Change is life’s only certainty. This old adage rings more true in today’s times than ever before. And here at cred, we’ve been working hard to not only track these changes but also provide our partners and followers with the best strategies to tackle.

Our CEO, Caitlin provided some great insights into the conference industry in a blog post in May. Two months later, we’re sharing the latest finds based on our State of Events Survey, distributed to our community of 7,000+ leaders in communications, conference planning, and event marketing.  

The power of virtual events is undeniable with 85% of respondents reporting that they have pivoted event plans to virtual in some way. 

Date changes + scheduling 
70% have had to reschedule a planned in-person event to either virtual or to in-person at a later date. 

For the virtual events reschedules, over 70% chose different dates than originally planned for their in-person event and over 50% said they are offering more content virtually than their last in-person event. Shorter sessions were a common theme with respondents—one of our top tips for an effective virtual event. During this summer of digital fatigue, it may seem like everyone is hosting a virtual event, however, based on our responses, 60% said they’re planning fewer events this year than originally slated. 

Virtual platforms
When it comes to platforms, just over 70% of respondents are using Zoom for their virtual events. On24 and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram Live also received a few honorable mentions. You can read more on our top picks here. 

Networking + engagement 
Not surprisingly, the biggest pain points with virtual events are fostering networking opportunities, engagement, and the ability to monetize. In a recent blog, we explored the best ways to maximize engagement and tackle virtual networking and are adding a few survey suggestions like High Fidelity and SMS strategies to our toolkit. 

Despite these challenges, a resounding majority, at 70%, value virtual events as much or even more than in-person events, specifically during this year. 

Returning to in-person events + outlook for 2021
For in-person event planning, 21% of planners are aiming for Q4 of 2020, while 50% are scheduling for 2021. 29% are holding out hope for an in-person event sometime in Q3. Over 50% of planners are expecting fewer in-person attendees compared to past in-person events. 

We expect that those anticipating Q3 and Q4 events are mapping out hybrid plans—events with a mix of in-person and virtual sessions—especially since less than 5% of respondents said they would not feel comfortable traveling to an event via plane for the remainder of this year, unless advised by the CDC. 

Looking ahead to 2021, 67% of respondents believe their 2021 event budgets will be decreased compared to original plans. We predict event planners will be able to save on food and beverage, venue fees, and travel expenses for lower in-person attendee headcounts and continue to take advantage of many of the cost-saving benefits of virtual events as we transition to hybrid events. 

TLDR—our biggest takeaways from the State of Events Survey: 

• Once again, there is no denying the value of virtual events. They are here to stay, even once in-person events return. 

• Virtual events provide the opportunity to offer more content than ever before (in shorter durations). 

• While there are countless video engagement platforms on the market and more popping up every day, Zoom’s ubiquity and ease of use and applicability remains supreme. 

• We expect in-person events planned for Q3 to pivot to virtual, and events in Q4 to pivot to hybrid or fully virtual depending on location and target audience. 

• Hybrid events and the first in-person events of 2021 will have fewer attendees onsite and likely operated on tighter budgets.  

Big thank you to all of our respondents for your time and thoughtful responses! 

We love chatting about all things virtual, hybrid, and the future of conferences in general. Interested in idea-sharing or learning more about how we can help you host your own digital event or elevating your voice on screen at upcoming virtual events? Get in touch!