“I think that one thing that might pop into people’s minds is associations… and basically – is this model able to create a community that just happens to have events that go into it?”
2020 changed everything we thought we knew about business events. Suddenly, name tags and conference halls were swapped for meeting links and living rooms. Now that the pandemic is hopefully easing up, how will people choose to connect? Will Curran, the Founder of Endless Events – a comprehensive event management company – talks about how people’s behaviors concerning event attendance have changed and must be kept in mind. He also shares how lessons learned from our recent event experiences might be applied moving forward to build inclusive and, perhaps, long-lasting communities.
Key Insights
How Can We Make the Most of A Virtual Event?
The main thing? Don’t try and make it just like the in-person event. Leaning into the advantages of a virtual event will make the experience different, not “lesser than”.
“I think one of the big challenges is everyone thinks it’s like trying to recreate the in-person experience virtually… I don’t necessarily think you need to do that. I do think that what you want to try to do is minimize the FOMO from the virtual experience.”
Content is King.
No matter what kind of event you’re putting on – content is going to be the star. Make sure that whatever you’re offering is interesting.
“You have to be engaging… to be able to keep people hooked. When it comes to virtual, especially right now, if I’m bored I’m gonna go watch Netflix in my living room.”
More than an App: Make a Community that Lasts
If you want to make a difference, you need to do more than make one great event. You need to create a community of people who are all excited about the same things.
“I think that really is where the future is, is like the more that you can make [the tech] seamlessly integrated with each other, the more that people will stick with it. But if it’s just another app in download – they always end up download the app – you know, and then a week after the conference, they delete it… and we want to make sure that we’re avoiding that. And instead, we’re getting people to stick and keep communicating, keep engaging with us all year long.”
About the Guest:
As the founder of Endless Events, Will Curran has been named one of the most influential people in the meeting & events industry, one of the 40 under 40 event industry leaders, 35 entrepreneurs under the age of 35, and Inc Magazine’s Coolest College Start-up all before graduating college. Will has been producing in-person and virtual events since high school when he started his first company and has now worked in the production of large event clients such as Emerald City Comicon, Anheuser-Busch, Warner Brothers, Morton Salt & Uber. His team’s mission is to simplify the event planning process by creating the equation for an event’s perfect solution. They also relentlessly seek to be the name in customer service in the events industry. From event logistics to business development to technical production, Will Curran has a diverse background in growing events and companies to the next level.
