In Person vs Virtual Events: What’s Best for Patient Education Seminars?

In the digital era, do in-person events still work to drive leads and new business? As social media, webinars, virtual events and Facebook live broadcasts keep us glues to our screens (seriously – adults stare at screens for more than 10 hours a day) how can businesses justify real world events to reach new clients?

Maybe your company is thinking webinars and virtual events should take over for face to face patient education seminars with your partners in practices.

Perhaps your current doctors and other healthcare partners are pushing back or asking for more digital outreach.

Digital is here to stay

That’s okay. Digital is here to stay. And as you know, testing and exploring new ideas is vital to success.

However…

Here’s the thing… as powerful as digital is and as cheap as it can be to launch a virtual event – much cheaper than paying for a venue, catering and event merchandise – it may not be as lucrative as some would lead you to believe.

Face to face, hand to hand still holds great power.

Marketing strategist, speaker, author and event launcher Joe Pulizzi (also the founder of Content Marketing Institute) says in his bookContent Inc.: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses, Joe explores this interesting dichotomy of analog events in a digital world.

Joe essentially points out that as much as the internet can connect us, it really doesn’t. Human interaction and bringing people together remains very powerful when it comes to building experiences, educating people and getting us to do business.

Whether it’s a marketing and sales event or a gathering of electrical engineers, events have continued to grow over the years in the face of social media and digital connectedness.

You can ride this wave with your continued execution of educational seminars in person with your practice partners in conjunction with online experiences. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

Digital and In-Person Together

Here are a few ideas for combining the best of both worlds when it comes to patient education events.

Digital mini events

When you’re planning events with an office, consider launching a few mini webinars to educate on certain aspects of your offering. This can test the waters for patients wanting to go digital, and reach the audience not yet ready for the in-person event.

Maybe you can’t cover everything in a live or recorded webinar, like actually touching a product or asking questions, so holding a mini-webinar with the promise of more will entice attendees to go further and come to a live event.

Facebook lives for promotion

Test the digital waters with Facebook live events exploring the educational impact of your message. Maybe your healthcare partner would be willing to “go live” with you, to answer live questions from their audience. This kind of partnership can drive interest and deepen your relationship.

The promise of free stuff

You can’t exactly feed people through a webinar. Using social media, email and other digital tools to connect should support the live event where the magic happens. When patients understand that the event isn’t a sales pitch but an educational experience with food and refreshments, they’re more apt to give you their time. Who doesn’t love free stuff?

Go analog to stand out

In the age of Siri, Alexa and Hey Google, basic human interaction and connection like empathy will set you apart. Connecting with doctors and their patients, understanding their needs and aspirations and showing compassion will draw people away from their screens.

In much the same way, things like handwritten notes and actual conversations shine in an email world.

When developing your patient education seminar strategy, keep analog efforts in mind to complement your digital tools. Direct mail, face to face interaction, phone calls, business card-style handouts and other “old school” tactics just might be the tipping point for reaching those patients.

Phone photo by rawpixel on Unsplash 
People at table photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash