In recent months, virtual events have experienced an unprecedented boom. From the latest annual virtual cloud security summit to business building webinars, it seems the future of events is set solely in the digital world. According to Ruben Castano, CEO of 6Connex, virtual events have increased by 1000 percent since the pandemic began. However, while recent events may have accelerated the growth of the industry, the shift to virtual hosting for events was noticeable even before that. With the industry continuing to grow, one must now ask: are virtual events the new future of event planning? What do they bring to the table?
Virtual Events Give Greater Audience Reach And Event Impact
One of the largest event planning decisions is choosing a suitable place, time and date that fits the event and its intended audience. In many cases, there is the issue of the location or time being inconvenient for people who wish to be apart of the event – an issue that virtual events seem to solve. According to the Meeting Design Institute, choosing a virtual event reduces audience concerns about the suitability, location, and date by over 50 percent. Your choice of online video or meeting hosting software can also enable greater personalization, and allows you to choose the most important content you wish to impart to your audience – all crucial when determining audience reach and impact.
However, the key concern is how to make your virtual event engaging. Approximately 49 percent of marketers say that audience engagement is a key factor in determining the success of a virtual event. To boost the engagement of your virtual audience, make use of event technology tools and strategies before, during and after your event. For instance, 81.9 percent of marketers utilize event polling in a bid to increase interaction. Include interactive elements in your event like Q&A sessions to get the audience talking.
Virtual Platforms Can Be A Cost-Effective Alternative To In-Person Events
A much-publicized and largely true benefit of hosting a virtual event is the cost savings that businesses, bloggers or hosting parties can enjoy when hosting a virtual event. The cost of the event space, amenities and support staff are reduced. For conferences, this means no rental fee for conference rooms, parking amenities, event security, or even audience refreshments.
However, businesses need to consider the scale of their virtual events when estimating their cost-effectiveness. One good example is the Zoom Webinar platform. The basic subscription costs $40 plus a $14.99 charge for being a Premium user. This is limited to up to 100 participants and one host per month. Other platforms like GoToWebinar can cost as much as $499 for up to 3,000 participants. There are also likely to be hidden costs attached to staging a virtual event, such as credit card processing fees and merchandise branding costs. To create great engagement and interest in your virtual event, creating a buzz beforehand is vital. Branding and marketing activities will, however, come with a cost as well.
Interaction Remains A Controversial Point In The Virtual Events World
While virtual event planners don’t have to worry about travel or venue suitability, there is still a formidable risk of your event lacking interactivity with your audience. A Northstar Meetings Group survey showed that demand for virtual events will rapidly increase in the future. Yet, many event planners and businesses worry about how they can maintain the level of interaction online. The good news is that virtual event technology continues to advance. With the market now being flooded with tools including networking lounges, pre-session polling tools, and presentation software integration, event hosts can capture the attention and response of their participants from the start.
Based on the substantial shift to virtual technology and the clear benefits online events are providing, it seems clear that virtual events are not only here to stay – they are set to become the mainstream route of event hosting. Whether businesses choose to hold a purely digital event or use virtual events as part of a hybrid event strategy, the future is digital.
