It's been just over a year since we were forced to retreat indoors and avoid close contact with one another. At first, it was pretty exciting; but very soon, the excitement turned into a slow (and painful) realization that some experiences simply cannot be recreated online.
No industry was spared when the coronavirus outbreak took over the world - the food & beverage industry included. But while many other industries were able to move their operations from the physical into the digital environment, foodservice providers were left paralyzed; after all, most food-related experiences require face-to-face interactions.
One thing becomes crystal clear as we approach the second quarter of 2021: the chances of large conferences or trade shows taking place in-person this year are close to none. Despite our hopes, it'll take months for the vaccines to be widespread enough to turn the tide, so online events will continue to dominate the event industry.
When it comes to faith, nothing is more important than congregational closeness. After all, seeing one another face-to-face and sharing unique praying experiences is what prompts deep spiritual engagement for believers. But it's not as simple to recreate this level of closeness when the global pandemic and social distancing measurements make it impossible to gather together in the house of worship.
Although virtual open days have been around for a few years now, it wasn't until recently (Coronavirus) when college and university campuses fully embraced the open day digital experience.
Hybrid events are becoming the new standard in the event industry. It would have been hard not so long ago to find one that wasn’t a tech-based conference or a corporate business event. Today, however, with the rise of meetup groups and the increasing popularity of speaker series like TED Talks, there is plenty of room for various hybrid events. These changes indicate that people rely less on physical locations to get things done and more on connecting digitally.
Hybrid events are set to dominate the future of the event industry. While 2020 undoubtedly belonged to virtual events, 62% of event planners agree that the hybrid model will lead the way for B2B gatherings as soon as the threat of COVID-19 subsides.
Virtual career fairs are on the rise - and not just because of COVID-19. The thing is, physical hiring events were never able to reach their full potential for one simple reason: geographical restrictions. Organizations, universities and recruitment agencies were only able to reach a fraction of top candidates at high-ticket prices.
It's not just the global outreach that makes hosting a virtual career fair so appealing. Both, candidates and organizers appreciate the convenience and cost-effectiveness of online job fairs too, since travelling and venue costs are no longer a concern. And with more aspects of life moving to a digital environment, it's becoming more of an expectation (especially amongst college students) to enable virtual recruiting.
COVID-19 might have made them a necessity, but the global pandemic coming to an end does not mean the end of virtual events too. Hosting conferences, trade shows or career fairs online, while won't replace the live experience, could prove invaluable in the post-COVID reality.
How many ads or social media posts promoting virtual events do you see daily? With thousands of global organizations switching to online events in 2020, creating a truly compelling event marketing campaign on any given digital channel can be quite the challenge.
