For many of us, working from home and conducting business during the pandemic came as a package containing a video tool that was virtually unknown for the mainstream consumer 6 months prior. I am, of course, talking about Zoom: the video conferencing app that took the working-from-home world by storm.
Just to give you a small insight into how meteoric Zoom’s rise to fame was, in December, 10 million daily participants were using it. Now it’s more than 300 million.
However, we have now entered a phase of what many are calling “zoom fatigue” – mental exhaustion associated with online virtual conferencing. Numerous articles have been written on the subject around the main causes of ‘zoom fatigue’ such as over-usage, the lack of real life face-to-face communication and there has been plenty of advice on how to overcome the fatigue too: build in breaks, avoid multitasking, turn off your front facing camera.
How can we make virtual experiences better post-Zoom fatigue?
If you have ever taken part in a Zoom event or talk, you will be aware of the shortcomings video communication tools have compared to live events. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
At The Virtual Event Company, we knew that we needed to do things differently and re-imagine the way we currently interact and consume content. Here are the main areas that I believe will transform your next virtual event and cure Zoom fatigue in the new normal:
Great content
Content will remain king – the main attraction for any sort of virtual consumption, be it a talk, a tradeshow or an experience. Get this one right first and 50% of the job is done. Users’ behaviours in this aspect has not changed much since the beginning of time. They still want to be wowed, entertained and learn new information.
Networking
What if I told you that the next stage in virtual interaction will be on a more human level than what you are currently using: interactive avatars, native chat and networking in virtual reality and immersive web.
Engagement and immersive experiences
Keeping your audience engaged has become a zoom pain point lately. We work with technology that uses avatars that interact with each other, allowing customers to engage with company reps in the virtual event space as if they were there in person, as well as with digital assets. Avatars can attend live keynotes, speak via native in-browser talk, chat and collaborate around content, training sessions and presentations.
Production value
One true differentiator between a traditional video tool and specialised virtual event technology is the value of production. We work with technology that allows you to create immersive, rich-content experiences using 3D objects, 360 videos, PDF’s, demos, links and presentations, that blow all previously held beliefs about virtual events out of the water!
Get in touch with us today and take your next virtual event beyond the constraints of Zoom.