How video can make your online research conferences better attended, more engaging, and easier to navigate.
Online events have become a major part of the digital landscape since the start of the Covid pandemic. No more so than with scientific conferences.
That’s both good and bad.
Going virtual has allowed people who otherwise couldn’t afford the time or cost of travelling to conferences to attend them. And not having thousands of people flying around the world to be at events in person clearly has a positive environmental impact.
But there are challenges.
Competition for delegates is high. How do you attract people to attend your conference when there are so many to choose from?
People are done with standard zoom-style presentations. We already spend so much of our time communicating with colleagues and others on video calls that the idea of spending three or four days doing more of the same isn’t very appealing.
The process for involvement can still seem complicated. Different online platforms have different requirements when it comes to uploading presentation materials, for example. And how the virtual conference spaces are designed differs from one to the next. So attendees need help learning how to navigate the online spaces and how to interact with other visitors.
Thankfully, videos can help overcome all of these challenges! Here’s how…
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Check out these other posts from our Research Comms blog for more ideas of how to boost your own research communications
Promoting your event and driving sign-ups
Now that there’s less of a barrier to attend events in terms of cost and access, researchers have a greater number of options, making it harder for conference organisers to attract people to sign up for their own events.
A short promotional video is a great way of raising awareness about your conference, capturing its spirit and purpose, highlighting the opportunities for sharing knowledge and networking, and giving potential attendees a glimpse of what the experience might look and feel like.
Plus, social media posts with videos are x times more likely to be shared than a post with just text or a still image only, so a promotional video will help spread the word to many more potential attendees.
Videos can help create a more engaging experience for guests
You’ve managed to convince people to sign up for your conference, what now? The next challenge, of course, is to curate an energising, engaging, worthwhile experience for them, once they’ve entered through the virtual doorway.
Don’t just organise a bunch of talks by researchers sitting in their living rooms.
It’s fine to have a bit of that, but punctuating Zoom-y presentations with more creative, captivating video content is a great way of keeping attendees engaged and providing some much needed respite from staring at grainy talking heads for hours on end.
Same goes for researchers who are presenting their work at a virtual event. If you really want your presentation to stand out, don’t just share your screen and open up some still images from your latest research paper. Consider creating a video to introduce your topic and bring those images to life!
Helping attendees prepare for the event
There is no standard procedure when it comes to how online events are designed. And the same goes for the processes involved with submitting abstracts, posters etc.
You can put your delegates at ease (and avoid having to field hundreds of confused emails) with a series of how-to videos, guiding researchers through the process and helping them understand how the event will be run once it starts.
These are just some of the ways that video can be used to create better online scientific and research conference experiences. But I’m sure it’s not all. Which online events have you attended where video or other digital media really enhanced the experience?
Let me know over on Linkedin
Or if you’re interested in finding out more about how video can take your own online conference or event to the next level, get in touch! We’d love to help.
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This blog was written by Peter Barker, director of Orinoco Communications, a digital communications and content creation agency that specialises in helping to communicate research. Find out how we’ve helped research organisations like yours by taking a look at past projects…
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