Many event organizers have made the move to a virtual format throughout 2020, but now that a new year has begun, it’s time to take it a step further and turn your online events into complete online experiences. With virtual meet and greets, customers simply purchase a session time from your event page, use a unique access code to enter an interactive waiting room, then have a few minutes to talk with their favorite artists and celebrities. Virtual meet and greets not only create unforgettable experiences for your attendees, they also offer brand-new streams of revenue for your virtual event, help expand your reach to worldwide audiences and grow your brand awareness every time a customer shares their experience online.
Read on for an overview of how virtual meet and greets and other personalized experiences can transform your online event into a virtually limitless experience.
Sell One-on-One and Group Meet-and-Greet Sessions
One of the most exciting parts of many in-person events is the opportunity for attendees to meet their idols, but with only livestreaming at their disposal, online events will fall short of matching the level of engagement audiences have grown accustomed to at in-person events. With a virtual meet-and-greet solution, however, event organizers can offer similar, personalized experiences online. Not only do these experiences create a much more interactive experience than a one-off livestream, they give those who previously may not have been physically or financially able to attend an in-person event the opportunity to meet face to face with their favorite celebrities.
For example, fandom conventions can provide one-on-one meet-and-greet sessions so each customer can have dedicated time to have a full-on conversation with their favorite celebrity to ask their burning questions or share their best fan theories. They can replicate in-person photo ops by offering custom backgrounds attendees can use to take in-session selfies with celebrities. A virtual concert can recreate the feeling of having a backstage pass with group meet and greets so several people can talk with the band before they start their virtual concert. Even a theater can pull back the curtain and give select audience members a tour of what it’s like backstage with the show’s stars hours before a virtual performance. By combining your livestreams with celebrity meet-and-greet opportunities, you’ll create an online experience with nonstop engagement for audiences around the world that could rival any in-person event.
Provide an Interactive Waiting Room
At an in-person event, there are unlimited opportunities for your attendees to interact with your brand, like participating in photo and video ops, playing exclusive games and more. When translating your event online, it’s important to continue to foster these organic experiences so your attendees can get to know your event and build a real sense of community. A great way to do this is by implementing interactive waiting rooms before your meet and greets so attendees can watch prerecorded videos of featured celebrities and sponsors, chat with other fans, answer questions to help guide their upcoming conversation and view their queue position. Not only will this drive more engagement and help connect your worldwide attendees, it also gives your team the opportunity to identify everyone who’s queued up for a session and create a seamless meet-and-greet experience.
Give Your Talent Full Control With Advanced Moderation Features
Just like at traditional events, your online event’s talent has a whole team behind them from start to finish. Instead of ushers, producers can add attendees into every meet-and-greet session. Instead of security guards, moderators crack down on inappropriate behavior and remove anyone who’s not following the guidelines. Instead of a sound or lighting check, attendees perform their own video and audio checks. Plus, the talent themselves can have full control over their sessions with tools that allow them to monitor and add to the time remaining, communicate with their team, and anything else they need to ensure a seamless experience. With advanced moderation features like these built into your meet-and-greet solution, you’ll provide smooth, highly engaging celebrity experiences your worldwide audiences have never seen before.
Offer Souvenirs Your Audience Can Keep Forever
No event, in-person or virtual, would be complete without a souvenir attendees can keep after their experience is over. After a meet and greet ends, you can send attendees a recording of their session, so they can have the ultimate keepsake of their experience and can share it with their friends, family and on social media. With a comprehensive meet-and-greet solution, you’ll be able to offer even more flexible celebrity experiences. And with personalized videos, customers from anywhere in the world, in any time zone, can receive a recorded video from their favorite celebrities.
Encourage your talent to also offer custom autograph requests so customers can hold a physical memento signed by their idols. These souvenirs not only increase your brand awareness with every share, they also help grow your audience and attract new fans for future events. Plus, it further extends the excitement of your event and keeps it top of mind, as customers eagerly await their purchase even after your online event comes to a close.
Ready to transform your online events into experiences? Patron Technology has you covered. Contact our team for more information on how our virtually limitless solution can transform your online event into highly engaging experiences, help you reach expansive audiences around the world and gain valuable insights about every attendee.
This article was sponsored by Patron Technology.