VENDOR HIGHLIGHT – TECH PLATFORMS

After a year of cancelled events, postponed events, and virtual events, we are now at the point where in-person and hybrid events are not just a possibility, but a definite probability. With restrictions lessening by the day and week, in-person events are absolutely happening. In the coming months it will be difficult to gauge attendees’ willingness to attend events in person. All in-person events will more than likely be hybrid events, with a strong virtual component for those attendees who feel passionate about supporting your cause but are more comfortable doing that from home. The importance of creating an engaging virtual program for your nonprofit event is more important than ever.

Creating the virtual program that dovetails nicely with your in-person program and works the best for your virtual attendees depends almost entirely on picking the correct tech platform to stream the virtual portion of your event. After producing 30+ virtual events in the past year, Powered by Professionals has utilized many tech platforms. As we begin working on numerous hybrid events for this fall, we would like to highlight two of our favorite virtual vendors that we are excited to now integrate with our live events: Cadence and OneCause.

When one of our clients was searching for a tech platform for their entirely virtual event, they were looking for a platform that would enable their guests to connect with each other in multiple ways. We suggested Cadence, and PBP worked with Cadence to produce a highly successful, engaging event for all the attendees. Attendees were assigned to breakout rooms based on their history with the organization, both before and after the main program. Attendees also utilized a Facebook-style feed in the lead up and throughout the event, as well as set up personal profiles so that attendees could connect with one another one on one. Cadence also offered a very robust navigation sidebar which really helped to showcase the client’s sponsors and allowed for simple integration with other platforms and websites.

Another client had two points of focus for their virtual event: they wanted a tech platform that would really highlight their silent auction items and make it easy to keep the bidding going throughout the program, and they also wanted their constituents to be able to chat throughout the program and event directly on the main event page. We suggested they use OneCause and their Virtual Event Center, and the client’s event was a rousing success! Virtual attendees chatted throughout the program (the chat feature was right next to the screen livestreaming the program) which really brought all the attendees a great feeling of connection. And the silent auction was quite a success; attendees could bid from their mobile phones while never taking their attention away from the program happening on the main screen.

Hopefully your 2021 event will be hybrid, and hooray for the in-person portion! Don’t forget to embrace the virtual component, however, and the best way to fully engage your virtual attendees is be choosing the correct tech platform. Cadence and OneCause are two of our favorites, and there are countless other options based on your needs! Powered by Professionals is poised to help nonprofits produce engaging hybrid events by partnering with great vendors; please let us know if we can help you this year.