PCMA Convene: A People-Based Approach to Virtual Meetings

Next week, PCMA and the Virtual Edge Institute will release a new research report that takes a fresh look at the role of digital technology in the meetings industry.

Instead of the typical "virtual versus face-to-face" approach, this survey took a comparative approach, looking at how digital technologies can best be used within the framework of meeting environments. The survey asked: Why do people attend in-person and online events? What business goals are being achieved? How are attendees engaging within these environments?

Check out the full survey information.

Several points that I found interesting from a meeting planning perspective, which reinforce my opinion that virtual events just aren't going to replace face-to-face events any time soon:

1) The networking just Isn't the same. Only 33% of people surveyed said they traded contact information with other attendees in a virtual meeting, versus 78% of people at a face-to-face meeting. That's a lot fewer connections being made.

2) Attendees pay less attention. Virtual meeting attendees are more likely to IM due to boredom, shop or surf the web, take a phone call, check email, and leave the meeting than face-to-face meeting attendees. Online attendees are easily distracted, which means your content and delivery has to be twice as engaging to deliver the same educational value.

3) You'll have to charge less. Only 25% of people surveyed said they would pay the same for a virtual event as an in-person event. That's 75% who expect virtual events to cost less. Pretty important stuff when it comes to evaluating revenue and expenses for your next event.

The Myth of Facebook Marketing

We are often asked whether clients should try to incorporate social networking into their meeting marketing. Facebook, in particular, comes up frequently -- it seems that the application has received so much press in the past three years that for some people it’s synonymous with social networking.

Facebook should not automatically be part of the conference marketing strategy for an association or professional association, except in select cases where the value proposition is clear. Most 30+ professionals use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, sharing photos and stories about their personal lives. We hesitate to join professional groups or fan pages because we like to keep our personal lives private.

As the age of your demographic increases, putting one’s personal life out on the internet for all to see becomes even less appealing. If you’re doubtful, consider the fact that ASAE has over 22,000 real-life members but just 338 Facebook fans. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has over 6,000 members but just over 400 Facebook fans. These organizations are spending precious resources managing an outreach platform that is reaching just a tiny percentage of their members.

Unless your meeting is geared towards twentysomethings -- or it’s in a market segment where Facebook is common currency -– creating a professional group on Facebook is likely to be disappointing. Though social networking and viral marketing can be successful for many conventions, Facebook is not the right fit for most groups. Stay tuned to the blog for ideas about effective social networking tools that are successful for event marketing.