We learned something from a global pandemic: The right event platform can keep us connected and engaged even when in-person meetings are impossible. Event professionals are left asking: How can we keep this momentum going year-round, even though the events industry has overwhelmingly returned to in-person conferences after restrictions were lifted?
The short answer is yes. Event organizers must balance in-person meetings and online engagement year-round to meet this demand. An event community might be the solution.
The community model for event communities has been called the promised land. However, despite all the hype, there is little practical insight into the true meaning of this model. It’s all about understanding the differences between event communities and other online communities. It’s about understanding how flexible your event platform is when you dig deeper.
Whether you manage corporate or association events, creating an event community on the same platform you use to build and manage them will make your life easier for you and your members. This also opens up more possibilities for engagement and revenue generation. Sponsors and attendees will be grateful to you for helping them discover the importance of meaningful connections.
The Best Online Communities For Professionals Today
Online communities allow people to connect with like-minded individuals, sharing similar problems, concerns, and success stories.
Many companies and associations have created branded online communities to retain members of their organizations. Your online community should offer peer support and knowledge sharing. What kind of community is the best?
After considering all options, we will explain why an event group is the best option in almost every situation.
Types Of Online Communities
We have divided online professional communities into four categories to help you understand the differences.
- A private employee community
- An exclusive paid user/customer community
- Private association or member community
- Forum/public shared interest community/community
Types Of Community Platforms
Many online platforms can be used to build community.
- Learning management systems (LMS).
- Social networking platforms
- Event platforms
Find the right online platform for your community.
This first option, Learning Management Software, is ideal for private employee groups and consumer clubs. These learning communities are focused on product training and professional development.
The second option is a social networking site. This is the best choice for communities based on a common interest. There are clear disadvantages to public platforms regarding professional networks and organizations. Public media often blur the lines between personal and professional life for users, even on LinkedIn.
Public platforms can cause community members to feel ‘always on’ and result in a loss of work-life balance. This can lead to burnout.
An event platform is a third alternative. It offers a compromise between the two options. Professionals can have year-round access through an event platform. This allows them to improve their skills via webinars and other on-demand content. They can also network with other members after the event ends. The platform’s communication, engagement, and content management features make it easy for community managers and event organizers to simplify how they share information, promote new connections, and keep their audience engaged between events.
Importantly, by using your event platform for hosting your event community, you can maintain a healthy separation from public forums while still providing avenues to continue the conversation about shared topics.
Event platforms are the best choice for association event communities because of all these reasons. Event platforms can create a high-touch, exclusive experience for members of private employees, paid consumer clubs, or shared interest groups.
The Practical Benefits of an Event Platform
We’ve compiled eight critical benefits to using your event platform to engage your community year-round. Along with practical tips, we have provided some helpful tips on how you can make this happen.
Connect with people through events and meetings
Event platforms allow you to combine in-person events with online connections seamlessly. Face-to-face interactions, whether in-person or via curated virtual meetings, will strengthen and sustain a sense of community.
Events are a great way to launch communities. Your event platform can help you maintain the momentum.
You can organize events using agenda tools, session pages, and invitations for selected member groups. Your event platform also allows you to host these meetings in the same venue you used to schedule.
Make sure attendees have easy access to information.
Consider the word “community”–it shares the root word with “communication.”
Event platforms that make it easy to connect with your community in many ways are the best. It can be described as your private social network, where you have complete control over the branding and community standards.
This benefits at all stages of the attendee’s journey, extending throughout the year. It helps to build rapport between attendees before the big event by allowing them to share their common interests. Participants will have more chances to share their thoughts, challenges, and ideas at the event. Your audience will be able to communicate with you throughout the year, which is a sign that you have engaged them.
Platform customization can increase brand awareness.
It is crucial to increase brand awareness for recurring events. Ted Talks is an excellent example of an event brand that has created a substantial market for on-demand video content long after the event ends. Strong brands will attract loyal supporters who, in turn, become brand ambassadors.
Members can sign up for events on an event community platform. They can also browse your content and view your messaging, an online space that perfectly matches your brand.
Unlike social networking platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, the best event platforms let you customize everything online, from the color scheme to the background images. As media features become more popular, there are more branding options.
This helps build loyalty to your corporation, association, or non-profit organization.
Get more sponsorship revenue with an event community platform.
Notably, these branding opportunities can be easily redirected to sponsor goals.
Instead of giving your sponsors brand exposure for a short time, offer a year-round package. The package could include full-page ads, sponsored sessions, and banner ads. They’ll be able to browse your custom event platform and see firsthand how effective it is in driving brand awareness.
For better ROI reporting and market segmentation, track engagement
It wasn’t easy to prove to senior managers that your attendees were engaging and taking advantage of the networking opportunities offered by your event. With the advancements in event technology, it is much easier to measure event success and report ROI.
You can learn more about your attendees by allowing them access to your event platform. This information is valuable for showing sponsors how successful your event was and for future sponsors who can use it to gain helpful information about attendees’ preferences. Your event platform will allow you to segment your audience into targeted markets.
