Virtual Conferences: Models, Revenues and Opportunities
In this captivating exploration of virtual events, we delve into the ever-evolving realm of conferences, which have taken on a remarkable transformation in the digital age.
Considering the projected growth of virtual events surpassing $400 billion by 2027, you might be contemplating the value of embracing this trend and formulating your event strategy.
With the rise of viral conferences, we uncover the fascinating models that have emerged, the diverse revenue streams they generate, and the abundant opportunities they present for organizers and participants alike.
As we navigate through this dynamic landscape where technology intersects with the power of connection, we shed light on the key factors that contribute to the success of viral conferences and the immense potential they hold for shaping the future of knowledge exchange and networking.
A significant 79% of event organizers acknowledge that virtual platforms have opened doors to opportunities they previously would not have had. Additionally, 66% of organizers affirm that virtual events have delivered a higher return on investment (ROI) compared to physical events.
Join us on this journey as we unravel the intricate tapestry of viral conferences and discover the boundless horizons they unlock.
What are virtual conferences?
A virtual conference is a live-streamed event that allows participants to interact with each other in real-time. Virtual conferences can be used for educational, networking, or business purposes.
Many virtual conferences are organized around a specific topic or industry and typically feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions. Live streaming technology allows participants to view the conference content from anywhere in the world.
Since virtual conferences don't require travel, they're more accessible and environmentally friendly than traditional in-person events. As the popularity of live streaming continues to grow, virtual conferences are likely to become more common in the years ahead.
The Benefits Of Hosting A Virtual Conference
An overwhelming majority of 92.1% of organizers report that their online experiences have been rated as either highly successful or moderately successful.
Hosting a virtual conference offers a multitude of benefits that can enhance the success and reach of your event.
Here are some key advantages to consider:
1. Expanded Reach
They break down geographical barriers, allowing attendees from anywhere in the world to participate.
This opens up new possibilities for attracting a diverse and global audience, increasing the reach and impact of your event.
According to a study, 45.9% of individuals engage in ten or more online events, whereas only 12.6% participate in in-person events.
2. Cost-Effectiveness
Traditional in-person conferences often involve substantial expenses related to venue rentals, catering, travel, and accommodation.
In contrast, virtual conferences eliminate many of these costs, making them a more budget-friendly option.
You can save significantly on logistical expenses while still delivering a high-quality event.
3. Flexibility And Convenience
They provide flexibility for both organizers and attendees. Participants can join from the comfort of their homes or offices, eliminating the need for travel and reducing time constraints.
This convenience increases accessibility and allows for greater attendee engagement, resulting in higher participation rates.
4. Enhanced Networking Opportunities
They offer innovative networking features, such as virtual breakout rooms, chat functions, and one-on-one video meetings.
These tools enable attendees to connect, collaborate, and build meaningful professional relationships, fostering networking opportunities that transcend physical limitations.
5. Improved Data Analytics
Digital platforms used for virtual conferences provide valuable insights and data analytics.
Organizers can track attendee engagement, session popularity, and other metrics, allowing for informed decision-making and future event improvements.
This analytics help measure the success of your conference and optimize future strategies.
6. Environmental Sustainability
By eliminating the need for travel and reducing carbon emissions associated with traditional conferences, virtual events contribute to a more sustainable future.
Hosting a conference virtually aligns with eco-friendly practices, showcasing your commitment to environmental responsibility.
7. Increased Content Accessibility
They often record sessions, making them available on-demand after the event.
This accessibility allows attendees to revisit presentations, catch up on missed sessions, and share content with colleagues, extending the lifespan and impact of your conference.
In conclusion, hosting a virtual conference brings numerous benefits, including expanded reach, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, enhanced networking, improved data analytics, sustainability, and increased content accessibility.
By embracing these conferences, you can elevate your event, maximize its impact, and create an engaging and memorable experience for attendees.
What are the various models of virtual conferences?
Virtual conferences are built on several different business models designed for other virtual conference engagement ideas. Let’s explore several popular ones widely adopted by businesses today.
1. Attendance Model
Have you ever done a free or paid online course? They’re one example of the application of the attendance model. Institutes that offer online courses or event organizers that host events use the attendance model to provide their services to their audiences.
Similarly, organizers of webinars and trade fairs have their target audiences sign up and pay to attend the events they host.
Whatever the case, the attendance model is one where attendees register remotely for a defined duration either free of cost or upon paying a fee.
2. Sponsored Events Model
The concept of sponsored virtual events is somewhat new. It gained popularity in the wake of COVID-19 when events worldwide were moved to online participation mode.
Perhaps the most popular type of sponsored online event is a conference featuring guest speakers sessions and panel discussions from various fields or organizations with an audience that pays to attend it.
What sets sponsored virtual events apart from other types of virtual events is that brands fund or sponsor such events in return for greater brand recognition and customer reach.
3. Subscription Model
The last model of virtual conferences on the list is the subscription model, where services are provided for a subscription fee. Online publishers and media houses often use this model to provide their customers with premium services.
Sources of virtual event revenues
Organising virtual events is not only about a high audience turnout. When it comes to hosting an event, like offering any other service, the ultimate goal is to earn revenue. This is especially true for event management companies whose core offering is the event itself.
There are a number of revenue streams that event organizers can earn. Let’s go over a few popular ones.
1. Paid registrations
Getting audiences to pay to attend an event is, perhaps, the quickest and easiest way to earn virtual event revenues, and the most popular.
Event organizers around the world have been charging entry fees to their audiences well before the internet was even invented. In today’s world, the only difference (and one with massive impact) is that ticketing and payments have been digitized with online registration forms and e-payment gateways.
Depending on what your business does, you can charge a cost for tickets, a fee for courses or a subscription fee for exclusive content.
2. Sponsorships
You’ve probably been to a sports match or seen one virtually where different brands’ logos are displayed across the field. Those brands are sponsors of the event. They’re the entities that fund the costs associated with the event in return for a greater brand name.
Sponsorships are excellent sources of virtual event revenue because they come in large amounts that partially or completely remove the cost burden of the event organizers’ shoulders. When it comes to charity or large-scale sporting events, it’s not uncommon for a hundred per cent of the event’s cost to be sponsor-funded. In this manner, the event organiser's profit is all the revenue earned over and above the cost.
3. Digital advertisements
Event organisers can cash in that participating brands, especially those that aim for broader customer reach, want to grow their online presence as much as possible, even if they have to pay for it. Event organisers can earn significant revenue by charging participating brands for display ads featuring them on their websites.
4. Social media collaborations
Event organisers, especially those with thousands of social media followers, can earn a good amount of income by posting shout-outs for participating brands on their social media pages.
This collaborative marketing works well at both ends - the promoted brand has a more significant online presence while the event organiser earns revenue at little to no additional cost.
Key Goals And KPIs For A Virtual Conference
In 2023, marketers predict significant growth in various aspects of virtual events, including a 15% increase in qualified lead generation, attendance, and event registrations. Engagement levels are expected to rise by 13%, while budgets allocated for virtual events are anticipated to increase by 12%.
When planning a virtual conference, it is essential to define clear goals and establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the event.
Here are some key goals and corresponding KPIs to consider for a virtual conference:
1. Audience Engagement
Goal
Foster active participation and interaction among attendees.
KPIs
The number of attendees actively participating in live sessions, engagement metrics (e.g., chat messages, polls, Q&A interactions), and post-event surveys on attendee satisfaction and engagement levels.
2. Content Delivery
Goal
Provide valuable and informative content to attendees.
KPIs
Session attendance rates, session ratings and feedback, content download or resource access metrics, social media shares, and mentions related to conference content.
3. Networking And Connections
Goal
Facilitate networking opportunities and meaningful connections.
KPIs
Number of virtual meetings or one-on-one connections facilitated, number of connections made through networking features, attendee satisfaction surveys regarding networking experience.
4. Lead Generation And Business Opportunities
Goal
Generate leads and create business opportunities for participants.
KPIs
Number of qualified leads generated, number of business collaborations or partnerships initiated, post-event surveys measuring attendee interest in future business opportunities.
5. Brand Visibility And Awareness
Goal
Enhance brand visibility and increase awareness among the target audience.
KPIs
Social media reach and engagement, the website traffic and referral sources, media coverage or press mentions, and post-event surveys assessing brand recognition and awareness levels.
6. Revenue Generation
Goal
Generate revenue through various sources related to the virtual conference.
KPIs
Total revenue generated (registration fees, sponsorships, exhibitor fees, etc.), return on investment (ROI) calculations, revenue from post-event sales or upselling opportunities.
7. Attendee Satisfaction
Goal
Ensure overall attendee satisfaction and positive experience.
KPIs
Post-event satisfaction surveys and feedback, Net Promoter Score (NPS) ratings, testimonials or reviews from attendees, repeat attendance or referral rates for future events.
By setting clear goals and monitoring relevant KPIs, organizers can measure the effectiveness and success of their virtual conference, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions for future events.
Why is Oreed the best virtual conference platform for businesses in 2022?
Oreed is the perfect virtual conference platform for businesses in 2022 because it offers a complete solution for managing virtual conferences. Unlike other virtual conference platforms that only provide basic features, Oreed delivers a comprehensive set of tools to help businesses plan, promote, and conduct virtual conferences.
With Oreed, businesses can easily generate virtual conference revenue by selling tickets and conducting sponsorships. In addition, Oreed's virtual reality capabilities allow businesses to create immersive virtual conference experiences that are sure to engage and impress attendees. With its powerful features and easy-to-use interface, Oreed is the perfect virtual conference platform for businesses of all sizes.
Now let’s explore why Oreed is the best virtual conference platform for your business.
1. Online registrations
Getting an audience to register online is a highly tedious task. To start with, you have to create a form manually for every event you organize. Circulating the form to a defined audience is probably not hard, but tracking and saving responses are.
Oreed’s built-in online registration form allows you to obtain registrations that are populated in real-time digitally. You can track who registered, who declined and whose response is pending.
This saves you the trouble of keeping track of physical copies of responses or contacting people who have yet to respond individually. Not only does this make your job easier, but it also makes virtual conferences look more professional and polished.
Consequently, using Oreed’s registration system is a no-brainer for anyone looking for an efficient and professional way to manage virtual conferences.
2. Integrated payment gateway
When you use Oreed to host virtual conferences, you can be sure that your audience will never have to worry about paying for their event passes through a third-party platform.
We have an online payment gateway integrated into our product so your audience can conveniently pay for their virtual event passes immediately after registering. And on the backend, payments are processed automatically with in-product notifications to you and the payer for every successful payment.
This way, you save copious amounts of time that would have otherwise been spent sending out payment confirmations. So if you're looking for a virtual conference solution that streamlines the payment process, look no further than Oreed!
3. 360-degree user insights
At Oreed, we understand how tedious and time-consuming it is for you to manually build databases, update them and extract meaningful numbers to make one small decision. That's why we've developed a software that does all of that for you.
With Oreed, you don't only have access to real-time data. You get a holistic set of data for every user. For example, you get insights into the actual events attended, the number of activities completed within a given duration and other valuable metrics.
Imagine how much time and energy you can allocate towards essential business matters with software that pulls all those numbers for you. So if you're looking for a virtual conference solution that will save you time and energy, look no further than Oreed.
4. Personalized customer experience
These days, most businesses understand the importance of email marketing. After all, it’s a highly effective way to reach out to potential and existing customers alike. However, many businesses don’t realise that delivering highly personalised emails that provide a truly unique customer experience is possible.
With Oreed’s virtual conferences, you can do just that. Our built-in CRM tool allows you to segment your audience and customise your messages in a way that will delight each recipient. As a result, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships with your customers and boost your bottom line.
5. Centralized database:
If you’ve managed an event in the past, chances are that you used online conferencing tools, e-forms and payment methods scattered across online and offline platforms. Collecting data and maintaining databases were purely manual exercises that consumed far more time than needed.
Oreed is a virtual conference platform that makes planning and managing events easy. With Oreed, you can use online conferencing tools, e-forms and payment methods to streamline the event management process. Oreed also provides a secure database that is updated in real-time, eliminating the need for manual data entry and maintenance. As a result, Oreed is an ideal platform for managing virtual conferences.
6. Integrated systems:
Virtual event management solutions such as virtual conferencing platforms, event registration forms, e-payment solutions and data maintenance tools are fragmented with little to no integration possibilities. The manual input required to make these systems work together is unnecessary.
Oreed has online registrations, online payments, CRM, user analytics and other features built into it, all of which are synced with one another.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that video conferencing has revolutionised the business world, enabling people to connect and collaborate from anywhere.
Oreed is leading the pack regarding virtual conference platforms – offering businesses a powerful, easy-to-use tool that will help them take their meetings and collaborations to the next level in 2022. If you haven’t tried Oreed yet for your virtual conferences and seminars, we encourage you to do so today. You won’t be disappointed.