When we started pushing events online 5+ months ago, the “2-screen” experience was typical: view the live streaming program on one screen while bidding/donating on another. This approach has been used successfully (in some cases very successfully), yet questions arose. Were we losing any bidders due to 2-screen viewing?

So the scramble was on…all of the sudden, “1-screen solutions” were being feverishly promoted and created. The thought was, if viewers could bid on the same screen as the livestream program, well, that would just solve everything, right? I mean, it would be *just like an in-person gala, wouldn’t it? What could go wrong?

Curiously, (but – in hindsight – to be expected) new challenges arise with 1-screen online event software. “Latency” emerges as a buzzword. During an in-person bidding experience – say, in a ballroom – every audience member receives the auction bidding info at the same time and anyone can raise a bid paddle. However, for online virtual galas, numerous inequalities arise. Are viewers on laptops, smart TVs, tablets or phones? How fast is their internet connection? Which cable or phone provider? 

And, perhaps we really can’t replicate the in-person bidding experience virtually for other reasons.

Most benefit auctioneers would tell you that it takes an average of 3 minutes per item when selling from the stage. While other types of auctioneering calls for liquidation and efficiency (selling 1-2 items per minute), charity fundraising auctions necessitate entertainment and mission reminders along with the selling.

And one of the main reasons fundraising auctioneers like myself get hired is audience engagement/stage presence. While we are highlighting the best features of that item and asking for bids, we are doing 2 other CRITICAL things: scanning the faces and reading body language. Based on our observations of the audience, we decide when to ask for a different dollar amount, add more package details, or mention how another bid helps the NPO do their mission. All while staying mindful of our tight timeline, looking out for distractions in the room, etc. 

Now, in the Virtual Gala world of today, all of those critical audience cues are gone. People are either bidding exactly at the moment we’re asking – or they’re not. And we can’t know why. Is it a technology issue? Viewers aren’t interested in the item? Or some are interested, but got distracted just this minute? Or the auctioneer isn’t compelling? 

Thus, it’s *Much harder to know when to call an end to the bidding. And, for viewers isolated in their own homes versus watching the action with friends at a gala table, non-bidders are even more disconnected from the auction. Doesn’t that make their attention span even shorter?

So do we close each “live” auction item after 2-3 minutes of real-time bidding, or “check in on the bidding” and leave it open?

Discuss and decide with your fundraising auctioneer. Your decision affects all viewers, and, very likely, your $ raised.

Previously published on LinkedIn.