Maxim Blinkov/Shutterstock.com By Alexandra Caufin
As the leader of an association, you know how important your annual conferences and meetings are for your members and for the financial strength of your organization. Conferences across the world are going digital with an exciting array of new live streaming and video-conferencing technologies, and yours should be no exception.
Going digital with your conference is no longer a cutting-edge idea only for the technologically brave. It’s now both easy and inexpensive—and more than this, it’s going to be necessary for the survival of your association. Here’s why:
As the leader of an association, you know how important your annual conferences and meetings are for your members and for the financial strength of your organization. Conferences across the world are going digital with an exciting array of new live streaming and video-conferencing technologies, and yours should be no exception.
Going digital with your conference is no longer a cutting-edge idea only for the technologically brave. It’s now both easy and inexpensive—and more than this, it’s going to be necessary for the survival of your association. Here’s why:
 Expand your reach. By going digital, your conference suddenly becomes accessible to members and potential attendees all over the country, and even, the world. By creating an online knowledge environment, physical location is no longer a factor or barrier for people interested in attending your conference. |  Connect with the net generation. The upcoming generation of learners are tech savvy and eager to learn in the same way they’ve been socialized. This means digitally. Being able to provide your net generation members with digital opportunities to participate in conferences will set your organization apart from those that are still stuck in traditional and limited conferencing delivery. |
Maximize value proposition for attendees.
The simple fact is, you can’t be in two places at once. This is especially problematic when your conference attendee wants to attend multiple sessions at the same time. If conference-goers had the opportunity to participate in every session of a conference, some physically and some that have been digitally recorded, it would present an obviously greater value proposition than one-time only conference sessions.
The simple fact is, you can’t be in two places at once. This is especially problematic when your conference attendee wants to attend multiple sessions at the same time. If conference-goers had the opportunity to participate in every session of a conference, some physically and some that have been digitally recorded, it would present an obviously greater value proposition than one-time only conference sessions.
 Attract potential new members with more economic online pricing. Non-member tickets for conferences can be very pricey, and yet, conferences are an amazing way to attract potential members to your organization. By digitizing your conferences, you can offer special online passes for the conference at a reduced rate. It will appeal to your non-members who are considering joining the organization, want to see what it’s all about, but don’t want to pay a massive non-member fee to attend. |  Build new revenue streams. Going digital means that you can offer potential attendees more options for attending the conference, and a wider price range in tickets. Participants can buy a pass for a certain amount of online sessions, a full online pass or an inclusive conference pass that allows them access to all physical and online sessions. The options are endless and you’ll be appealing to all kinds of learners, some of whom want an in-depth conference experience and some who want less of a time and financial commitment. You’ll also be able to repurpose recorded sessions for online courses. Add quizzes, surveys and certificates and create accredited courses for your members online! |
