Since it looks like we will be in a Virtual State of Mind for the Spring Season, we thought we would provide you with 6 top reasons why virtual events work. Hopefully you consider all of these as you are planning your Spring events.
1. Remain Relevant
This can mean a lot of different things. For corporations – staying in front of your clients and prospects. Now is not the time to give up market share, and with so many digital tools, there is no excuse to not remain relevant. For nonprofits – you need to keep your donors engaged and show them how critical your services are during these hard times. If you lose those donors due to inactivity, they may begin supporting another worthy cause, and may not come back. And for our associations and member based groups, this is an excellent time to expand your influence and grow your member base. People are feeling isolated, and want to know how their peers are doing.
2. Audience Expansion
This is one of the main reasons that we feel virtual will continue after the pandemic ends. A ballroom has a clearly stated capacity, that can not increased. The internet does not. Its so easy to grow your audience and to try and reach new markets, that it seems like a logical path. You can reach new clients, new industries, new states, and new countries. And for much less in advertising spend than traditional markets. We recently participated in the Spark of Change virtual expo, and there were over 1000 registrants from over 60 countries! It’s a wide open world.
3. Accessibility
Accessibility is an often overlooked advantage to why virtual events work so well. In a hotel or country club, or less traditional space, accessibility is a tremendous issue for those with disabilities. An in-person event is a real commitment for someone with a disability to attend. And of course we’re not just talking about there being a wheelchair ramp, elevator, or an accessible restroom. A virtual event allows ALL of our audience with disabilities to view and participate much easier and more effectively. You are truly opening your event to all of your clients and all of your potential market.
4. Cost Effective
Without catering, food and beverage, airfare, hotels, transportation, flowers, room rental, valet parking, and other expenses – you are in general – spending a lot less money to produce a virtual event, than an in-person event. That doesn’t mean there are not costs to produce a professional virtual event, but in general the costs are lower. In a virtual event, your big spends are in production and marketing.
5. Data & Analytics
Digital marketing and virtual events have tons of data. In a traditional in-person event, you have your registration data. In a virtual event, you can see exactly who is watching, for how long, from where, on what internet browser, on mobile or desktop, and much more. The idea is that you can then use that data, to make good profitable decisions, and to better know your clients and your prospective clients.
6. Access to Speakers
A final point for today, is your access to speakers or presenters. You have a completely new access to speakers that you might not have had previously. Traditionally, you would need to pay large fees to keynote speakers for their airfare, hotel, per diem, and speaker fees. Now you can pay a fraction of that fee, and bring people in from all over the world to contribute to your event. Looking for a celebrity to support your cause, and you can’t get them in person? Log on to Cameo – have them tape a quick message for your organization for a fraction of the cost. There are no geographical or time boundaries in a virtual event.
Want to learn more? Check out our recent webinar for the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation called The Power of Virtual Events with our platform partners Hospitality Resource Group and MackTeck Solutions.
As we continue to deliver Success You Hear and Results You See, we’ll be sharing insights and best practices for excelling in the virtual setting.