It's no surprise that authentic content and small, intimate groups are key to feeling engaged. Now more than ever, with social distancing and stay-home orders in place, keeping audiences engaged is so important as we move to a more digital world, where A) the four walls of a physical space is no longer available to keep us immersed, and B) there is much more competition for viewership, with more and more events going live.
I noticed that those same elements of authenticity and small group settings made my virtual French conversation meetups so engaging and productive. And other online events that applied those same principles were the ones that resonated with me the most.
Ever since my French conversation meetup moved to biweekly Zoom meetings, I've left each meetup feeling immersed with each of the 20 or so members. The key to quality conversations? The Zoom host sends us to breakout rooms of 3-4 people, and we are placed in a different room with different people every 10 minutes. The setup of small groups and rotations allows us to mingle with everyone in the meetup and gives everyone a chance to converse. Plus, without a constraint of a conversation topic forced upon us, our conversations flow naturally and I've been able to practice my French in a more natural way.
With more livestreams happening, I've felt that the events where I feel most connected with the performance or artist/performer has been ones that embrace authenticity and intimacy for the audience.
A few of my favorites:
Emika's live performance from her studio: Not only was it amazing to see her sing and play piano live, I got a glimpse into her forest-inspired studio space and saw her studio setup. Emika also picked up a set of bells and shared a story of how it inspired one of her tracks -- something that most likely would not have happened during a typical live performance on stage.
Ray Chen's "OFFSTAGE With" Interview with Jasmine Choi: Violinist Ray Chen hosts interviews with classical musicians around the world through his "OFFSTAGE With" series on YouTube, and I found his interview with flautist Jasmine Choi incredibly engaging. Normally, I lose interest with interview videos after a few minutes, but the dynamic between Ray and Jasmine was so organic and real, and they held my complete attention for the full 60+ minutes on a conversation about the flute, an instrument I don't even play! I felt like I was in the room with them, laughing along with their jokes while also learning so much about the instrument itself.
Brent Estabrook's Instagram Live Q&A: I've been following Brent's work of colorful, textured paintings for a while, and I jumped to join his live Q&A session. With a small audience group at the beginning, I was able to ask several questions in the chat, which Brent personally read and addressed. Unlike some livestreams where hundreds of people are commenting at once, where the audience nor the livestreamer can keep track of the comments, this Q&A felt much more personable, and I felt more connected in learning about the story behind some of Brent's artwork directly from him.
Social distancing will most likely not go away anytime soon, and livestreamed content for the mass audience will most likely still remain. But the extra engagement aspect may be achieved with the supplement of a "VIP" experience of small-group fireside chats or "private viewing" of an artist/performer's space, where the artist/performer can also have the opportunity to know their fans on a closer level.
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