Virtual events may sound futuristic to some, but they have been a part of the event industry for quite some time now. On the one hand where technology boom and social media have contributed to the “virtual sphere” of the event industry, a wide array of portable devices has further opened up new gateways to reach audiences.
A virtual event is one where people attend events online rather than at in-person gatherings. With the current trend of significant occurrences happening online, chances are you might have already attended a virtual event. It may have been a webinar or a training session on a video conferencing tool.
Although several people debate the importance of face-to-face interaction, the awareness around the need of moving to virtual space is gradually increasing. More and more enterprises are accepting the fact that virtual events have become a necessity rather than an option. After all, virtual events offer some very cool benefits.
Benefits of going from in-person to Virtual
One of the largest recent events to undergo the transition to virtual was Microsoft’s Build. The annual developer event where Microsoft previews its latest developments across software and services certainly has marked a major paradigm shift in the event industry. Other companies and corporations will certainly follow suite realizing the tremendous benefits of virtual events like the ones mentioned below:
A few events which were traditionally in-person but have now gone virtual
With the entire work ecosystem shifting from a formal office setting to a home environment (thanks to the global pandemic), major events in the business sector have taken a virtual avatar. Events that have always had an in-person feel attached to them have also adapted to the virtual scheme of things.
While the list can be endless, there are few global scale events that have quickly been adapted to the virtual world:
Tips for shifting in-person events to virtual ones
While there are few fundamentals to organizing successful virtual sessions, you may experience some hiccups considering a few people may be reluctant to undergo the transition.
Here are a few tips that will assist you in taking the leap:
Top 5 virtual events and video streaming software tools
A crucial aspect of a successful virtual event is the ability of the host to stream and broadcast a live session effortlessly. And this is where video streaming and meeting tools come into the picture. With a number of features like session recording and live chat,
these tools have evolved into a complete package when it comes to virtual events.
Bitpod Events – One-Stop Solution for executing great Virtual Events
Bitpod Events is a new-age Event Management platform that lets you plan and execute all operations related to enterprise events through a single interface.
Using this platform, you can manage memberships, ticketing, payments, reports, and much more with a few clicks, and that too, completely virtually. Offering an efficient way to handle pre-event, during-event, and post-event activities, this platform is backed by low-code tools that provide you with the ability to easily personalize all event processes.
Bitpod Event offers you the following tools (among others) to plan and execute rich virtual events:
While all that’s good, are there any downsides to Virtual Events?
In a word, yes. Like every two-sided coin, shifting from in-person events to the virtual space has minor setbacks and risks, such as the failing to choose the right tech, not being able to create a
revenue-stream like an in-person event, short attention spans on part of the attendees, a higher rate of registered “no-shows,” and more. But in times like today where not having a virtual event could potentially mean not having an event at all (thereby sacrificing on enhanced reach), these risks are well worth taking.
To ensure virtual events give them maximum business value, companies need to devise an effective plan and strategy before diving into this new experience.
Building resources in terms of tools and video conferencing platforms will surely help but real learning would only come after we start experimenting.