Virtual events have become the new-age phenomenon that rose to a massive hype in 2020 owing to global movement restrictions.
Even in 2021, businesses continue to get tested with the best event calendar for event management as some countries are still observing lockdowns in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Digital marketing was always a thing. However, now it poses as one of the most pivotal business marketing tools.
So, hosting virtual events is the perfect way to engage both investors and viewers. They can build your brand, generate leads, and establish yourself as an industry leader. Let us get more acquainted with the concept of virtual events.
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What is a Virtual Event and its Diverse Types?
A virtual event refers to an organized activity where individuals experience events and their content online rather than assembling in-person.
These events may range from large-scale conventions with a plethora of attendees or small Q&A sessions with a few invested people. Virtual events take place in many forms. Some of them are:
Virtual Conferences
Virtual conferences form around a live, complex agenda including keynotes, breakouts, sessions, and more like in-person conferences. The only difference is that they get hosted online.
Webinars
A webinar refers to a virtual seminar on topics where a host presents a demo or lecture. This format poses the best option to reach a wider audience. In a webinar, PowerPoint presentations become the best way to showcase your ideas. You can host a webinar for both your employees and audience.
How-to's and Tutorials
These tutorials or How-to events remain perfect to launch new products, answer FAQs, reveal different tips, tricks, and instructions.
Internal Hybrid Events
These virtual events may host sales kick-offs and company-wide events. Additionally, it caters to training and department meetings as well. It is best suited for firms with employees in different countries to bring them together.
Now that we have acquired knowledge about virtual events let us find out about hosting them strategically.
Set Objectives and Construct an Activity Map
Every online or offline event requires a well-planned strategy to get executed in the best possible manner.
Identify the purpose of organizing your virtual event and create an activity map to include its step-by-step information.
You can lay your goals around the following questions:
- How do you want to host your event- live or on-demand?
- Which platform do you want to choose?
- Who will be your speakers?
- Who is your ideal audience?
- How to promote your event?
- How to proceed with registration?
- Who will be your sponsors?
- How will you track KPIs?
Pick the Date and Time
Set the right date and time for your events regardless of their size or platform to gather maximum participants. Ensure that no competing events or holidays interfere with the attendance of your clients.
Be mindful of time zone considerations if you aim to target global attendees. Conduct research beforehand while selecting the time and date for your event.
Set Budgets
Outlining the budget for your virtual event is a must before leveraging the right technology. It will help you to decide the cost of everything to host your event.
The core investment with virtual events lies in funding the right virtual event promotions and platforms. Keep segmenting the budget accordingly before proceeding with the activities further.
Choose the Right Platform
Webinars
A webinar is an online presentation held in real-time. A presenter shares their screen to go through slide decks while narrating the event.
Design presentations with professional PowerPoint templates to make them more appealing and eye-catching. Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex are some great platforms to host webinars. Also, you can find some other great webinar platforms for you to choose from on the market as well.
Social Media Stories
Technologies integrate various exciting and interactive elements such as live social media stories to your virtual event rendering it engaging.
You can share videos and tutorials or even host live interactive sessions with your audience. Add special effects, take questions, or hire an influencer.
Livestream via Social Media
Every social media platform these days encompass a live video feature. Livestreams drive more engagement than regular videos.
You can pick any social media platform and conduct live sessions to promote your services. For example, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Twitter Live, and LinkedIn Live.
Leverage an Event Calendar
Are you worried about handling so much event planning systematically? Keeping an event calendar is your key to anchor a successful virtual event. Modern Events Calendar (MEC) by Webuns is one of the best WordPress event calendar plugins.
An event calendar will assist you in managing your events in a fast and seamless manner. Explore its easy-to-use interface, various features like booking, payments, and 50+ display layouts.
This all-inclusive event calendar lets you organize any virtual event in a hassle-free manner.
Promote Your Virtual Event
Effective promotion is one of the chief factors that largely determine the success of your online event. It is imperative to reach out to your target audience via digital channels.
You can utilize paid advertisements or post on your social media channels with the details of your event.
Also, ensure to incorporate the registration or the attending link for your event to ensure maximum attendance and exposure. Here a few golden tips to promote your virtual event:
- Select your topmost talent as they depict your selling point
- Promote your event on popular event pages and sites
- Build eye-catching creatives
- Market through the right influencers and channels
- Leverage keywords for SEO optimization
- Conduct pre-event buzz to excite your audience with quizzes and polls
- Send Emails
Prepare Your Team for any Technical Glitches
Get ready with a plan B if your plan A stumbles on technical glitches before kickstarting your virtual event. Even online events can result in last-minute technical hiccups.
It might be possible that you lose internet connectivity or the screen freezes. Always conduct a dry run to identify & eliminate problems to ensure a smooth experience for your attendees.
Stress Importance on Audience Engagement
Virtual events ought to be as accessible and engaging as possible. It is twice as challenging to retain your virtual audience's attention than offline one due to distractions.
Thus, keep the flow of interaction to keep your audience hooked to their screens. Follow these tips for a fruitful audience engagement:
- Stunning slide decks
- Functional fonts with a large font size
- High color-contrast
- Captions, visuals, and narration where necessary
- Polls and quizzes
- In-between and after event Q&A sessions
Collect Audience Feedback
Gather feedback from the audience once your virtual event gets over. It will help you to get their genuine response regarding the success or shortcomings of your event.
Send follow-up surveys via emails or provide them with a link to Google forms or other alternatives to share their insights about what held their interest and whatnot.
Bottom Line
Virtual events are useful and enriching ways to reach people around the globe. The way the landscape is evolving, digital platforms continue to lead virtual events.
You can host prospering online events using proper planning, strategic thinking, and marketing skills with the above-mentioned virtual event tips.
Well-thought virtual events can draw a line between successful business ventures and missed opportunities.
Form beautiful presentations and set up your event calendars with MEC for a memorable experience.
Follow these tips and deliver unforgettable digital events today.