Are you looking for innovative ways to engage with your audience and customers?
In today's digital age, virtual events have emerged as a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their target market without the constraints of physical boundaries.
In fact, the virtual events space is still anticipated to expand by 21.4% from 2022 to 2030, indicating a significant shift towards online engagement.
From conferences to webinars, virtual events offer businesses a cost-effective and flexible solution to reach a global audience.
In this article, we'll explore the advantages of hosting virtual events and why businesses should consider integrating them into their strategies.
Let's dive into the world of virtual events and unlock the potential they hold for businesses of all sizes.
Why Should Businesses Host Virtual Event?
Hosting virtual events is a great way to stay connected with your audience and build relationships. By hosting virtual events, you are able to bring people together from all over the world without the need for costly travel and accommodations.
In addition, virtual events are flexible and can be tailored to fit your schedule and goals. For example, you can host a live event that allows people to interact in real-time, or you can pre-record your event and make it available to watch on-demand
You can also use virtual events to generate leads or sales, or simply to build brand awareness. Whether you're looking to stay connected with your audience or grow your business, hosting virtual events is a great way to achieve your goals.
Why are virtual events becoming a trend?
The global pandemic has compelled every business and organisation to adopt new (or rarely utilised) techniques of doing business.
Hosting virtual events is becoming a huge trend because of the many advantages it offers over traditional in-person events. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that virtual events can be attended by people from all over the world, without the need to travel.
This not only saves attendees money, but it also reduces their carbon footprint. In addition, virtual events can be recorded and archived, so that people who were unable to attend the live event can still watch it at a later date. And because virtual events are not constrained by physical space, they can theoretically accommodate an unlimited number of attendees.
For all these reasons, it's not surprising that virtual events are becoming increasingly popular.
With that in mind, let's take a look at virtual conferences' pros and cons and why they're so popular right now.
The Pros of Virtual Events
Webinars and live virtual events are becoming more and more popular. Here, we're going to take a look at the advantages of hosting virtual events and how they might benefit small businesses:
1. Cost-Effectiveness
Attending or presenting a virtual event rather than a physical one has the most obvious and significant financial benefit. Think about all the costs connected with trade exhibitions or conferences held in the physical realm.
An exhibition hall requires you to pay a charge or rent a meeting place to set up a booth. It's your company's responsibility to pay for all of the travel expenditures for all of your employees attending the conference.
Putting up your booth will also incur additional charges. Imagine if all of those costs could be eliminated. When it comes to virtual events, you'll just be responsible for a few thousand bucks
Hosting Virtual Events is a cost-effective way to promote your business and connect with potential customers. You can lower your costs by using less expensive marketing venues, such as online advertising and social media. And, you won't have to spend money on traveling to meet clients or customers in person.
Instead, you can interact with them through video conferencing, webinars, and other online tools. What's more, you can reach a larger audience by hosting Virtual Events because people from all over the world can attend without having to physically be there.
2. Sustainability
What is it about virtual events that contribute to the ecosystem? Check the HR's list of consumables, drinks, and toiletries; the aftermath of every live event is the cleaning staff dealing with the waste adds more to environmental concerns as you have to dispatch the garbage elsewhere.
All of this harms the environment in one way or another. Conducting a live event benefits every part of the organiser, from cost savings to conserving the environment.
On the other hand, a virtual event does not produce any pollutants or carbon footprints, unlike a real event. With just a few clicks of the mouse, attendees will be able to participate in the conference from the comfort of their own homes. Even if it's a drop in the bucket, your organisation will make a difference.
Hosting virtual events is a great way to save the environment while still bringing people together. Virtual events eliminate the need for travel, which often has a large carbon footprint. They also use less paper and other resources than traditional events. as well as reducing pollution and traffic congestion.
In addition, virtual events can be more easily recycled or reused than physical event materials. And since they don't require electricity to run, they put less strain on the power grid. Virtual events are also a great way to promote sustainability.
3. Information Dissemination
There is a lot of work involved in providing information to the right people at the right time. Attendees can easily overlook crucial speakers or presentations at busy events, and important sponsor booths can receive less attention than planned.
The more information there is to disseminate, the more difficult it becomes to get the correct information in front of the right people at the right time.
It's considerably easier to ensure that everyone who attends the event gets the information they want if you make it available online. Attendee lists can be segmented using registration information, allowing you to distribute targeted information via email and your event's website.
Additionally, you can feed sponsor messaging to every website visitor to ensure that attendees receive the message numerous times. Using website analytics, it is possible to monitor how your audience responds to the material in real-time. At an in-person event, it's impossible to accomplish that.
4. Effective Marketing
A virtual conference makes sharing information about your organisation easier and more effective with potential customers because your products and services are just a click away. However, a traditional festival limits the number of possible customers because the fairgrounds impose physical restrictions.
Prospective buyers have limited time and energy to explore all of the booths and exhibitors. An online event delivers the message more clearly, directly, and effectively.
Advertising, on the other hand, is less expensive. Creating a digital platform will only require a one-time investment on your part. Using the old-school marketing method is much more costly, which involves printing hundreds of brochures and providing attendees with swag like PR tote bags or keychains.
In today's business world, hosting virtual events has become an essential marketing tool. Virtual events help businesses to connect with potential customers from all over the world, in a cost-effective and efficient way.
5. Wider Outreach
A virtual event can reach and host exponentially more people than a regular business conference. Only your marketing abilities and platform's capabilities determine the scope of the possible audience. Unlike a physical location, a virtual meeting can accommodate an incredible number of attendees worldwide. On-the-fence investors will also be encouraged to join as it is more convenient to have them online than to drive long distances.
Your virtual event would be much more relevant if viewers could watch it via social media and other websites.
The Cons of Virtual Events
Virtual meetings appear to be beneficial to every company organisation in every way. While virtual events have their benefits, they also have their drawbacks. It's worth noting that there are several drawbacks to virtual and webinar-based interacting such as:
1. Lack of focus/Distractions
Suppose you're reading this post on virtual and in-person events. In that case, you're probably already aware that an online meeting using Zoom or another comparable platform that lasts longer than 30 minutes can be a real pain.
When you're alone in front of a laptop screen, it's easy to let your thoughts wander, and when someone is yammering on for 30 minutes or an hour on something or other, it can be difficult to pay attention.
For the most part, this is a human error rather than an issue with the software used to meet people online rather than face-to-face. However, this is a problem with any online activity in place of "the real thing."
It's awkward to leave a keynote in person, but it's not uncommon for people to step away from their computers to make a coffee or check their Twitter feed for a few minutes as the presentation continues.
2. Less Excitement
Hosting virtual events has become the new normal. While there are some advantages to this, such as not having to worry about logistics or travel, they are generally less exciting than in-person events. This is because they lack the key element of human interaction.
When you're at an event in person, you can interact with the other guests, enjoy the atmosphere and really get a sense of the event. With a virtual event, you're essentially just watching a screen.
There's no opportunity for networking or socializing, and the overall experience is usually quite dull. If you're looking for excitement, then hosting or attending a virtual event is probably not the best option.
3. Time Zone Conflicts
Hosting virtual events can be a great way to connect with people from all over the world. However, one of the most dreaded difficulties of virtual events is the time zone conflict. When hosting an event that spans multiple time zones, it can be difficult to find a time that works for everyone.
This often results in people having to wake up early or stay up late to attend the event, which can be frustrating and cause people to not want to participate. To avoid this problem, consider hosting your event during a "slow" time for one of the major time zones.
For example, hosting an event at 10pm EST would make it more convenient for attendees in Europe, who would only have to stay up an hour later than they are used to.
While this may not be perfect for everyone, it can help to minimize the impact of time zone conflicts and make your event more accessible for a wider range of people.
4. Lack of Business Opportunities
Real-time conferences and seminars are a systematic way for businesses to secure new business transactions and find new clientele. Representatives of well-known companies congregate at these locations to network and mingle. If you've ever been to a virtual event, you'll be able to tell the difference between it and the real thing.
A larger social circle, greater commercial prospects, and the potential for generating leads benefit from increased networking. In-person contact between colleagues can deepen bonds of friendship.
5. Unforeseen Technical Problems
One major downside is the increased risk of technical problems. When everything is done online, even a small glitch can cause major disruptions. There is also the challenge of keeping attendees engaged for the entire event, especially if they are not able to interact directly with other participants or the speaker.
If not properly planned for, such problems can disrupt the flow of the event and lead to frustrated participants.
What is the best time to host a virtual event?
Determining the best time to host a virtual event depends on various factors, including the target audience's demographics, time zones, and preferences. Here are some considerations to help you decide:
Audience Demographics
Understand your target audience's demographics, such as their age, profession, and location. Consider their typical schedules and availability. For example, if your audience consists of working professionals, evenings or weekends might be more convenient for them.
Time Zone
If your audience spans multiple time zones, aim for a time that accommodates the majority of participants. Consider scheduling the event during a time frame that overlaps with typical working hours for the largest segment of your audience or choose a time that minimizes inconvenience for participants in different regions.
Avoid Major Conflicts
Check for any major holidays, industry events, or other conflicting commitments that could affect attendance. Avoid scheduling your event during times when your audience is likely to be preoccupied or unavailable.
Engagement Patterns
Analyze engagement patterns from previous events or marketing campaigns to identify peak times when your audience is most active. Use this data to inform your decision on when to schedule your virtual event for maximum participation.
Promotion Strategy
Consider the timing of your promotional efforts leading up to the event. Plan your marketing campaigns to build anticipation and generate excitement in the weeks or days leading up to the event, ensuring that your audience is aware of the event and has ample time to register.
Post-Event Engagement
Think about the timing for follow-up activities or post-event engagement. Schedule any post-event surveys, thank-you emails, or additional content strategically to maintain momentum and foster ongoing engagement with attendees.
Here’s how Oreed can help you take your online events to the next level
Hosting virtual events is not easy and comes with a lot of disadvantages, cons and hassles. You have to worry about everything from the technical aspects to making sure everyone stays engaged. However, there is a new online event management platform that can help you avoid all of these problems - Oreed.
Oreed was designed specifically for hosting online and hybrid events, which means that it is perfect for managing both in-person and online events. With Oreed, you can easily keep track of all your attendees, no matter where they are located.
Plus, it offers a variety of tools to help you engage your audience and ensure that your event runs smoothly. So if you're looking for a way to hosting virtual events without all the headaches, then be sure to check out Oreed.
Conclusion
Have you tried hosting a virtual event yet? If not, there are plenty of reasons to give it a go. With the right platform, like Oreed, your business can reach new heights and connect with potential customers all over the globe.
Of course, there are some things to keep in mind when planning and hosting a virtual event. But with careful preparation and execution, your next online gathering could be your most successful yet.
Ready to start planning? Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help make your next virtual event a success.
