With a global pandemic sweeping the planet, businesses have had to get creative over the last eighteen months. The move to online and virtual events meant that businesses could still communicate with and reach their audiences during a time when venues were closed and people were confined to their homes. With the market for online events growing and companies such as Zoom seeing their share price rise almost 10 times from the year before, this article will explore some of the reasons why virtual events could be here to stay.
1. Greater Reach and Attendance
Virtual events such as those offered from the Vendry provide the ability to reach people in greater numbers. With no restrictions on how many people can attend or on venue size or location, virtual events allow businesses to reach audiences that would not otherwise have been able to be physically present.
With no need for hosts to assemble in one place, virtual events also have the added advantage of allowing keynote speakers from around the world to participate, giving audiences a greater experience and value for their money.
2. Low Cost
Without the need for a venue or other expenses such as ticketing, staff, or food and drink, virtual events offer a significant cost-saving to businesses. This saving is also desirable for attendees who no longer need to pay for travel, food, and possible accommodation costs. All that is required is a reliable internet connection, a laptop and you’re good to go.
3. Greater Audience Engagement
Virtual events are tailor-made for audience engagement, with attendees able to actively participate via their computers, tablets, or mobile devices. Unlike in-person events where it can be difficult to ask questions or speak with the hosts, virtual events encourage audience participation and discussion through mediums such as live hangouts pre- and post-event, live chat rooms, and post-session Q&As. These features also have the added bonus of allowing attendees to discuss the event between themselves, network, and build connections.
4. No Setbacks
You may have your venue lined up for your sold-out event, but there’s no knowing whether an unexpected setback may cause you to cancel at the last minute. The event venue could flood, the building could catch fire or a last-minute lockdown could be announced. With virtual events, this risk is mitigated, so there is no need to cancel the event and let attendees down.
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5. Performance Tracking
With in-person events, feedback is written down, attendance cannot be monitored, and not all questions can be noted, whereas virtual events make it easier to gather data and track the performance of your event, as everything is done online. Metrics such as attendee engagement, dwelling times, drop-off rates, likes, and dislikes can all be analyzed and serve to create optimal marketing strategies and advertising campaigns in the future.
The points made in this article are just some of the reasons why virtual events, or even hybrid events, combining online and in-person attendees, could be the event choice of the future.
