10 Benefits of Virtual Events
Are you experiencing the benefits of virtual events? Or are you just ready for a big glass of chardonnay? While you are contemplating these questions (and maybe saying yes to both), we’d like to share 10 advantages of virtual events and conferences. So sit back, take a sip and see if these reasons relate to you.
Here are 10 benefits of virtual events that will ensure happy sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees:
Makes a good first impression.
Virtual event registration allows event planners to create customized forms, take easy payments, and quickly gather analytics, all which enhance the customer experience right from the start.
Provides good leads.
Lead retrieval apps for trade shows allow for quick follow-up and the ability to easily manage leads. Lead retrieval allows exhibitors to access important personal data shared by attendees at registration. Going virtual can get more leads with fewer headaches.
Showcases great programming.
Event planners are brilliant at letting their creativity fly to create immersive virtual event experiences, customized event schedules and engaging sessions. The trick is having a flexible Virtual Event Platform and solid support.
Enhances sponsor and exhibitor value.
Many of our clients are not discounting exhibitor fees even though the event has gone from in-person to virtual. Why? Value! Virtual event technology offers limitless ways to build sponsor packages and keep events profitable. Sponsors and exhibitors find out who visited the virtual booth or virtual session, when, and how many times. And for attendees, one of the benefits of attending virtual events is that with less physical travel, they can make time to interact with more sponsors and exhibitors.
Offers improved attendee feedback.
In addition to the rich data that can be obtained during virtual event registration, they are discovering that an online event provides a variety of different metrics to help plan future events. Some of these metrics include the true number of people attending a session, the number of people attending at a certain time and the speakers with the highest engagement rate during the conference.
Promotes attendee growth.
One major reason why virtual events are important is that they remove geographical limitations. Whether event-goers are in Kansas or Berlin, the number of attendees can grow exponentially.
Saves attendees money.
One of the biggest roadblocks to event attendance has been eliminated: travel costs. With a virtual event, the attendee only needs a computer and an Internet connection (and that glass of wine.)
Saves planners time.
Much of the time that goes into event planning is related to in-person events such as hotel site selection, on-site event staffing, and signage. Virtual events eliminate these activities and give event planners more time to focus on event programming, building sponsorships, and creating a smooth attendee experience. As we all know, time is money!
Delivers additional value.
Events typically have multiple overlapping sessions so someone cannot physically attend two interesting panels at the same time. Virtual events solve this dilemma. With on-demand content available to attendees 24-7, more people feel better about signing up.
Offers more networking options.
Virtual event platforms allow for so many ways to build professional relationships such as creating special interest meet-up spaces, hosting cocktail parties and entertainment and providing detailed attendee directories. Online events often cater to introverts and those who shy away from traditional networking – keep them engaged at their own pace by using polling to curate small, specific discussions.
The benefits of going virtual are endless: ninety-two percent of our clients rebook their virtual event with us. Whether you’re a newbie to the virtual event world or an experienced veteran, we’ve got lots of ideas to help you and your organization shine. In fact, we spend on average 50 hours per event helping event planners.
If you’d like to learn more about virtual events and how GTR™ can help, get in touch with us here.
Editors Note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Regards, Team GTR™
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Categories: Virtual Events