Although many businesses are returning to the use of in-person events, virtual events aren’t going anywhere. In fact, the number of virtual events will increase in 2022. According to a survey by Kaltura, almost half of organizations plan to host more virtual events in 2022 than 2021.
Clearly, there is something about virtual events that not only organizers appreciate but those who attend them as well. If you’re hoping to have a more effective marketing strategy in 2022, you need to seriously consider using virtual events.
If you’re not yet convinced, keep reading. We have six reasons why you should focus on virtual events not only this year but also in the future.
Whether people like to admit it or not, we are all about convenience. This is why several facets of business are shifting online, including customer service operations. If there is an effective way to do something remotely, people will be drawn to it. It’s the same with events. Sure, we like to be sociable, but if we can be remotely sociable, even better!
Everyone involved in virtual events, from event planners to keynote speakers and audience members, feels that remote events are more convenient than in-person events. Scheduling and attending requires a lot less effort but the event can be just as rewarding.
There is no need to travel, so visas and the like aren’t necessary. Also, it doesn’t call for people to travel great distances and risk being late. Once the event is over, getting home safely or going to an expensive hotel won't be a problem to negotiate either. And if anyone at the event feels unwell, they can simply step away from the event without the risk of making others sick.
Another convenience is that when you organize a virtual event, you won’t have to spend months on the arrangements. Instead, a few weeks will be enough, and your attendees likely won’t have to take time off work to enjoy your event either.
There are many benefits to hosting virtual events, and cost-effectiveness is one of them. Source
Virtual events were a bit strange and awkward at first, but event organizers have learned to make them more enjoyable. And when an event is enjoyable, even a virtual one, more people will want to attend. In general, more than 70% of virtual event attendees find themselves satisfied with their experience.
There are many ways that virtual event organizers can make sure their audience is having fun:
Virtual team-building games and competitions can add excitement to a remote event, as long as planned properly. You may want to hire people to take care of this part of your event, as it can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Adding well-known hosts and professional keynote speakers to events will also attract more people and keep them entertained. You don’t necessarily have to hire Hollywood celebrities; just get people in your industry who have made a name for themselves to share their experiences and knowledge with your audience.
Depending on the image of your brand, you can even host online galas or video game challenges that attendees can take part in. If possible, you can also use these activities to promote your brand’s products or services. There are endless possibilities for entertaining your audience; you simply need to put some creative thought into the planning of your event.
Hosting an event for your business can be very good for marketing purposes but also costly. Virtual events don’t have to cost as much as in-person events. You can actually save a lot of money by opting for virtual events over their in-person counterparts.
Paying for a venue, taking care of the expenses of speakers and hosts, making sure guests have somewhere to stay, and ensuring there is enough food and drink for everyone can be difficult. With virtual events, none of these problems even have to be discussed.
You’ll also likely pay less for your speakers because they can be present from the comfort of their homes. What’s more, it will be easier to have speakers and hosts from overseas join your event. Your audience will also be able to be part of your event no matter where they are in the world.
Since hosting a virtual event is much more affordable, you can also offer tickets at a lower price if it’s a paid event. This will result in more people being able to buy tickets and attend your event than would have been possible otherwise. They also won’t have to spend money traveling and staying in hotels, etc.
In the end, virtual events cost organizers a lot less and have maximum ROI potential. It’s a win for everyone!
Online content tends to be more engaging, and the same principle applies to online events. People like them because elements like Q&A sessions and product demos are easier to access.
In-person events provide more networking opportunities, but that doesn’t mean there are no opportunities for networking with virtual events. It will just take the right platform and a bit of careful planning from organizers if they want to offer attendees these opportunities.
To keep engagement as high as possible, make sure your content is crisp. Start by building hype around the event. Create a landing page to promote your event, and start spreading the word. You can use social media contests and giveaways to get people excited about your virtual event.
During the event itself, keep sessions short and sweet, add humor to the content you present, add lots of visuals, and give your audience ways to interact. Get them engaged in different ways, like taking part in live polls and having live chat and meeting options available.
If you can find a way to gamify your event, even better. Reward attendees for being engaged and interacting and have digital treasure hunts. There are many ways you can use gamification to enhance the engagement of your event.
Peer-to-peer events didn’t seem like the kind of thing you could pull off virtually, but event organizers have found ways to do just that! Events like marathons may seem like something that just isn’t possible without in-person attendance; advancing technology is making it possible.
For example, you can hold a charity event where people run a marathon or ride bicycles, and their progress can be monitored with fitness tracking devices. Virtual charity events are a great way for brands to show their audience that they care about things that matter to the communities around them.
P2P campaigns are growing in popularity for this reason. It’s now possible to do this effectively and can be a lot of fun for everyone involved. If you hold a virtual event that focuses on charity, you can also attract more people. That is why all large-scale events will either be virtual or hybrid in the future.
Virtual events are awesome no matter from whose perspective you look at them. Source
The possibilities are almost endless – you could hold P2P campaign events that are about animals and pets (think: pet parades where people dress up their furry friends and show them off).
You can even host webinars about promoting your business while getting your audience involved in unique ways. Just make sure that you use the best webinar software, so the experience is as high quality as your ideas.
Customized experiences are becoming something that users expect from businesses, and it’s no different with virtual events. Once a person has signed up or bought a ticket to an event, you can use their details and give them a warm, personalized welcome when the event starts.
You can use the event itself to make future personalization more effective. Collect information about the interests of your attendees and build reports that you can use to share relevant content and insights with them in the future.
In addition to tracking your attendees’ behavior, you can also use polls and surveys to get more information from them. This data that you collect can help you give your audience a highly personalized experience when they interact with you again.
You can use your virtual event to learn about your attendees’ likes and dislikes and use them for eCommerce personalization. For example, if you’re a clothing company and an audience member spent more time at the product demo of a new dress than interacting with anything else at the event, you can send them an email with a discount on that dress in the future.
Consumers love personalization and they’ll be more likely to shop with brands that offer good personalization. Source
Virtual events are here to stay, and you should get in on the action.
Start planning your own virtual event today, and keep everything you learned here in mind to ensure you’re making the most of your opportunities. Good luck!
Popular Categories