Online Communities and Online Events: The Perfect Match

by | Nov 6, 2018 | Blog

Online communities have become a valuable component of an organization’s engagement strategy.  According to the advisory firm IDC, the online community market will reach $1.2 billion dollars by 2019. A University of Michigan study found that customers / members spent 19 per cent more after joining a company’s online community.

Paralleling the growth of online communities is the expansion of the virtual event market. Virtual events include virtual conferences, virtual trade fairs, livestream programs, webcasts and live courses. Market Research Media states, this market will grow from $14 billion annually in 2018 to $18 Billion annually in 2023.

Online communities and virtual events bring people together to exchange ideas, network and learn. Since they basically do similar things, there are advantages to connect these two offerings to provide greater participation and engagement. The premise is based on the knowledge that participants are already psychologically committed to their community. They established their picture and profile, have made connections and are accessing resources. In integrating and offering virtual events, participants can continue to use current features. Support for registration and access will be in place.

Integration of community and virtual events is now possible through Higher Logic’s integration with a virtual conference site through CommPartners’ Elevate Platform.

Here are five reasons to consider folding in your virtual events through your community:

  1. Positioning virtual events as an added resource to current engagement vs a separate offering will increase the likelihood someone will register. A trust has been established and participants have already bought in to the value they are receiving.
  2. Attendees can use their picture and profile that’s already established in the community for each event. 
  3. Adding virtual events will nurture greater commitment and participation in the community.
  4. Attendee participation in virtual events will be counted in the community’s reporting of individual and overall engagement including the rewarding of ribbons and badges.
  5. Conversations that begin in an event can seamlessly evolve once the event is over.

There is a belief that sharing of knowledge that occurs through a community, an LMS or virtual events should not be segmented and separate. If we can have these resource integrated and seamless, both the learner and organization will benefit.

For additional information about CommPartners Elevate platform integrated with Higher Logic Communities, contact Meghan Gowen at mgowen@commpartners.com