Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual and online experiences have transitioned into the new norm over the past year. Converting events online may have initially seemed temporary. However, 93% of event marketers will continue to invest in virtual events in the future—but why is that? Despite losing the value of in-person attendance, virtual events offer benefits that can generate long-term ROI and provide improved experiences for your attendees.

In-person events often involve more planning, time, and effort from attendees. When you transition your event into an online experience, your team and organization create more opportunities for welcoming new attendees. Virtual events eliminate limitations such as geographical location, enabling new people to attend and discover the value your organization has to offer. 

Bonus Tip: If your event is pre-recorded and released on-demand, you can include subtitles in other languages to increase your reach. 

Virtual events allow your team to be more intentional in the planning process and how you want the experience to unfold. Virtual events empower you to plan with more innovative approaches—this can range from interactive segments, brain breaks, guest speakers, and subject matter experts. Virtual events can be live, on-demand, or a mix of both. For optimal results and engagement, choose the user experience that will best suit your audience. 

Bonus Tip: If your organization is interested in measuring the differing performance between in-person and online, host a hybrid event. Implement a plan to measure how your audience responds and engages in both settings. 

Depending on the type of sessions you provide, participants are more likely to interact with others since they lack in-person engagement. Since online events are more likely to host new attendees, your typical audience will have opportunities to connect with new faces and network with a broader audience. Your organization can optimize engagement by incorporating polls, videos, short presentations, and opportunities to interact with other attendees. 

Bonus Tip: Gather feedback from your attendees about the engagement aspect of the virtual experience. Utilize their inputs and insights for your next online event!

When you convert your event online, you will eliminate standard fees, such as travel, hotel, venue, and meals. Removing these aspects from your planning will not only save your organization money but will save time and allow you and your team to put more effort into the overall event structure and planning process. Your attendees will also reap the benefits of eliminating travel from their agendas, allowing more focus and energy towards the event itself. 

One of the challenging aspects of hosting an event is gathering adequate metrics such as feedback and activity from your attendees. Hosting 100% online enables your team to track your attendees more thoroughly—when they sign on, how much they engage, and which sessions appeal most to your attendees. 

Whether you host an event in-person or online, the feedback method is often the same for both—gathering data online. Providing online surveys to gather feedback from attendees comes with more ease in virtual settings since participants will already be accustomed to an online environment. Attendees will not view this as an extra step but will perceive this as part of participating in the event.

Bonus Tip: Once your team has gathered your attendees’ overall event feedback, release the full recap/playback of the conference for a limited time so your attendees can review the content. 

Check out a few online platforms outside of zoom. Hopin, Brandlive are two that I am very interested in and think will work well. 

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