2020 has brought a significant shift in the nature of corporate culture. The past couple of months have been challenging for businesses, making them take serious decisions. Like, the pandemic restrictions have put a hold on physical gatherings of people. Therefore, corporations are looking for ways and ideas to safely conduct their regular meetings, conferences, recruitment events, or trade shows. Not just that, the educational and medical sectors move to online platforms to hold their official events. Well, I can’t blame them; online or virtual events sure come with tons of benefits. The pandemic has brought the debate of virtual vs physical.
Now, there’s a significant ratio of communities and organizations seen who have moved to virtual events platforms. They seamlessly gather a global audience at a virtual event and benefit most from its immersive features. It is no longer a concern how your remote team or industry peers would make it to your annual conference or business meetings. With one click, people from far ends of the world appear on your screens.
Still, confused on how virtual events are better than physical events? Let’s explore a quick comparison between virtual and physical events.
Virtual Vs Physical
Promised Global Reach
Even today, some believe that physical events are irreplaceable. But that does not change the reality of the current situation. Businesses cannot gather audiences at a venue in this pandemic stricken world. In fact, why host a physical event when it is of no good at the moment? With a physical event, you cannot achieve a good reach. In fact, it is not entirely about hosting the local audience but the audience from around the world that can be valuable for your business. Hence the virtual vs physical debate remains the talk of the town.
With virtual events, you can host events from anywhere in the world and welcome audiences from across the globe. The best thing is that these events are easily accessible, just with a device and an uninterrupted internet connection.
Cost-Effective Approach
Why invest in a physical event when it costs you half of your annual budget? The hassle of gathering the equipment and setting up an entire event from scratch can be really tiring. You have to arrange for travelling and accommodation of remote attendees and food supplies for the day. It costs more of your money, energy and time. Is it all worth it? Actually not.
On the contrary, virtual events can be surprisingly cost-effective. You can get the attendees online from their devices without having to travel to a physical location. Also, you can invite keynote speakers online minimizing all expenses. On the whole, virtual events prove way beneficial compared to physical events.
Building Meaningful Connections
No doubt that physical events offer face-to-face interactions with people. But it still has its drawbacks and hassles. For example, people are shy to come up and interact with speakers or exhibitors. However, with a virtual event, these people can quickly contact and connect with company representatives. They can request 1:1 meetings or join in group discussions and build valuable connections.
Moreover, it allows you to connect with more than one individual at a time. So, it is all up to you whom you respond to first in your chat box. Then, you can either attend the speaker sessions or webinars and respond to the chats whenever possible.
These online events are more flexible and accessible than physical events. You have an open opportunity to connect with whoever you like without any restrictions. Interestingly, virtual events also allow keeping the data of attendees. In other words, when you leave the event, you have the same opportunity to contact the speakers or organizers. For instance, during a live event, a party might not be able to decide to reach out to your business. However, once they make up their minds, they can start a business relationship.
Immersive Interaction and Engagement
Physical events do not provide for seamless interactions among attendees. At each step of the event, there’s an open chance to interact with other attendees or speakers. For instance, with a virtual event, you can chat with exhibitors right at the booth and inquire about the products and services. Like, the online content shared by the organization is also very helpful and engaging for the attendees.
Moreover, there are live chat rooms available with audio/video conferencing options. Also, the live polling, Q&A sessions engage audiences throughout the event. This easily multiplies the engagement opportunities.
Real-Time Event Analytical Report
A physical event is a hassle when it comes to keeping registration data, documentation, and all the records paperwork. Wouldn’t it be easy if the software is managing it all? You can get real-time analytics reports on attendee registrations, booth activities, attendee interactions, audience behaviour and event ROIs. This gives you a headstart on keeping track of event performance.
In the long run, it facilitates tracking what worked best for you. You can further use the best practices for your next big virtual event.
Flexibility and Reliability
Physical events have their limitations. It is not possible to entirely set up the event as expected. Virtual events give room for entirely customizing the event. From the landing page to each booth, businesses can display their branding however they like. The platform uses 3D animations and graphics to create standees, company representative avatars, lobbies and halls. Also, there is no condition on hosting the type of event. You can host any event from a virtual events platform.
Moreover, virtual events would not ditch you like physical events in the current pandemic scenario. With physical events being discouraged, virtual events give you the reliability to seamlessly operate in Covid times.
Earn Potential Leads or Talent
A global reach opens global opportunities for you. Your attendees are coming from all around the world. Likewise, the global keynote speakers and exhibitors are coming in. Which automatically broadens your talent base—wondering how virtual events benefit you in the long run? The global reach gets you in front of potential leads who would like to avail of your services. Once your branding gets noticed through these global events, there’s no coming back. It’s the only way up from where you started.
In Conclusion
Without a doubt, physical events are being pushed into the past. People are only concerned about virtual vs physical event debate. Like, digital technological advancements have forcibly transformed the face of the future. Indeed, it has benefitted small businesses and enterprises alike. Therefore, businesses now look for advanced approaches to market their business worldwide. However, the best approach is to go virtual. You do not just earn a global audience but a global lead with a high conversion rate. So, why wait for your business to grow? Virtual Days Platform supports businesses with endless online events solutions. Join us today to create your custom branded virtual event and watch your business grow big.
