Virtual Events have given us an opportunity of being a part of the world where you could attend a live cold play concert, a world where you could attend to your business from the comfort of your home. Virtual Events have given us a tool to make these dreams come true. It has taken the event industry by storm and is here to stay.
Most of us have been a part of at least one virtual event in our lifetime. It could have been a conference or a meeting or live performance. Although Virtual Event is not a new concept, people have only recently begun to appreciate the effect of it in our world.
What is a Virtual Event?
Virtual events, also known as iVent, allows a person to host events on an online virtual events platform. For example, let’s consider the setting of an office meeting.
What are the primary components of a physical meeting?
- A purpose or a plan.
- Few select members of the team.
- A fixed period of time.
- A board or screen, either for presentation or writing, drawing.
What does one require to take the meeting online?
- During an online meeting, all the above components can be made available on the required ends.
- At the same time, a person can attend the meeting on a virtual event platform at any given time, provided that the person was aware of the event timings.
- Also, a person can attend the meeting from the comfort of their home.
Elements of Virtual Events
We have taken a brief look at the components of a physical meeting. Similar to these physical events, Virtual events also need a few elements to make it work.
Here are a few elements of an ideal virtual event.
- Customized Event Website
- Virtual event software
- Virtual event registration
- Interactive conferencing
- Live content broadcasting
- Live presentation
- Pre-recorded content
- Member Engagement
- Member Feedback
What are the most popular types of Virtual Events?
1. Conferences
Conferences are usually suitable for a small group of attendants, with one or more speakers. It has numerous sessions and breaks between them. They also conduct polls and surveys, making the sessions more interactive.
Arranging a conference requires some amount of contribution from each attendee/participant. Many of you have been the victims of canceled or urgent conferences. With virtual Conferences, cancellations and rescheduling are not that big of a deal. And provided with the right set of tools, it’s easy enough to change the urgent conferences into virtual conferences.
Virtual conferences might not have the feel of real-life events, but they have plenty of benefits to cover that shortcoming. Starting with a higher number of participants, the hosts have access to the knowledge of the world at their fingertips.
2. Live Performances (Music and Dance)
Music has always awakened the deep well of emotions within everyone’s souls. In the same manner, dance performances build a damn of emotions through compelling stories. Often the concerts of our favorite musicians and dance performances are held at a venue that’s far from our reach. With virtual performances and concerts, the attendees can not only experience the thrill of the concerts but can also witness their idols perform in real-time. Here’s a look at some past virtual performances that you might have missed.
3. Podcast and Talk shows
We have all seen an ‘Ask me anything’ on more than one social media stories. But they originated with Celebrities, who have had the most success with these. Often there are a set of questions that you can ask, but some take all questions. It provides everyone an opportunity to have a real-time interaction with celebs and personalities. Ask me anything isn’t just limited to celebs, experts have been generous with their secrets during these virtual events.
Podcasts and virtual talk shows have been around for a long time, but have regained their lost fame in the last few years. A lot of people sign up for these podcasts and talk shows. It presents them with a unique opportunity to get some insight into their idol’s thoughts and perspective.
4. Webinars
Webinars are online seminars. These usually involve a large audience, with a host presenting a product demo or lectures on knowledgeable topics. While a webinar could a pre-recorded video, it could also be a live interactive event, with the audience being able to get answers to their questions either via chat or on calls.
Real-life Events(In-Person Events) vs Virtual Events:
Similarities between Real-Life Events Hosting and Virtual Events:
- They fulfill the purpose of the event, should it either be a marketing gimmick or an expert lecture.
- They require a certain set of elements that make it work, no matter how different.
- They create a long-lasting impression in the mind of their audience, which significantly increases brand awareness.
- They are both successful in their attempts to bring in new leads.
Differences Between Real-life Events and Virtual Events:
- Real-life events can be limited in a lot of aspects, whereas virtual events open new opportunities and bring in more leads.
- With virtual events, a person or business can reach an international audience.
- Even though many sign up for real-life events, not many turn up to the actual event, which isn’t an issue with virtual events.
- Virtual events last much longer than real-life events.
- Virtual events are cost-effective, where real-life events can take a chunk of your money.
The fundamentals of Event Planning:
At the end of the day, Virtual events follow the fundamentals of event planning.
- Without a decent virtual event marketing strategy, that targets the desired audiences, even a well-scripted event can fail.
- Being able to plan a virtual event doesn’t make everyone a keynote speaker. Expert speakers with life-changing content are the key to the success of a virtual event.
- Remember the number one rule, keep the audience engaged. Execute a well-thought-out event. That can only be done when you get to know your audience before a lecture.
- People join webinars, conferences, and podcasts to gain some insights, and increase their knowledge. They are here for information.
Latest technologies Used to Host Virtual Events:
There are numerous tools for Virtual Event Registration, Virtual Event management, Email marketing, Live-streaming, etc. We have listed some of the most popular tools in the industry, used by the majority of businesses.
For Webinars: Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Zoom, and On24.
Engagement Tools: NetworkTables Virtual, Brella, Glisser.
Event management Tools: Social Tables, Tripleseat, Event Mobi.
4 Effective Tips For Hosting Virtual Events:
1. Plan The Virtual Event
The best quality of a keynote speaker is that they are always prepared. Very few speakers can go up on the stage and provide decent lectures without a plan. Even school teachers and college professors have to plan out their lectures. Think about everything that can go wrong and have a solution for it.
2. Timing Matters, choose the time for maximum impact.
Consider Virtual events for the matter, what is the best time to start a virtual events business? The answer would be during lockdowns, quarantines, or for times when getting to the real-life meetings can be an impossibility.
3. Implement a powerful marketing strategy.
Without a marketing strategy, even an expert can fail to gather a big audience. The larger the reach of your marketing campaign, the larger the audience present during the virtual event.
4. Be prepared for tech issues.
Virtual events heavily rely on tech. When you choose virtual event services, make sure that it provides decent customer support. Also, keep your tech team apprised of all your events. This way, you can tackle all tech issues and continue with virtual events without any interruptions.
FAQs:
1. How much does a virtual event cost?
Predicting the cost of a virtual event can be tricky. Virtual events services have set up competitive prices. And the prices vary based on the type of virtual events to be hosted. Most businesses have set up a monthly pricing plan. The pricing starts from 1500 rupees and ranges to 6500 rupees or more, depending on the Virtual event company. Some virtual event services pricing plans include per event fees, which could cost more than 50,000 rupees.
2. How to host a virtual event?
Follow the tips provided in this guide.
- To sustain the engagement, keep the event short and the information precise.
- Also, prepare an impressive event setup. A virtual event held at an elegant venue brings more authenticity to the table.
- Choose the perfect keynote speaker or host for the event. The entire event revolves around them.
3. How does a virtual event work?
For the success of virtual events, planning and marketing are required. Without proper exposure, the event will have a short life. Although many people will sign up for the virtual event, not many will show up for the event. To reach more people, every aspect of the event has to run smoothly.Availing the services of good virtual event technology and marketing services is a necessity at this point. With proper support, your events could reach thousands of exciting prospects.
4. How to promote virtual events?
Turn your Virtual Event into a brand. It would increase the life of the event. Use Social media platforms and email marketing to tell the world about your event. When that doesn’t cover it, turn to paid media such as Virtual event marketing services.