Are you unsure about running a virtual event? We’re here to help you decide.
We all know that the past year has taken its toll on live events and bringing people together. During these unusual times, we’ve been taking your live events and turning them into exciting and engaging virtual events to ensure people continue to feel connected. Of course, virtual events will never be the same as a true live experience, but with the rise in technology in the virtual world during 2020, we know that they can come close and actually have a number of additional benefits!
Many companies are now considering the idea of hosting virtual events as an alternative to their usual live events. But why? We’ve complied together some of the benefits of virtual events, so if you’re unsure about whether you want to host a virtual event, this is for you!
Virtual Events Expand Your Audience & Engagement
Organising a live event with a large audience can be a real challenge. You need to find a suitable date, location and venue, as well as making sure that all of these are accessible for your target audience.
One of the huge benefits of virtual events is that they immediately reduce these concerns. Virtual events are super easy for your audience to attend, so it’s more likely to increase the audience reach than decrease it. Your audience can attend from the comfort of their own homes or offices, from anywhere in the world. All that’s needed is a computer or a mobile device with a good internet connection and they’re good to go!
Of course, there are always concerns if your virtual event will be as engaging as a live event, but virtual events have come a long way since March 2020. It’s really important that you don’t treat a virtual event as another “zoom call”. They should be professionally produced, planned and managed to maximise engagement with your remote audience. The content should be slick and all presenters should look and sound fab, with the event being a great representation of your brand.
There are plenty of fun ways to interact with the audience. For example, you could include questions and polling, Instagram style photo and messaging walls, breakout rooms or even a fun gameshow with prizes. The audience should feel part of the event. By including these interactive tools, we can help you to engage your audience and help you to deliver a successful and professional virtual event, with less hassle and less stress.
Saving You & Your Audience Money
Events aren’t cheap and when you factor in venue hire, food & drink, entertainment, production, travel & accommodation etc, budgets are often stretched and compromises have to be made. With a virtual event, it’s easier to control costs, so you can get more for your budget, whilst still delivering a professional and seamless virtual event.
Additionally, if you host a virtual event rather than a live event, your audience will be saving money on travel costs and maybe even accommodation if they are travelling from afar. If your audience has expensive travel costs, it might put them off coming to the live event all together. So, a virtual event would mean that they can simply attend from their own home, rather than travelling.
Safety
Obviously one of the main benefits of a virtual event is COVID-19 safety. This is one of the main reasons many companies are currently hosting virtual events rather than live events, as it dramatically reduces the risk of exposure to the virus. This keeps everyone safe as well as preventing a COVID-19 outbreak within your company.
Environmental
Another huge benefit of virtual events is the environmental saving from travel. With a live event, most people will have to travel either by car, train, bus or even by plane. However, for a virtual event, your audience can attend from home, cutting down on CO2 emissions produced by travelling to events. This is extremely important given the current climate emergency which we are all facing today.
Easier to Manage
It goes without saying that there’s a lot to stress about when it comes to a live event, feeling like you have to be in many different places at once, having to sort things from logistics to equipment. In comparison, a virtual event can be almost stress free. With our help we can provide all the support you need on the day of the event as well as in the lead up, with rehearsals, presenter checks and pre-recording, so that your event can run as smoothly as possible. This allows you to deliver a professional and engaging experience for your audience.
Virtual events can also be less risky than a live event. There would be no need to cancel a virtual event for weather conditions or even a global pandemic (all fingers are pointing at you here COVID-19). Your audience can view, join and engage with your event from anywhere, so unexpected factors that would write off a live event are not even a concern.
Overall virtual events are a great alternative to a live event, with the main benefits of a virtual event being; expanding your audience size, saving you and your audience money, COVID-19 safety, reducing the impact on the environment and being easier to manage. Virtual events can be just as professional as a live event and with our support we can help you deliver a fantastic virtual event.
If you’re looking to host a virtual event and need a hand, get in touch, we’re here to help.