How People Can Still Network At Virtual Events

The emergence of the Coronavirus has caused many companies and organizations to rethink their meetings and events strategy. While some companies have postponed or rescheduled events, others have cancelled them entirely - such as both Facebook and Google cancelling their annual developer conferences. Furthermore, banner industry conferences like SXSW and Mobile World Congress have gotten the axe, with surely more to come. In fact, according to intelligence company PredictHQ, there was a 500% increase in major events cancelling or postponing in February, with March currently tracking at an 875% increase. But in the effort to stunt the spread of Coronavirus by cancelling events, these organizations are sacrificing the often business-defining networking and relationship building opportunities these events cultivate. For some brands, events and trade shows are their lifeline - a place to engage with retailers or partners and to show off product, and they simply can’t afford not to host or participate in them. 

That’s why others, and the discussion around events in the wake of Coronavirus, have turned largely to hosting meetings virtually. And at Proxfinity, we know human connection is at the heartbeat of good business, and technology affords us ways to connect like never before. With our platform, data is the seed for sprouting a meaningful connection - and we’re helping clients to capitalize on that in this evolving environment.

With today’s tools, we have greater ability to disseminate messages - whether its via webinar or a live stream, event organizers can still get vital information in front of their audience. But what they can’t do? With participants siloed behind their screens, they can’t necessarily get the audience interacting and creating the connections that could drive business value. After all, meetings are an over $1 trillion global business for a reason - they bring people together to identify opportunities that help their business scale. 

So how do we get people comfortable and mingling with one another when they aren’t in the same room? With Proxfinity, we can identify if they share a common interest, personality trait, professional objective and more to establish common ground. Our back-end platform can activate even when people aren’t face-to-face. Using a simple survey, or even with insights the client has already collected, we run the data through our matching algorithm to create personal dashboards for attendees to see who they match with, and on what criteria. We can then layer these insights into the virtual event so people feel comfortable engaging in live feeds, forums, sub-groups or even reaching out directly. Users can use the information to enhance their event experience before and after it as well - identifying people they’d like to engage with and chronicling the lifespan of their interactions during and after in the dashboard to translate that connection into something more. We’re taking the social aspect of an event and putting it online in a way that is natural, efficient and doesn’t distract participants from the event itself. It’s a roadmap for knowing who you should talk to and why - meaning we can still make valuable connections, even in sweatpants from our couch. 

This can extend far beyond events too. For companies that have large workforces and subsidiaries, mining and analyzing this type of data can create a sense of community among people who work in different parts of the world. Especially as workers become more remote in response to Coronavirus, it’s important for business to still cultivate an inclusive and comforting work environment. 

Face-to-face meetings and events will always be a valuable part of how we do business, but as we navigate these new hurdles and explore moving the experience online, we can still retain the most valuable part of the event, connecting with people who can make our lives and businesses better.

Interested in how Proxfinity can help you better create an effective, inclusive online community among employees or cultivate meaningful networking as you explore hosting virtual events? Get in touch with us and we’d love to see how we can help.   

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