As soon as the pandemic hit the world, needless to say, businesses were affected more than ever. The economic crisis comparison was not drawn only with the previous recessions, but at a level of world wars! There is no denying, this not only led to revenues gradually lowering down but eventually forced many organizations to cut short their expenses or in the worst-case scenario, shut their operations down completely leaving the only option to wait and watch!
But what was also born in this critical stage, was an opportunity! An opportunity for many agencies to be now transformed into their digital avatars!
The ability to develop innovations, and to change quickly as conditions dictate, is a critical advantage, but the sudden transformation in many such agencies brought along with it, a major set of challenges. Not only the majority of the agencies were not ready for this unforeseen devil but also saw the digital to be a small part of their entire plans and executions or let’s call it a ‘tick in the box’. Now, during the pandemic, the majority of them suddenly became ‘digital first’ but as a ground reality, had very less to offer in terms of strategy! This is when the gap between the client’s expectation and the agency’s execution started to grow. It is not just about changing the services section in your company profile but a much deeper understanding of what needs to be delivered and in the end will yield results.
To Start off with, here are some suggestions of how you can plan your online events more strategically and make your organization a Digital Thought Leader:
1. Strategize your execution: It is never about taking a physical event at large and tactically giving it a virtual tag. Just like the on-ground event, virtual events, if not planned strategically, lead to a similar result, i.e., failure! What needs to be fed into the entire plan is strategy. An online event needs to have just the correct mix of a relevant target audience, catchy messaging, right speakers, the right time, and just the correct platform.
2. Content Driven: Just the way one would focus on the right presentation content in a physical event, it is even more crucial to have a well-defined topic and detailed messaging to be imparted to the audience. Holding on to your audience virtually is a more tedious task as compared to an on-ground event! Make sure the messaging is apt, interesting, educating, and leaves something to think about! Your content strategy could also include real-time demos, poll questions, etc. to make it more interactive.
3. Audience Selection: Always remember, too much of an audience, especially for a B2B client, is never the demand. What a client wants is an audience that is relevant to the content being shared, which would at the end lead to business! Getting the right audience for an online event is not just half but maybe 75% of the job done.
4. Speaker and moderator Selection: A webinar/online event, is as good as a speaker or the host that conducts it. If your messaging rocks, your audience is just what it should be, but your speaker is not the hero, then expect the show to fall flat! If the show-runner fails, there is nothing that can make it work! Even if the speaker is a pro, it is important to practice the content that needs to be presented. 
5. The Platform Knowledge: In the end, having detailed knowledge on the platform you use is the key to hold a seamless online event. The important part here is to hold dry run with your speaker and everyone involved in making this event a success. A well-coordinated event between the speaker and the moderator stands out and brings about a professional approach.
“There is no alternative to digital transformation. Visionary companies will carve out new strategic options for themselves — those that don’t adapt will fail.”— Jeff Bezos, Amazon
The fact remains that a change is required which includes processes, people, and strategy and not just technology. Unfortunately, a handful of companies are building such capabilities. This is the crucial time to start investing in people, processes, and strategies to bring about innovations and provide more value to your clients! This is the right time to be ‘Digital First’!
