See you, IRL! Three Reasons In-Person Experiences are Still Relevant.
Dolls, right around this time two years ago we were coming up on the ‘we only need 2-weeks to get rid of COVID’. Can you believe it has been two years? Sometimes looking back it feels like a blur. The COVID-19 pandemic has single-handedly changed everything - including how we do business. While digital platforms, social media, and other online forums keep us connected, there is something about ‘in-real-life’ experiences. For example, two weeks ago, our ‘Doll Dispatch’ from our Facebook Group (join HERE) talked about the Metaverse Fashion Show.
If you had to choose, would you pick going to Paris Fashion Week or the Metaverse Fashion Week? I think most of us would pick the one that is IRL! So let's talk about 3 reasons why you should keep IRL experiences present in your business strategy.
1. More Personal
Dolls, there is nothing like getting to know someone in real life. Think about how online dating vs. meeting each other for the first time feels. It is a completely different connection and experience. Since those are not the details we want to get into for Dolls Doing Business, let's talk about what it means for your business and what ‘in-real-life’ experiences may look like for you.
Meeting customers or followers in real-life is likely an experience they won’t forget. They will get to physically realize that you are who you say you are or they are able to simply put a human face behind the business they know and love. In research studying how infants focus, they have a lot of trouble focusing on anything (screens) to the degree in which they do the human face, exactly the way it was made. What that means is, if facial features were switched around, they wouldn’t focus the way they do when the face is exact to the human form. Our brains simply aren’t wired to focus on a screen all day. So what does that mean for you? Well, it means that virtually people might not remember you the way they can in person. Doing events or opening a physical store gives you and your business the chance to make a real lasting impression. Can you name a virtual moment or memory you will never forget? Can you name as many of those as you can in person memories? Human interaction is a need - for one's mental & physical health.
What in-person experiences could look like for you:
Meet & Greets
Brunch/Lunch/Dinner Parties
Influencer Event Parties
Product Launch Parties
Learning/Educational Event
At POSH❤PR®, we can help you bring all of these things to life! Please reach out through our contact page!
2. Internet Fatigue is Real
Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by Zoom fatigue (🙋♀️). Internet fatigue is REAL!! Internet fatigue can be incredibly tiring & can negatively affect your mood. According to Stanford University, there are four reasons why people experience Zoom fatigue (or being in front of a screen for a long time in general).
Those things include:
“Excessive amount of close-up eye contact is highly intense”
“Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing”
“Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility”
“The cognitive load is much higher in video chats”
So not only are virtual chats/interactions fatiguing for you, it is for your customers and followers. Having in-person events will be a way for you, and them, to escape from being with screens all day.
3. It’s Just… More Fun
There is nothing like getting together with your friends or family and just hanging out! There is a reason we schedule lunch dates with our friends or go out to a winery with our significant other. While many of you have gotten creative with Netflix Zoom parties or virtual dates, can you really say you had more fun doing it online as opposed to in person? When we are with others, we can sense their demeanor, pick up on social cues, and better understand their needs and wants. It is much harder to ‘read the room’ when you’re virtual.
So, when planning your next event, remember the feeling of meeting people, understanding who they are, and how exciting it can be to give a hug or say a toast. While doing things online can be easier, cheaper, and sometimes even better, remember there is something about the connection with one another that makes being in person that much more special!
Cheering you on always,
Xo Caroline + The PR Dolls