Principles of Great Virtual Events

As the euphoria of 2020 getting over starts to fade and reality sinks in, we are all realising that normal times ain’t coming back so soon. In the space of events, large gatherings and travel will continue to be limited for the foreseeable future. 

As such, whether we like it or not, virtual events are here to stay this year.  

In 2020, companies scrambled to put together what would be the bare minimum for running virtual events. Whatever was fastest and easiest was the way to go. There was no time to think about the ideal experience. Platforms crashed live during events. And that was accepted and forgotten quickly even for the biggest brands, who would normally have an extremely low tolerance for errors during a live event. 

But the time has now come to create better experiences for all the stakeholders at a virtual event. 

At GEVME, we set out to define what a great virtual event experience should be all about. We have come up with a list of 10 guiding principles of what such an event should look like. Today this guides our product roadmap, our educational materials, and our Digital Event Managers who help run events. 

Here is what we think a great virtual event should be about:

1. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS UNIQUE

No two physical events look the same, so why should virtual events? A great virtual event should allow you to put your brand forward and to fully customise the experience in a way that fits your brand.

2. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT HAS GREAT USER EXPERIENCE & AESTHETIC

Websites have evolved into a medium where making the experience of the website memorable is considered more important than what the website says. A great virtual event should have a well crafted user journey and beautiful design that strike the desired emotional responses from participants.

3. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS ENGAGING AND NEVER BORING

Watching live sports on a device is today a pleasurable and exciting experience. Why should virtual events be bland? A great virtual event should be fun and engaging through interactive group games and activities.  

4. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS OF BROADCAST TV QUALITY

Video production and live streaming is a huge part of virtual events. Virtual events should be run and produced as the top TV shows and channels that people tend to watch. A great broadcast TV show is well structured, starts and stops on time.

5. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT ENGINEERS SERENDIPITY AND NETWORKING

While virtual will never replace in-person interactions, virtual events should leverage its differentiating advantages to facilitate connections between attendees, speakers and sponsors. A great virtual event should feel personal to an attendee with timely and relevant recommendations on what to do and who to meet. 

6. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS MEASURABLE

A virtual event typically generates millions of data points and digital interactions. These should be tracked and analysed so as to  provide relevant insights to the organiser and sponsors. Virtual events provide the perfect medium to objectively learn on what works and what does not. 

7. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS MONETIZABLE

While not every virtual event is run with monetization as a goal, a great virtual event should provide you with various opportunities to generate revenues, ranging from well-known channels like ticketing and sponsorship to more innovative ones like micro-transactions and on-demand premium content. 

8. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS VALUABLE TO SPONSORS

Virtual events provide the unique opportunity to provide sponsors with objective reports that can help determine the performance and ROI of an event in a very easy way. But this should be just the start. Virtual events should go further and deliver extra value to sponsors. For e.g., relevant attendees  (based on captured and inferred profile) could be directed to sponsors’ digital booths to facilitate business matching realtime.  

9. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT IS LOCALISED AND IS ACCESSIBLE ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

Geographical boundaries are broken in virtual events. A great virtual event should be made accessible in languages relevant to your audience, and made available during times that are convenient to the different audience segments. Attendees should be able to attend the event from any device with varied performance and internet connectivity. 

10. A GREAT VIRTUAL EVENT FORGES A COMMUNITY

A great virtual event should never end. Unlike physical events where the venue has to close at the end of the day, a virtual venue does not need to. Attending a virtual event brings together like-minded people within a common industry and with complementary goals. It provides the ideal space to build a community. The experience should not be one of “Attend and Forget”, but instead “Attend and Grow”. 

I hope the above list is useful for you as you craft your virtual events. I can’t wait to see the new generation of events that will emerge this year. I would love to hear your thoughts and whether there are things that should be changed or added to the list above.