Fact: 93.2% of respondents considered their virtual event a success in terms of attendance rate.

Virtual Events:  what are they?

Online events are known as virtual events. They can be held as invite-only webinars, publicly accessible live streams, online conferences with admission fees, or unofficial social media events like live tweeting or AMA (ask me anything) sessions, depending on the objective.

Most virtual events have taken place on known social media channels where you can engage with your audience via audio or video calls. With the rise of virtual work, the market for virtual event platforms for webinars and conferences has followed.

The main advantage of holding a virtual event is that renting out space is unnecessary, making it reasonably affordable. In addition, you can deliver a speech from the comfort of your home to a worldwide audience.

The rise of virtual events

Companies may reach a worldwide audience through digital channels while spending less time and money. Artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and other cutting-edge technology support this trend. 

Additionally, in a post-pandemic environment, businesses and organizations engage customers through digital encounters. Virtual events are used by salespeople and marketers to move prospects down the sales funnel, increase demand, and generate leads. 

According to LinkedIn, 67% of businesses plan to invest more in webinars in 2020. In 2022, 40% of events will take place online, according to a more recent Statista report, while 35% will include both virtual and physical components. 

For conferences and business gatherings, leading brands like Forrester, Adobe, Accenture, and others are using online platforms. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, view this trend as a chance to reduce expenses while spurring innovation. 

Additionally, virtual events allow advertisers the opportunity to see which guests are coming by their booths, better understand the needs of their customers, and react to user behavior. Virtual events also have the advantage of facilitating data-driven decision-making and providing insightful data on consumer behavior. With the aid of this knowledge, you may create better items, enhance your sales funnel, and locate and resolve customers’ problems!

Best practices for virtual content

1. The caliber of the production is key. A well-produced session will have more engaged participants.
2. Consider the duration of the session. If the content format is boring and uninspiring, keep sessions shorter than you might at a live event.
3. Speakers should be trained and have their equipment inspected before to the event.
4. Give attendees the opportunity to participate in the sessions by including surveys and live Q&A.
5. Use a variety of formats. Include panels, video, and more in the offerings rather than keeping them to a single speaker and a basic PowerPoint presentation.
6. Test your technology and record the sessions that will be made available on demand before the event.

Tips For Organizing A Successful Virtual Event

The Planning Process

• Define your event purpose: Every event is created for a specific purpose. Before you begin planning, identify what the purpose of your event will be. Do you want to raise brand awareness? Gather leads? Engage with attendees? Foster networking? Virtual events require a clear focus. Put your event purpose in writing and let it guide your planning process from start to finish.
• Make a tentative budget for the event: The budget for your online event will be different from your physical event budget. While 25% of the expenditure for physical events is often allocated to technology and 75% goes toward venues, décor, food and beverage, staffing, travel, etc., the ratio is reversed for virtual events. Your biggest outlay will be for your technical requirements because the event will be held online.
• Create an event content strategy: Since there is no venue to pick or catering to book, your first task is to come up with a content strategy for your event. The attendance, engagement, and networking at a virtual event are all fueled by the content. Around that, the entire attendee experience revolves. When planning your material, give quality a higher priority than quantity. You have the flexibility to spread out the event across a number of days, give live and on-demand content alternatives, and keep sessions brief and informative because there are so many distractions available to attendees of a virtual event.

It’s Show Day!

• Inform Attendees of the Foundations of Virtual Events: Since it is a new initiative for your company, the audience is also learning about it for the first time or at least knows very little about the fundamentals of virtual events.

Therefore, as the event begins, you should notify attendees of the fundamental steps, the schedule, how to access the streams and sessions, how to take breaks in between, the length of the event, and other crucial details. This will make it easier for them to understand how the virtual events will operate. You can also include updates or facts that they weren’t previously aware of.

• Encourage audience participation and engagement: For any event, whether it is online or offline, audience engagement is recognized as the most important performance statistic. Therefore, you must guarantee suitable and fruitful audience participation at all times. Include components that promote audience participation, such as a chat feed, Q&A sessions, knowledge-sharing forums, the ability to upload photographs and videos, and requests for user feedback.
• Personalized Communication With Attendees is Made Possible: The ability for participants to speak directly with speakers, organizers, performers, etc. in person was one of the best aspects of offline, in-person events. To preserve the spirit and caliber of the event, it is crucial to incorporate that component into your virtual event. You can hire people or hold meetings to communicate with everyone.
• Include breaks and networking opportunities throughout the event: Breakout sessions should be scheduled in between long events (greater than an hour) to allow for refreshments and leisure. This will have a dual benefit in that you can make sure everything is going according to plan and audiences can focus and become more motivated, which will increase engagement and effectiveness. Additionally, you can foster internal networking among the participants by chatting and communicating with them during breakout sessions.
  

The Follow-Up

• Gather Audience Comments On Important Metrics: Similar to offline live events, it is important to understand the audience’s experience, especially since the majority of them would be unfamiliar with the idea of a virtual event. You can collect comments on the event’s activities, schedule, and goals as well as the audience’s perceptions of the virtual event.
• Share Any Additional Action Plans: If you have an upcoming event or are anticipating a reaction from attendees regarding the event, you can give additional information that is pertinent to your event and the audience. By inviting users to share their experiences about the event on social media and digital channels, you can greatly improve your lead acquisition or brand promotion.
• Digitally distribute recordings of virtual events: Since this is your first time hosting a virtual event, it is crucial that you keep advertising it even after it has ended because this will help you with future virtual events. You can highlight audience participation and feedback while distributing the video of your virtual event. On your website, social media, and other platforms, you can share it.

Virtual events come in a wide variety of forms, such as conferences, webinars, live streaming, concerts, and more. Because of this, you can modify the processes to suit the requirements of your event.

Are you planning a conference online this year? Master WiZR specializes in all types of conferences. Get in touch with us for further details!