Last week I attended a digital summit where one of the talking points was ‘Have We Reached Peak Streamification’? It asked about what we can learn from the massive shift towards live UGC content including streaming and virtual events. I’d been on two Zoom webinars at the same time earlier that day as well as two others later that day and was definitely feeling ‘peak streamification,’ but it got me thinking about the proliferation of webinars: whether companies should be doing them and if so, best practices to employ.

We’re seeing that ‘Zoom fatigue’ is real, now it’s the standard way we communicate for work and social. It’s the new relative of ‘panel fatigue’ we were seeing before this crisis and is caused by an over saturation of programming, when it’s not considered by the hosts whether that format is a) the best way to market their brand or b) something compelling and of real value to their audience.

Here are my tips for running your own digital events program, particularly during the coronavirus:

Consider, should we be doing this? First, you need to assess whether hosting digital programming is the best use of your (most likely) stretched team and resources right now. Will your content be unique enough and of service to your audience? Is it contributing to your company’s objectives, or could other uses of this time and energy yield more benefit?

Stick in your wheelhouse – For us at The PR Net, we don’t cover anything not directly related to marketing, communications, events or media. Avoid generalist topics that are seen over and over again and focus where you’re an expert

Be relevant & helpful – Deliver intel on the things that are the most urgent and important to people in your community 

Be first & be original – It’s tough to be inventive, but right now trends are expiring so quickly that it helps a lot to be early and be creative. For example, virtual happy hours are already feeling old and stale. There’s huge power in being first, so even if it’s not perfect, it’s better to act sooner rather than later

Aim for the top – Look to recruit the leading voices in your industry, that people will want to hear from. Right now, you’ll be surprised who you can get on a digital panel, so go right to the top – the CEO, the editor-in-chief, etc.

While not every company should jump into hosting its own program, there are tons of great programs they’d be better served by joining into instead. Positioning your brand’s executives as thought leaders is a particularly valuable PR tool at the moment, so look for opportunities to align them with the right organizations and audiences to be heard.