Sherry Hayes-Peirce’s view of her computer screen for a recent Facebook Live event she hosted for the Catholic Mom website. (Instagram: Church_social_tips)
CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
And that’s a good thing
A big part of my year is usually devoted to traveling to speak at Catholic conferences. But as the impact of the pandemic forced organizations to pivot from in-person conferences to virtual ones, I had to pivot too.
So far, I have been a virtual speaker for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ annual C3 technology conference, and it saw registrations for the online conference exceed the numbers for the in-person conferences from previous years.
After three years of being a featured speaker at the Diocese of Sacramento’s Ministry Days conference, they too opted to have a virtual conference in 2020. Then I was asked to present a virtual conference for #IgiveCatholic participants on how to use social media to promote themselves during their annual campaign for “Giving Tuesday.”
We are now in the eighth month of the pandemic and other organizations have opted to cancel conferences entirely. The hope of so many in the industry is that 2021 will see a return to the traditional conference experience. However, I don’t think that’s very realistic with the economic challenges, health and safety issues, and travel restrictions we’re all facing.
But instead of lamenting over what used to be, you could use this time to revamp the conference experience offered by your organization. Doing a conference virtually creates a golden opportunity to develop and showcase speakers to a broader audience.
For instance, the Damien and Marianne Catholic Conference based in Hawaii has really struggled to draw people from out of state. This year it is offering a series of free webinars in the hopes of sharing the stories of Sts. Damien de Veuster and Marianne Cope. No trip to Hawaii necessary.
COVID-19 is also a great time for speakers! Because some organizations aren’t able to pay for the traditional speakers they usually contract with, this could be your chance to speak remotely for free while promoting yourself — priceless!
If individuals or organizations aren’t willing to move into virtual spaces, they risk losing attendees and market share in the Catholic space.
For Catholics, the Religious Education Congress, hosted by the Los Angeles Archdiocese in Anaheim, California, is one of the most celebrated events of the year. Next year marks its 65th anniversary and the 50th for its popular youth day! But this year they will present these milestone conferences virtually. It illustrates the seismic shift in presenting a conference in the 21st century.
The experience of a virtual conference in 2021 will be the springboard for future conferences to be a hybrid that broadens attendance in years ahead.
Sherry Hayes-Peirce is a digital communications consultant based in California.
