I hand picked 4 of our... less tech-savvy members and used them for testing everything tech for our conference! It was easy to identify 4 people who I knew would struggle just from previous communications regarding tech! Once identify, I reached out to each by good ol' telephone. I asked them if they had considered attending our virtual conference (2 said yes, two said probably not because it sounded too hard) and then I spoke to them about what I had in mind for them.
Basically, they would get free registration ($300+ value) for simply doing what everyone else would do, but then providing me with all the feedback. I had one person attempt to register with no help and he was instructed to only email for assistance using the conference registration "contact us" function. He actually worked it all out with no need to use the contact us (yay!) but he did give me some great feedback. The second person I gave the same instruction as the first so I could again test the "contact us" function. She did send an email asking a few questions and I was able to email back a response and she continued with her registration, no problems. The third and forth people I setup a call with and had them talk through everything they were doing as they were doing it. I told them ahead of time that I would give limited help as I wanted to see how long it took them to work things out for themselves.
All in all - my testing worked out great and I got two really valuable things from it: 1. Some of the language we were using was clear and by having people technically challenged going through the process, it was very clear to see what edits I could make to help the process progress smoothly and 2. It gave me some great items to add to our FAQ's and other informational content on our conference website. My 4 testers were all very happy to help and appreciated that I had thought about the struggles they may have had - The obviously appreciated saving the cost of their registration!
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Sharna Pascolo
Program Director
Texas Society of Architects
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-28-2020 11:24
From: Danielle Czark
Subject: Huddle of the Week #2: Engaging with Non-Tech Savvy Attendees
Happy Monday, Community members! We are back with the second of our new weekly series, Huddle of the Week. In case you missed the first discussion, the Community team will be posting one discussion question every Monday for you to engage and learn more from your peers during these times. The questions will range from industry best practices, pivoting your programs during these times, planning for a post-pandemic world, and more.
Our second discussion question this week is: What are your suggestions/best practices for the non-tech savvy or older generation attendees to participate & engage in a virtual event? Particularly for those who are not familiar with interactive websites, virtual meeting providers like Zoom, social media, etc.?
Please reply with your thoughts and ideas below. Feel free to ask additional questions or share your own experiences, as well! Remember, initial thoughts can spark more ideas, so be sure to share your insights, even if you do not have direct experience.
If you agree with other users' replies or found it helpful, be sure to click the Recommend button. #HuddleoftheWeek #VoiceIt
#ManagingVirtualEvents
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Danni Czark
Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
Cvent
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