Planning a virtual event can be a very nerve-racking and intense experience. Virtual events, especially those held for official or corporate purposes, can become very dull if they are not executed well. Virtual events have gained immense popularity for their innovative nature and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It is the beauty of modern technology that it has become possible to conduct and attend online events that are beneficial for both the companies hosting the events and the people that attend them. We aim to inspire you into incorporating the best ideas into your virtual event and making them worth both your time and the attendees’ time. The following are a few virtual event ideas that can help you host a great virtual event to put the corporeal footprint of your organization in the online world.
What is a Virtual Event?
Before diving into planning a virtual event, you must understand what it is. A virtual or online event is a collaborative gathering held by an organization using the internet. These virtual meetings are not limited to one single, physical location, they can be held anywhere in the world and attended by anyone across the globe if they have a working internet connection.
Benefits of Virtual Events:
Global Access
The best feature of these events is the fact that they can be attended by people from the comfort of their homes or at whichever location they personally prefer, saving them the cost of commuting to a physical location. It also gives your organization a much wider reach which enables a larger group of interested people to attend them, from various geographical locations. With virtual events, you are not limited to one particular city or region, anyone with an electronic device and a working internet connection can join.
Cost-Effective
Another huge benefit of virtual events is the fact that they are much more cost-effective than hosting physical events. Physical events come with significant costs for organizations such as venue arrangement, logistics, catering, covering, traveling costs and accommodation, and much more. Hosting an online event not only cuts down these big costs but also simplifies event hosting, making it less tiresome and much more rewarding. By using an innovative event management platform like Virtual Days saves huge budget costs, offers much-needed support, and provides you with all the necessary software to elevate your virtual event.
Data Analysis
Lastly, hosting virtual events are beneficial as they provide very tangible data on the success of your event. Organizations can gather data on the popularity of their event, the attendance ratios, and the performance of their employee all in one go. Virtual event platforms provide corporations with easy-to-compute data and from there the company can analyze it and use it to improve their strategies with regard to the events they plan to hold in the future.
Now, here are a few ideas to help you to create and host the best virtual event.
Get Influencers and Specialists to Speak to the Audience!
This is the age of technology and therefore, we are all going virtual. It is not only due to the ongoing pandemic but also, because of the technological advancements of the age, that everything has gone from physical to digital. It is important to go with the times so that you remain current and up to date. So, another element that is one of the most influential platforms across the world is social media, and who better to represent it than social media influencers and professionals?
Inviting a professional is one of the smartest ideas to get a greater number of attendees and to increase the popularity of your conference. For example, inviting someone like Steve Jobs to an Online Business Recruitment Event or famous alumni to your University’s Open Days event can ensure that the people attending the seminars would be focused to see and learn from people who were once in the same place as they are. These influencers and professionals add a level of inspiration and excitement to online seminars. They are the perfect conduits to compel people to be driven towards your organization and to strive to be a part of them.
Be as innovative as you can with your virtual events because in this modern age, these events are what make your organizations stand out from amongst all your competition.
Have an Experienced Host
A virtual event is only as great as the people who are hosting it, therefore, you will need an experienced host to make sure that your event runs smoothly and goes off without a hitch. Big-name brands use hosts to elevate their events and the likeability of the host makes the event much more interactive and immersive. It is a great way to make a virtual event feel more authentic and relatable by having it presented by a likeable person.
The impersonality of virtual interaction can easily be overcome by the simple addition of a host who could engage with the audience and keep them informed and entertained. It is a great way to associate your event with a lively personality and therefore, giving it an elevation and make the entire event a lot more interactive and immersive so that both the audience and the hosts enjoy the event and gather as much information about your corporation, as possible.
Repurpose your Content!
Hosting a virtual event gives you many opportunities to easily repurpose the content that you have already pre-recorded for your virtual clients. Once an event is finished, these videos can stay on your web page to attract other potential clients and to give information on the more specific workings of your corporation to the users. Increase your company’s clientele list by offering these pre-recorded videos and sessions to attract new subscribers. After you have ended a virtual event, these videos can be used as collateral to continue building on the foundation of your business and its workings.
Do Year-Round Promotions!
The only way to keep your corporation from getting lost in the shadows is to keep it at the forefront of the audience’s mind by promoting it throughout the year. Add promotions and giveaways to engage the audience before the actual event and keep their excitement level high. Posting small promotional videos on your website and social media pages can also promote your virtual event. These videos and previously recorded videos should be available for viewing year-round to keep the audience and expected clientele, anticipating more. This will keep your virtual event in front of everyone’s minds.
Engage with the Attendees!
It is very evident that people go with the flow and are attracted to companies that are popular and have the most reviews from previous, satisfied customers. So another brilliant idea to host a creative, interactive virtual event is to inculcate the feedback from other clients onto your platforms and/or websites in such a way that they are highlighted and easily viewed by all other interested parties. These reviews will bring in a wider audience, engage the acquaintances of your pre-existing clientele, and encourage all those who visit your website on the effectiveness of your products and services. Once you have mastered the art of event engagement with the help of our virtual event platform your virtual event will be a global success.
Conclusion
From the aforementioned virtual event ideas, you must have a pretty good idea that how to make your virtual event innovative and unique. Virtual event platforms are only going to gain more popularity with the progress of time due to the numerous benefits of hosting an event online instead of on a physical location. You get an event that can be hosted and viewed from anywhere across the world with a much greater number of attendees coming from varied backgrounds and geographical locations.
A virtual event is much less costly than a physical event and has a much wider array of event options such as webinars, virtual conferences, virtual open days, online meetings, online exhibitions, virtual recruitment, career fairs, and much more. The best online events are supposed to be interactive, recorded for posterity, credible, and innovative. The only limitations are those that you put on your imagination because modern technology has advanced and continues to advance at a staggering rate.
Author | Zoha Junaid
