Virtual conferences vs in person. What actually works for you?

[ElizabethRule]

With LocalU Global coming up on January 28, I’m curious how people here feel about virtual conferences compared to in person events.

• What do you genuinely like about virtual conferences?
• What frustrates you or causes you to disengage?
• And what do in person events still do better in your experience?

LocalU Global is fully virtual again this year and is leaning into live Q&A, hot seats, and interactive formats, so it feels like a good time to talk about what makes a virtual conference worthwhile for local SEOs.

Would love to hear thoughts from anyone who has attended both virtual and in person events recently.

 

[fisicx]

In person is great because you can meet other people, make connections and be sociable. Virtual also works because you can have it playing in the background while you get on with other things.

With both poor speakers who waffle on without getting to the point will make me leave both live and virtual events. If you can summarize your speech into a 10 minute presentation why do you need to keep going for an hour? Even worse if it's death by powerpoint.

 

[keyserholiday]

Conferences are already extremely draining. I get home from a conference exhausted. Sitting at a computer all day to watch an online event is mentally taxing and draining. Then you add in the online chatter, and I am wiped out that night. The nice thing about in-person events is that you can get up, stretch your legs, and talk to people during breaks, at lunch, and afterward. It's all about the connections and conversations.

All I ask for from an event is different content and speakers. When you see the same speakers repeatedly, or the conference comes across as an all-day sales pitch, that's a turn-off for me.

 

[fisicx]

All I ask for from an event is different content and speakers. When you see the same speakers repeatedly, or the conference comes across as an all-day sales pitch, that's a turn-off for me.

Even worse when those speakers still churn out the same old myths and misinformation.