As we walked into the digital world, digital ways of communication have overlapped in-person interactions with each passing year. The value of face to face interactions can never be beaten. But in the dynamic virtual world today, going virtual has become a crucial part of any business or organization. An incline towards virtual events has been witnessed in the past few years. It has rapidly taken up the pace during the current global pandemic that resulted in the cancellation of various physical events.
Hosting an online virtual meeting with remote employees or organizing multi-day virtual conferences with global delegates or team leaders has become a crucial part of any organization. With the advancements in technology, virtual meeting solutions allow you to host the meeting from the comfort of your own desk on the best virtual meeting platforms.
Virtual event technology enables you to host educational sessions, meetings, conferences, webinars, trade shows, job fairs, and many more on the best virtual event platforms with advanced networking opportunities that keep attendees engaged throughout the event.
Various restrictions such as geographical constraints, limitations in capacity, venue, etc. are overcome by virtual event solutions. While hosting virtual events or hybrid events the same care and attention are required which we invest in in-person events. Apart from being reachable, virtual events are a cost-effective measure and help in measuring the analytics of the event.
When you plan to host an event online, you need to plan it accurately to deliver lasting experiences to event attendees. To make the virtual event successful, promoting the event effectively, and engaging the attendees throughout the event is a must. It works the same way as physical events do, the only difference is the virtual space and on-site attendees converted into virtual ones.
Hybrid Events offer engagement-driven experiences that add value to the entire event. The screen is the new venue for hosting impactful virtual events that amplify engagements and create memorable experiences.
In this article, we have shared an ultimate guide to virtual events. To understand the significance of virtual events in detail, let’s take a plunge in the world of virtual deliveries to create lasting event experiences.
A Definition of Virtual Events
Have you ever attended an online virtual meeting, joined an online yoga class, taken an educational session online, watched an on-demand video, been a part of multi-day virtual conferences or webinars from the comfort of your own space, if yes you have experienced what virtual events are.
An event that is organized in a virtual space and allows attendees to have access to it irrespective of their geographical locations are known as virtual events. It does not require the attendees to gather in person, they can enjoy the event from the comfort of their own space.
Virtual webinar services offer networking options that make the event more interactive and drive better engagements. It helps in enhancing participation and enables attendees to have one-on-one interactions. With the unfortunate current situations around the world, virtual event services have become an integral part of almost every organization.
Virtual is the new normal and is likely to go beyond the rectangular screen to deliver event experiences worth reminiscing. If you have not thought about hosting a virtual or a hybrid event, now is the time to walk with the ongoing trend and enter the gateway of the virtual world. Host the events on the best virtual event platforms and maximize your reach.
What are the types of virtual events?
Virtual events compile a mix of events that you can host on the virtual event platforms online. hybrid Events technology enables you to host various events online whether it’s an internal event of an organization or an external hybrid event, thus boosting your pan presence and delivering phenomenal results. Have a look at 4 major types of virtual events:
1. Webinars
As the name suggests, a webinar is an online seminar that is organized on the web. Virtual webinar services allow organizations to host a webinar that usually lasts for 40 to 80 minutes approximately. It allows attendees from around the world to join in and listen to the speaker and share their knowledgeable insights on the topic in real-time. Companies can even decide to charge attendees to attend a webinar or can offer a free webinar session. To hold the interest of the attendees throughout the webinar, companies opt for speakers who have a thorough knowledge of the subject & can hold the interest of audiences throughout the session. Virtual webinar services offer interactive tools like Q&A sessions, chats, audio & video conferencing, etc that helps in boosting virtual attendance thus allowing attendees to interact in real-time.
2. Virtual Conferences
Multi-day conferencing conducted over the internet in a virtual space that allows business partners, clients, shareholders, and so on to connect irrespective of their geographical locations are known as virtual conferences. Same as in-person conferences, virtual conferences include Keynotes sessions, breakout sessions, and much more. Virtual conferencing tools make it easy to share slides and presentations during a conference to make the conference even more engaging and interactive. Virtual conferences enable attendees to have access to keynotes in real-time and build their own agendas and interact with attendees.
3. Internal Virtual Events
Nowadays, internal virtual or hybrid events have become a part of almost every organization. Town Hall meetings, Annual general meetings, virtual onboarding of new hires, company’s events, interdepartmental meetings, training, and many more lies under internal virtual events.
Virtual event technology allows you to carry out internal communications on a safe and secure platform that keeps your company’s privacy intact. Virtual meeting solutions bring the remote employees of an organization under one roof virtually.
4. External Virtual Events
The events that are organized for people that do not belong to the organization come under external virtual events. Hosting a trade show or an expo on the virtual event platforms lie under the line of external virtual or hybrid events. External virtual events reach millions around the globe with reduced costs and increased attendance. It engages the attendees interactively thus resulting in better leads and conversions.
What are the benefits of hosting a virtual event?
Virtual events work on the same agenda as in-person events to deliver the company’s message effectively, amplify better engagements, boost lead generation, and magnify revenues. Virtual event solutions come with various benefits that in-person events lack. Virtual events are much more interactive when compared to physical ones as they comprise interactive tools like chat rooms, audio/video/text chats, help desks, etc. that allow you to interact with the audiences residing in any corner of the world. A virtual event platform allows you to host your virtual or hybrid event seamlessly and reach a wider segment of audiences without having any restriction of location, time, venue, and resource.
It’s time to switch from old ways of organizing an event to host virtual ones. If you have not yet planned to move your events or meetings online in a virtual space now is the time to get started and leverage the benefits it serves.
1. Budget-friendly
When compared to in-person events, virtual events are a cost-effective measure that delivers valuable event experiences to audiences worldwide. Organizing in-person events requires spending revenues on venue, accommodation, foods & drinks, marketing, and so on. The amount spent on all these gets completely cut off while hosting virtual events. If you are on a budget, hosting a virtual event on the best virtual event platforms and leveraging from virtual event technology is the right decision.
2. High accessibility
There is no doubt that virtual events are highly accessible. Physical events come with certain restrictions, but virtual events overcome all. Anyone living in any corner of the world can have access to virtual events which is far beyond the reach of in-person events. Virtual events overcome many barriers thus resulting in better lead generations and conversions. Virtual events allow anyone to access the event from the comfort of their own home.
3. Works on a casual approach
During in-person conferences or meetings, one needs to dress exclusively to attend it. Virtual events work on a casual approach and alleviate the formality.
4. Time-efficient
Virtual events are a time-efficient measure and require much less time in planning when compared to physical ones. In-person events require planning six months in advance before the actual event. Right from meetings with sponsors & vendors, selecting an event location, hiring a virtual event service provider, and so on is done a few months before the actual event. Whereas in virtual events, a virtual event platform takes only about a month for the complete event set up.
5. Valuable experiences
Virtual events allow audiences to interact directly with the brand in real-time via interactive tools, thus resulting in delivering valuable event experiences. Audiences can share valuable feedback while commenting in real-time. The most relevant questions are answered by the brand directly and the valuable feedback is taken into consideration by the brand resulting in driving better engagement.
6. Sharable
Virtual content can be shared on various social media platforms, thus expanding the reach and reaching audiences from where they belong. The clips of virtual events can be used on websites to generate more traffic.
How to run a successful virtual event?
To run a virtual event successfully, the right planning and execution is a must. Explore the virtual events platform or virtual meeting platforms to host an online virtual annual general meeting (AGM) or a brand event. Keeping certain points in mind helps you make your virtual event successful, let’s take a tour:
1. Determine the objective
Before you plan to host a virtual event, determine the objective of the virtual event. The broadcaster must be clear in mind about the topic of the event to achieve the desired results.
2. Create unique content
Content always plays a great role in the failure and success of an event. A unique content engages the audience and keeps them hooked throughout the event.
3. Outline the budget
Outline the budget before proceeding with the planning part. Make a checklist of resources and where to allocate them to run a virtual event successfully.
4. Planning comes next
Planning beforehand is a must to ensure the success of a virtual event. You must be clear about what to do before, after, and during the event. Format of the event, time and date of the event, number of sessions, etc. should be decided beforehand keeping your target audience in mind to run your virtual or hybrid event successfully.
5. Select the right virtual events platform
Nowadays, there are various virtual event platforms that offer brilliant features to host an online virtual event. Select the right virtual event platform depending upon your potential audience and the goals you want to achieve.
6. Create offers
Organize Q&A sessions, polls, etc. that allows the audience to interact directly with the brand. Create temptations that your audiences can not refuse. Offer on-demand content for the audience who missed out on the live virtual event.
7. Keep the audience engaged
Work out on marketing strategies to keep your audience hooked throughout the event, thus resulting in making your event successful. Make your sessions or virtual events interactive to keep your audience engaged.
8. Promote effectively
Promoting the event in the right way always works. It contributes to the success of the virtual event. Promote your virtual event effectively 3 weeks prior to the actual date on the social media platforms to make your audience aware. Send reminders to the registered attendees via email a day or two before an actual event along with the link of the event.
Times ahead are calling to enter the walkway of virtual events. With the advancements in technology, it has now become a part of digital marketing strategies. It’s time to switch from in-person events and embrace the virtual ones!
