People have always been confronted with a common need, that of communicating. We communicate in all our actions or lack of it, but the most important is verbal communication. And today, several reasons have made interaction  in person very difficult. 

Over time, technology has developed to adapt to human interactions needs and new forms of communication have emerged along with different ranges of engagements.

We communicate around a topic, ideas, products, goals, interests, wants and needs. We are discovering that our communication must be organized  around the need we have to communicate.

We learn that if we communicate with people by sharing topics, ideas, products, goals, interests, wants and needs, our communication becomes more efficient and consequently, our goal is reached faster.   

people with whom we interact around the need to communicate become a community.

Today, in the same principle that traditional (in person) communities, online communities help people from the same families, social circle or with common interest to communicate.

1. Online community in event management industry

Communities are an integral part of the social tissue. All our social, economic and professional life is now organized around the communities we are part of.  Although they don’t have all the same features and may be used for different objectives, the main goal is to connect people online.

In recent years we have seen a trend in the organization of events, which is that of digitalization and online communities play an important role in the process.  

There are 3 aspects to the digitalization of an event: Marketing, informative and managerial (Marketing & Promotion, Information and Event Management). Organizers built a website dedicated to the event for many reasons but most of all to advertise and promote their event. Next, to provide all the information about the event, access, program, schedules, bio of the speakers, etc.. And then to help manage the attendees (registration, contact , profile …) of the event.

For the organizer, it is a way to communicate directly with all the potential attendees, giving them all the information they need to make their participation as smooth as possible and the event a success.  Furthermore, after the event to have the possibility to know the number of attendees, and to build a contact file (collecting data), to have a more substantial understanding of the event.

The trend has evolved from a need to communicate with the public to a more interactive role. Indeed, platforms that accompany the event now offer attendees the possibility of being able to contact each other online, but above all to organize meetings online. Basically, it is as if you have the business card of each participant and in relation to your needs you can contact the right people and schedule a meeting during the event or just take the details and contact them at any other time.  

The event is held in a specific place (venue/website) and time. And all those interactions are done within the event duration. But what about if the attendees need to get in touch after the event, and  that’s where communities intervene. 

In fact, after the event the attendees who made contact during your event naturally add themselves on another community platform to keep the communication going. So, if there is any follow up, it would be without the knowledge or control of the event organizer.

Is it for the benefit of the event organizer?

Why should it be two platforms, one for the event and another one for future interactions between the attendees?

Why the event organizers should consider the importance of having a community platform?

2. Guarantee sustainable and continuous engagement with a community

With the Covid -19  pandemic, online events such as webinars have grown to be now the only way to deliver or attend an event. 

How to keep the attendees on the event platform? By giving them a community platform they need to stay in contact and have access to the stakeholders in the industry in which they operate.

The attendees can stay in contact after the event by joining the community resulting from the event.

The concept is simple, instead of developing a platform to manage an event, for attendees to match and meet people with the best similarities during the event, extend the offer by giving to the attendees the opportunity  and a space to interact without restriction of time.  

The observation we made is that members of online communities are people engaging in interactions with a determined purpose and know in advance what they are looking for. So, the platform provider must equip  the platform with tools allowing its users to have the best experience in terms of communication as well as the personal or professional growth that the platform users are after.

We believe that a community platform should have certain features allowing the members of the community to be able to communicate in the best of condition and for the organiser to maximize the value of the platform.  

Tools such as video meetings to help participants/attendees to get the best face-to-face appointments, and conduct meetings in the best environment. 

Analytics for the event organizer to take advantage of most real-time reports to analyze trends and adjust their performance. Survey, to collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group, and all those things, Appsaya already has it.

3.     What are the advantages of the online community?

1. The event is no longer time defined, the impacts are not only seen during the events but the platform keep them alive and running
2. Engagement and direct access to all the stakeholders of the industry at all time, Networking all year long.
3. A space where the event and the interactions resulting from it between attendees are enjoyed and centralised within one place