We’ve talked previously about why you should move your large event online. And you know by now that virtual events have a ton of benefits. But after a year of pandemic life and the subsequent mountain of changes that every collaboration tool has implemented, more and more companies are opting to create multi-platform virtual events (as if single-platform events weren’t hard enough).
What is a Multi-Platform Event?
Many industries have been focusing on multi-platform content for the last few years. Multi-platform events are events that deliver a range of content across different platforms, “utilizing television, the Internet, mobile phones, and digital and interactive screen services,” according to Taylor & Francis Online.
In easy terms, event planners are now using more than one collaboration tool or application to either a.) host the same content and services on different tech mediums (mobile, desktop, etc), b.) use different apps, websites, and online tools to create a more diverse experience, or c.) do a bit of both.
For example, the 2021 Affordable Housing Association of Indiana’s annual spring conference is being held virtually, using Zoom and the Whova event and conference mobile app. And line dancers from all over the world have attended six (so far) Digital Dance Weekend events that are hosted on Facebook but also feature “social dancing” and demos on Youtube.
These multi-platform events allow attendees to customize and tailor their own experience to ensure they are making the most of every virtual event. They also allow you, the event organizer, to offer unique, multi-faceted resources and interactive and collaborative content with your event. Let’s talk about some of the benefits of having a multi-platform virtual event.
Reach a More Technologically Diverse Audience
So much of our lives, both personal and professional, are housed within our mobile devices – especially our cell phones. And with the world becoming more and more work-from-home-friendly, mobile devices are becoming more essential as work tools, too.
Planning multi-platform virtual events (and using collaboration tools that can do some of this work for you) means you can be inclusive to a more technologically diverse audience. If your board meeting is being held virtually, giving your attendees the ability to choose their platform preference is extremely helpful.
This also means that, for larger events, more people will be able to attend because they can tailor their experience of your event to fit in with their lifestyles and schedules.
Decrease the Time You Spend Worrying About Finding the “Perfect” Tool
Collaboration platforms like Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams, and more are constantly changing to keep up with customer demand and to stay relevant to their target market. But what happens when you are planning an event and none of the collaboration tools have all the functions and capabilities you need?
Another great benefit of multi-platform virtual events is the ability to confidently choose a good, but not perfect, host platform without worrying about how platform 1 has this but not that, and platform 2 has that but not this. Instead of settling for almost perfect, you can pair top collaboration tools with top resources like industry- or function-specific apps, websites, and more
Reduce that stress by adding outside apps to your host platform (many collaboration tools are expanding these capabilities often) or by just letting your attendees know you will be pairing a collaboration tool to an unrelated app or website (as seen in the examples we mentioned above).
Increase the Level of Interactivity
With bigger events, a specific collaboration tool may possess all of the capabilities you want, but not in the form you would prefer for your event. For example, if you are hosting a large industry conference, having all videos of speakers, session descriptions, and session resources on one computer screen may be difficult for people to follow along.
Creating multiple platform availability and including apps and tools outside of the videoconferencing app you’re using can help your attendees create their own, preferred setup for interacting. Perhaps an attendee wants to collaborate with someone they met at a networking session, but they can only do that if it happens during another informative session they wanted to attend. By offering multi-platform events, your attendees can get more bang for their buck and will be less likely to miss out on important information and events.
Find Your Multi-Platform Event Service Team
Meet Me In The Cloud is the perfect partner for your next multi-platform virtual event. Check out our Event Assist Services packages, or learn more about how we help you plan and execute a virtual event that meets all your goals.
Whether you need training and education, event assistance, or other collaboration-based support and services, contact us today.
