COVID-19 has left a lasting impact on how we attend events and communicate with each other. Traditional travel is becoming less and less appealing to more and more people as the digital alternative becomes cheaper, faster, and more convenient. Over 70% of physical events went hybrid or entirely virtual during the pandemic, and many are choosing to stay on the digital side. In 2022, 40% of events are planned to be solely virtual and 35% are planned to be hybrid. The attendees of these events are also staying virtual with nearly 3 out of 4 professionals planning to attend virtual events at least as often as they previously attended physical events before the pandemic.
But meetings online aren’t perfect. Video chats are often draining due to a number of problems that can arise. Technology related issues can result in a huge loss of productivity and can contribute to poor communication. Being in front of a camera brings its own set of problems too. Participants need to pay attention to staying in frame and exaggerating their body language to try and make themselves understood. Seeing yourself move in real-time also leads to increased self criticism; in daily life, we don’t go places with a mirror in front of us at every moment.
Even with all of these flaws, platforms used for these events and meetings such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have seen unheard of levels of growth. Zoom saw its daily meeting participants skyrocket to 35 times as much as it was previously in only a year and Teams saw 894% growth from just March 2020 to June 2020. In addition to these huge numbers, meetings and events that are digital save more than time and money traveling. Online meetings have also been reported to increase productivity and employee engagement as well as improving focus.
Learn how to take advantage of the digital engagement platforms and how to keep events engaging here.
