It is no surprise that 2020 has been an eventful year for the entire event industry. The world is under the influence of the COVID-19 virus which created havoc in the environment. Since the onset of the worldwide pandemic people have started becoming more and more aware of precautions, social distance. This essentially means that people stopped attending mass events physically in the lie of the virus outbreak. Thus, amidst the pandemic, the event industry encountered a shift in trends towards virtual and hybrid events. Let us understand more about this emerging trend by analyzing the top 10 trends we think will shape the event industry in 2021. Without any further ado let us get right into it.
Top 10 event trends for 2021
Hybrid is the future
Many organizers and professionals believe that hybrid events are the future of the event industry. Generally speaking, hybrid events are a mixture of virtual and in-person components, meaning a segment of inviting both sides of the parties to gather in one commonplace and conduct events like conferences, meetings, trade shows, exhibitions, AGMs, and whatever else. Whatever event you are willing to host, hybrid events have it all. Hybrid events enable all the attendees to have a shared experience without compromising on the interaction. By leveraging the latest technology and with proper planning, you can deliver an immersive and exclusive experience. Experts even consider hybrid events to fill the gap between traditional and online events, thus proving to be more effective.
Safety
Since the onset of coronavirus, organizers and attendees have become aware of the significance of social distancing. Thus, for the foreseeable future safety is expected to be the primary concern of the organizers to minimize the spread of any infection. Event managers and other important professionals will be equipped with the safety tools and testing kits to identify and secure any infection if found. Events may now also require all the physically attending attendees to undergo health screening and tests to ensure the total safety of the events.
Technology
Technology is ever advancing, the potential of technology in the event industry was realized well after the onset of the virus. Since the introduction of the virtual event platform, organizers have been keeping an eye out for the latest technology to be incorporated into their events to make them more interactive and engaging by offering tools and features that will eventually make their events effective and efficient simultaneously! Wearables and sensors are also available in the market for tracking purposes, in addition to greater interaction wearables will also analyze the attendee’s health and provide real-time data which will also help in keeping the event safer.
Upskilling
Event organizers and professionals need to constantly revisit their events and be creative in order to improve their events. The key thing that attendees desire is convenience and comfort, thus the event industry is left with a never-ending approach to achieve the same. Post-pandemic has to constantly upgrade their events to accommodate and engage their attendees as the ideas of hybrid and virtual events are something new for many audiences. Event planning certificates are a way to future-proof your event career.
Virtual events
The true potential of virtual events was realized after the onset of the pandemic. Almost every event organizer who had to cancel or postpone their traditional events started adapting to the idea of virtual events and thriving in the same! Statistically, 93% of event organizers are expected to make investments in the virtual event platform. Thus, massive upgrades in the virtual event industry are expected in 2021.
Cybersecurity
With the introduction of virtual and hybrid events, a question of virtual security arises in the mind of global attendees and organizers. Since events will be conducted over the internet, broadcasted all over the world it is essential to make the event secure so that no data leak occurs. Top government agencies around the world have reported an increase in cybercrimes thus it is significant for the event organizers to safeguard the attendee’s information. Events are expected to undergo security audits that will analyze and report how safe an event platform is, such as ISO certificate, privacy shield, and PCI DSS compliant. Passwords and ReCAPTCHA are something most of us are familiar with, they are used to determine the authenticity of the attendees and provide them with a unique set of characters that allows them to access their accounts or events.
Event Solutions.
Since the availability of 3 main types of events, it is significant to bridge the gap and provide an all-in-one solution. Consider having an all-in-one solution for your events instead of investing time in multiple solutions such as websites, platforms, banners, etc. follow a holistic approach and keep necessary tools and features in your treasury for your team to leverage and make your event as seamless as it can be.
Prioritizing Data.
For hosting a successful event it is significant to understand the attendee’s perspective regarding the event. surveys and feedback are tried and proved one of the best ways to understand the perspective of your audience that will provide you with crucial data which can be leveraged when hosting your next event. Organizers have started leveraging the new data collected from their attendee’s experience which has helped them improve their event ROI.
Event personalization
Personalize your event to keep your attendees engaged, a monotonous approach will disengage your participants and will cause them fatigue. Track your sessions and provide your attendees the liberty to personalize their avatars in the event. Provide them content themes and east to navigate the platform for maximum engagement. Reach your distant attendees with targeted messaging and compel them to participate with their personalization in the event. a tailor-made event is expected to have a greater success rate in comparison with a traditional event.
Sustainability
Traditional in-person events took a toll on the environment and your pockets. With abundant wastes and vast expenses, they became subject to criticism. On top of that, they were difficult to manage. Though we understand the significance of traditional events we also believe in sustainability. Keeping your events eco-friendly and cost-effective is the right way to go. In the long-term, these 2 features will keep your pockets and the environment healthy and green!
Over to You
Since the onset of the corona pandemic, the event industry has experienced a shift in trends towards hybrid and virtual events. Thus, it is significant to understand and adapt to the new trend to engage your audience. In the above-mentioned article, we have mentioned the top 10 trends that we think will shape the event industry in 2021. This year is going to be about experimenting, and we support that because we cannot improve unless we try.
