Virtual events have become a popular alternative to traditional conferences in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But even as the world recovers, there are many reasons why you should consider hosting your next conference online. Here are some of the benefits and challenges of virtual events, and how you can plan and execute them successfully.
One of the main advantages of virtual events is that they can save you a lot of money on travel, accommodation, venue, catering, and other expenses. You can reach a wider audience without having to worry about physical capacity, logistics, or safety. You can also leverage existing platforms and tools that are designed for online interaction and engagement. Depending on your goals and budget, you can choose from different formats and features, such as live or pre-recorded sessions, webinars, workshops, networking, Q&A, polls, and more.
Attendees may save money in travel and whatnot but do not be fooled as the host organization that a virtual event is much less expensive than an in person event when done well. There can still be a great deal of expenses incurred in the cost of production, speakers fees, broadcasting, and more. It should be determined by your goals and objectives whether or not a virtual event or a virtual additional component to the in person event is beneficial.
Another benefit of virtual events is that they can reduce your environmental impact and carbon footprint. By avoiding unnecessary flights, transportation, and waste, you can contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly event industry. You can also showcase your social responsibility and values to your attendees, sponsors, and partners. Virtual events can also help you support local and global causes, such as donating to charities, raising awareness, or advocating for change.
Of course, virtual events are not without their challenges. One of the main issues is ensuring a smooth and reliable technical experience for your speakers, attendees, and staff. You need to choose a platform that suits your needs and expectations, test it thoroughly, and provide adequate support and guidance. You also need to consider the bandwidth, devices, and software requirements of your audience, and make sure they can access and enjoy your content without any glitches or interruptions.
Another challenge of virtual events is keeping your audience engaged and interested throughout your conference. Unlike in-person events, where you can rely on physical cues, body language, and social interactions, online events require more creativity and planning to capture and maintain attention. You need to design your content and agenda to be relevant, concise, and interactive. You also need to use various methods and tools to encourage participation and feedback, such as chat, polls, quizzes, games, breakout rooms, and incentives.
One of the opportunities of virtual events is that they can provide you with more data and insights on your audience and performance. You can track and measure various metrics, such as attendance, retention, engagement, satisfaction, and conversion. You can also collect feedback and testimonials from your attendees, speakers, and sponsors. This can help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, improve your future events, and demonstrate your value and impact.
By using a platform like Demio to host virtual events, you collect valuable insights that help your prove ROI. Ways to do this: ?? Analyze registrants over time, who attended and those who missed the session ?? Identify who was most focused during your session and when people dropped off ?? See who downloaded your handouts, participated in your polls, clicked your featured actions, and drove conversation in your chat or asked a question ?? Automatically track the origin of registrations, so you can qualify and measure the success of various channels and campaigns ?? Merge webinar data with your marketing automation platform to identify qualified leads
Finally, you may want to consider a hybrid option for your next conference, which combines the best of both worlds: online and offline. A hybrid event can offer you more flexibility and choice, as you can cater to different preferences, needs, and circumstances of your audience. You can also expand your reach and exposure, as you can attract both local and global attendees. However, a hybrid event also requires more coordination and integration, as you need to ensure a consistent and seamless experience across both channels.
Virtual events are easy to set up and can be globally accessible. Especially since a lot of people now work from home. We run 2 zoom networking events each week and it relly convinient for our international community.
Although virtual events became increasingly more popular due to crisis, it also provided insight into the power of expansion in our conferences through providing a virtual experience. Because the world of hybrid has become a part of many of our lives, I believe that the virtual/hybrid experience for conferences will remain. Ensuring that we provide virtual conferencing provides an opportunity to meet the needs of desiring attendees and target audience members that still value whats offered but may have factors that prohibit their physical attendance.