The Harris Poll recently reported statistics that 61% of people prefer virtual events because they are safer, and 43% believe that virtual events are more convenient. Further, 39% of respondents say they can attend a faraway event from where they live, and 32% say it is less expensive.
Virtual events are typical, even the “new norm” as they say. However, why are they taking center stage, even post-COVID-19?
There are tons of significant reasons, and here is why.
Virtual Events Ideas
There are so many types of gatherings that can work for digital events. For businesses, it is a creative, low-cost, effective way to generate buzz, build sales, and thrill employees.
These are fantastic ideas to get the ball rolling.
Conference and expo
Virtual summit
Virtual team-building
Virtual training
Online brainstorming sessions
Virtual fundraisers
Speed networking
Virtual cocktail class
Virtual coffee breaks
Virtual happy hour
Virtual scavenger hunt
Team movie night
Online game show
Bring your pet to work
Virtual tour
Trivia night
Online murder mystery
Online illusion performances
Virtual flavor exploration
Virtual gala
Awards ceremony
Activity live stream
The sky is the limit of the types of events you can host. If you can dream it, you can plan it.
Virtual Event Benefits
Companies love virtual events as an alternative to in-person events because they can reap fantastic benefits. First, it is cost-effective. There are no travel accommodations, venues, and catering to pay for.
It will be easier to attract attendees if you can offer a cost-effective event because you will not need to charge a lot for ticket prices or pass on unexpected price increases to your customers. You may even make your tickets free to attend.
Real-Time Data
Central to the benefits of virtual events is the data you get. It gives you a better opportunity to strategize versus what you get with an in-person event.
It’s about more than contact information too, but seeing heat maps, web paths, and the time someone spends looking at your branding. With data, you can take ROI to the next level.
Eliminates Venue Constraints
Physical locations have a limit on who can attend in terms of available space, accessibility, and venue location. Virtual events have no limits in these terms. Virtual events can meet flexible requirements based on what you need..
Inclusive
Invite people from all over the world! Some virtual event platforms can offer solutions for translations and captions, to make communicating in various languages easier.
The biggest benefit of virtual events is that they are truly more flexible and convenient for both planning and attendance.
Virtual Event Tips
First, all good virtual events are relevant. Create them in a way that considers what is going on in the environment.
For a conference, trade show, or expo, you must make it relevant to the market and industry trends. When creating a fun employee experience, you want to make an event that captures their interest or teaches valuable lessons and not just another version of the Monday meeting or All-Hands.
Time it Right
When you have an event that you wish to host, you want to plan the appropriate time of day and duration. If it is a conference, make it multiple days, but make the hours concise, such as a four-hour duration on both days. This way representatives will not become burned out from being online too long.
If it is a happy hour or training session, make it an hour or less. Again, you want to captivate the attention of your audience. Anything too long will seem frustrating.
Choose Your Vendor Wisely
In the same way that a venue can make or break the experience, so can the technology. They do not make all virtual event platforms the same. Choose one that will be the best reflection of you and your brand. Talk to your production company about who they like to work with, if you haven’t settled on an event platform for your event. They will have experience with many of them.
Successful Virtual Events
At Parasol Video, we are enhancing the virtual experience. Planning events can be an enormous task, so if you can ease some of the burdens, choose a simple virtual event live streaming service, like ours.
We want you to host successful virtual events. That is why we offer a quick, controlled process. Book a brief meeting with us now to learn more or check out our article on virtual event best practices list here.