How to Move Physical Business Events to Digital

There’s nothing like meeting your customers face to face to truly see what your business means to them, but in an age of social distancing and mask dress codes, physical business events have become rare if not extinct. When you do get together with clients, past and future, you want the focus to be on all the good you and your company can accomplish with their help, not on making sure that safety precautions are being followed. The way to do it? Make your business’s events digital. You may not be able to get promotional products into the hands of the public immediately this way, but there are plenty of other ways you can get people excited about your company from the safety of their own homes.

Keep the Pre-Event RSVP

Letting your guests sign up for your business event beforehand can do a lot to improve the turnout weeks in advance. When people mark that they are interested in or plan on going to a public Facebook event, the event is shared with their friends and family, basically meaning more eyes on your event for free. This doesn’t mean that everyone who plans on going is going to click that little green check mark, however, and when they don’t you miss out on exposure to their social media connections. You can encourage attendees to RSVP by offering prizes for pre-event registration or by putting their name into a raffle for promotional products that will be announced during the event. This is a fantastic way of handing out both the little things, like promotional pens and sunglasses, and the larger items, like shirts and custom company hats, that you had planned on distributing during an in-person event. Besides, what person doesn’t like free stuff?

Get Your Customers Involved

Your guests will have a lot more fun at your digital event if they feel like they are a part of the action. Watching a product presentation or a launch announcement is quick and easy to do, but it’s hardly any different than the countless other videos they watch on a daily basis. You need to stand out, and you can accomplish this by doing the exact same to them! Set up a hashtag before the event where past clients can share photos and videos of themselves enjoying your product, or perhaps wearing one of your business’s custom logo polo shirts, then show off your favorites during the festivities. This is also a great way to ensure that your viewers also stay throughout the entire program; who would ditch the stream early if they have a chance to see their photo shown off by one of their favorite brands? You can also invite viewers to interact with whoever is running the event by submitting questions or comments to be read during the program. This is a great way to make your audience feel like they are a part of your business’s community instead of simply watching something on a screen.

Offer an Experience They Can’t Find at Home…at Home!

You can learn how to do just about anything from your very own living room thanks to the internet but learning a new skill by yourself isn’t always a ton of fun. Having online classes that your customers and audience can participate in together is a great way to bring them to you brand while also providing an opportunity for them to gain both knowledge and social time! Thanks to the wonders of live streaming, teaching an online lesson, whether it be a yoga class, an introduction to painting, or even a how-to with some new tech, is something you can do easily from the comfort of your own home. All you need to pull this off is a good internet connection, a phone or computer with a camera, and something to show off or teach. If you don’t have something to teach, show them something brand new that they can’t see anywhere else. Unveiling a new product and promising a never-before-seen first look is a great way to grab the attention of enthusiasts in the industry who are eager to have all the news in their field.

With live streaming now a resource available to all with a decent internet connection, there is no reason why your business can’t start to move events to the digital realm. Not only will you find your content reaching farther than every before, you’ll make your company more accessible to consumers that previously couldn’t attend your events. You’ll also be able to engage with your audience more often, which is super important when so many companies are vying for their attention. Don’t worry, plan some killer events and you’ll have it!