White paper easily be overlooked . One of those is connected to the ease of attending . Providing people with extra time is always going to be well received . In the case of in-person meetings , delegates are expected to travel to the conference site . Virtual events , however , can occur wherever the participant decides .
As well as providing people with more control of their time , virtual events can also help with their learning . Understanding complex content with the option to stop and rewind , with the possibility of listening to all of the content that would usually be presented in concurrent sessions , are key highlights for delegates . The availability of the content and the option to view it on-demand were found to be critical convenience factors for virtual scientific meetings .
In addition to event content , healthcare professionals were asked what other online activities could improve their learning . The top three were webinars ( pre- and post-event ) with 80 %, followed by eLearning courses ( 66 %) and short videos on emerging topics ( 48 %).
According to the post-event evaluation , 44 % of participants expected most sessions to be interactive . Online discussions throughout the year were also important , as well as micro-learning activities .
This demonstrates that these professionals are looking for content pre- and post-event , which is something that event professionals across all sectors should be considering ( unless they do it already ).
Engaging exhibitors With exhibitors having to adapt to present their company ’ s products and services , the Kenes survey asked what engagement elements would encourage participants to spend more time in the exhibition area of the platform . A very useful question , especially as there are a number of instances that demonstrate a disconnect between the expectations of planners and those of exhibitors and sponsors . How useful it would be to close that gap to ensure that all parties benefit .
In the research from Kenes , the top three engagement elements were : live questions and answers ( with a pre-recorded session ) - 64 %, exhibitor booths with online activities ( e . g . competitions , materials ) - 39 % and having a chat function with other delegates / exhibitors / speakers - 39 %.
Taking a more general view , 52 % of post-event evaluation responses rated their aim at the virtual exhibition being to obtain a general overview of the company ’ s products and services ; and 38 % were looking for information about new products .
A technical question When it came to the tricky issue of what platform ( s ) to use , the findings were similar to the requirements of most planners . Essentially the study confirmed that the platform should be user friendly , easy and intuitive to navigate , and without any technical issues .
For the healthcare professionals the top features they wanted in technical capability were around the issue of content . That was the strongest factor , giving them the ability to have content and materials available online for several months . Interestingly , the ability to
network with speakers and experts was lower down the priority order .
Talk to and learn from your audience With this invaluable research , Kenes Group is in an even stronger position to create virtual events that continue to exceed what healthcare professionals require .
They have found that virtual events enable ground-breaking science to be shared and with an extended event life and that there are more opportunities for all stakeholders . From content requirements to pricing points and how to maximise learning , the data is right there to learn from .
What will work for you and your clients will be different . But there are some golden nuggets that we can draw from the findings outlined . Delegates will pay for your virtual event ; on-demand content is crucial as is the learning that comes from pre- and post-event webinars and online activities .
It ’ s clear that the healthcare professionals value virtual events . It ’ s time to talk to your audience and find out what makes virtual events work for them .
The White Paper can be downloaded in full at : www . kenes-group . com / healthcare-professionals-reveal-whatthey-really-think-of-virtual-events /
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