Four Ways to Use Interactive Content to Succeed at Virtual Tradeshows
The pandemic has affected almost every aspect of our lives, including how we present and market our products and services. Industry events and tradeshows have been hit especially hard. Typically calling for gatherings of hundreds or even thousands of people, those affairs have been pretty much impossible to pull off in the current health climate.
For those who know, I am now at Aggreko and loving it after saying goodbye to Baker Hughes after almost nine years. Before I left Baker Hughes I, on day one of the COVID shutdown, met with the executive team and made the problematic decision of stopping all tradeshows and events. I am the one who took our EVENTS and WEBINARS ONLINE last year.
I hope you enjoy the read.
A complete 70% of event holders have moved a portion, if not the entirety, of their in-person events to a virtual platform. As for the format, 69% decided to do webinars, and 62% live-streamed their feature events.
Although, fortunately, technology provides us with such options, moving from live to virtual platforms means that a lot of communication gets lost in translation. People are not as attentive when a virtual event has no interactive elements. It can be difficult for businesses to explain how products work when buyers are not able to see them in person and interact with them.
So what can companies do to make up for that lack of personal touch?
This article presents four approaches that will make it easier for you to communicate your product's benefits via a virtual platform while adding interactive elements to make your presentation more engaging.
Interactive Content: Product Demos
Interactive product demos are compelling for clearly explaining how a product or service works and what benefits it provides.
By using an animated format that allows viewers to see product features and components and how they operate clearly, such demos take the audience through the workings of a product from beginning to end. Illustrated motion provides an interactive experience that makes potential clients feel as if they are turning and touching the product themselves.
Here is an example of how an interactive product demo works—in this case, a 3D video of a reefer container by PinkSquare that shows how the container operates. Viewers can rotate it, open it, and check out its features.
Videos and other interactive elements can be used in conjunction with audio and text, or they can be used as a visual only.
Interactive Content: Multimedia Presentations
Options for including multimedia elements in your presentation are numerous. Here are a few things you may consider adding:
Polls. Your presentation can briefly switch to a quiz or poll window, asking your audience relevant questions about the information included. It will keep them more involved and encourage them to watch more carefully.
Interactive infographics. Data visualizations encourage people to dive into your content and explore. They work exceptionally well if you present big data sets or aim to illustrate trends clearly and compellingly. In fact, 85% of B2B marketers are already using or plan to use interactive infographics as part of their marketing strategy, according to a report by DemandGen.
Interactive video. Video is another great way to break up a presentation and illustrate points through a visual format. Tip: Make sure the video plays at regular speed and audio volume on the virtual platform you'll be using to present.
Interactive Content: Gamification
Combine educational elements with interactive games to make learning and discovery more attention-grabbing. Gamification can be both an alternative to in-person events and an addition to virtual events and tradeshows.
Adding gamification elements will also add a sense of competition to your presentation, increasing excitement.
You can include games in your presentation in various ways. The most straightforward and obvious is to include quizzes, which we have already touched on. But here are some ideas to make your presentation even more exciting:
Give it a gameshow element. Have participants compete against each other to win points for their answers. You can reward the best players with gift cards for relevant products, content, or merch (feel free to "steal" that approach from the B2C world—it works nicely to drive interest and engagement). Freebies are a great way to promote your business further while making your presentation fun.
Make it interactive. Another idea is to feature a game that shows users how a product works. With the right type of software, you can share a screen that allows viewers to control components with their mouse and turn products on, move them, and "use" them in a virtual format.
In-house scavenger hunts. You don't always need software to add gamification to your presentation. You can also have audiences do something on their end, such as searching their home or office for a red object, or any item with a specific description. Tip: It's a good idea to tie the object they are looking for into your presentation. Activities such as those make ideal opener icebreakers.
Time for Q&A
Something as simple as leaving time for Q&A can make your presentation more exciting. Try to answer all the questions and concerns your group may have. but if you are working with a larger group, you may have to set aside time to answer their questions after the meeting.
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In closing, I want to say… My wife is finally recovering from COVID-19, She was on a ventilator for nine days, and I am very blessed that she is now on her way to recovering. For three days, the doctors told me to brace for the worst. Thank you, God, that she’s made it and on the road to removing.