The ongoing pandemic has thrown the entire events industry into uncertainty; we can no longer set dates for in-person events for the foreseeable future. This is why it is a great time and resource investment to start thinking about taking your events online.
Whilst hosting virtual events is not an ideal situation by any means for most of us, there are several unexpected benefits unique to moving online. Here we have looked at 9 ways that virtual events can positively impact your organisation, whether during the Coronavirus pandemic or long after.
1. Capture a new and potentially wider audience
- Provided that someone has an internet connection, they can tune into your event no matter the geographical location. This exponentially expands your reach and could even generate a new in-person audience sometime in the future!
- What’s more, it is easier for attendees to fit virtual events into their schedule, dipping in and out of the day as they choose whilst also getting their own work done. The convenience of this is sure to please the crowd.
2. In-depth analytics
- It goes without saying that it is much easier to track online engagement than in-person. Whilst you cannot physically track your attendees’ attention span, it is possible to get continuous insights into session attendance, resource viewing and networking connections made.
3. Cost reduction
- Venue hire can cost tens of thousands of pounds a day, and additionally you must factor in the cost of food and drink, accommodation for speakers, and venue insurance. Virtual events can offer potential cost savings depending on your platform, promotional activity, and support requirements.
4. Easy to manage
- When running a physical event, you will often find yourself with the impossible task of being in several places at once. In contrast, simply having one or two laptops on hand will allow you to control every aspect of your virtual event. This is also reflected in greatly reduced number of people that you will need to employ for admin and management purposes.
5. Easy to collect feedback
- You likely send your physical attendees a feedback survey after the event has passed. This has a less successful response rate than gathering this feedback right at the end of the session, which is what many virtual platforms offer when a participant leaves a session.
6. Environmentally friendly
- Physical events incur thousands of miles travelling, which of course has an impact on the environment. Virtual events negate this completely, allowing your organisation to play their part in the fight against climate change.
7. Increased engagement
- This may at first glance seem counter-intuitive, but research has shown that people are 30% more likely to initiate a chat with somebody virtually than in person.
- Additionally, it is possible to gamify the experience online, with quiz features, challenges and a points-based leader board for attendance and engagement with resources throughout the day.
8. Scalable
- While in-person events are limited to the venue size that you hire, virtual event hosting plans can expand and contract. This allows you to focus on your reach without maxing out capacity.
9. Reliability
- Perhaps the most crucial point – whilst there is still potential for technical failure, virtual events do not have to be called off for adverse weather, venue issues or global pandemics…
So, you need not see virtual events as a hinderance by any means. Some of us may even find we make a more permanent switch to online thanks to these benefits! Of course, there are many obvious benefits to running your events in person. But a hybrid of the two may be a mainstay looking into the next decade.
Get in touch with us today to see how we can help bring your event to life!
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