the stage for future events. Too many event organizers are looking for the easiest platform for their users and this may not be the right approach. Seeking the most engaging platform and allowing the users to have room to grow within that platform is crucial for the longevity of online activity. Boring them and not providing them with the feeling of “being at the event” does not lend itself to long term success. The online gaming industry certainly sheds light on the future of online business activity.

By: Steve Gogolak

Steve Gogolak — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:34:09 +0000

Dennis – exactly. The perception of a quality visit needs to be defined up front. At a face2face event, a quality visit is measured by the fact that you registered for a particular number of days, so that’s the expected measurement. Online there is so much more to measure that it really warrants some pause to stop to think about what level of engagement is successful given the goals of the event. And simply showing up just doesn’t cut it.

By: Dennis Shiao

Dennis Shiao — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:36:07 +0000

Hi Steve – good points. For me, it’s totally reasonable to measure and report on “average attendee session time”, but as you suggest, the true value goes beyond the meaning of just that one statistic. It’s really about “quality vs. quantity”.

For a lead generation virtual trade show, a 6-hour session with moderate amounts of activity may not be as meaningful as a 30-minute session in which the attendee visited 3 booths, chatted with 3 exhibitors and requested 3 price quotes. So as with a lot of stats, there’s often a layer of detail (and meaning) beyond the top line number.

Dennis Shiao
InXpo Product Marketing | Blogger at “It’s All Virtual”