The Benefits of Virtual Events

We’re into the tenth week of lockdown and with no sign of normality returning anytime soon almost everything which can be, has been brought online and events are no exception. 

Any events which were destined to be a physical gathering of people have almost certainly become online in the past few weeks and it’s a good move  – if all the work has already gone into your event and it’s possible to do it online then you definitely should. 

So what do you need to know about online events?

In general, it’s pretty simple to host an event online, all you really need is a decent internet connection and the right technology to host your event – which is both widely available and relatively inexpensive. More on that here

There’s also major cost benefits, marketing costs are likely to be lower, you don’t have to provide catering, there’s no printing, no event goody bags, no delegate badges and whilst you may need to invest in digital marketing tools with so many free options available, an online event can be incredibly kind to the event bottom line. 

And there’s less to be concerned about on the delegate side, too no concerns about car parking, capacity, if the chairs are comfortable or if the air con is too cold and on the side of general mishaps, no chance of the fire alarm going off halfway through or the chicken getting stuck in the lift (this actually happened to one of the Assenty team – but that’s a story for another time).

Online events can also provide a huge boost to your data set, as everyone needs to sign up to access your event irrespective of the tech you decide to use to host  – and this means with the right GDPR compliance in place you’ll be able to use this data to market to an audience which is already engaged with your brand, product or service. 

There’s major marketing wins too, almost all event hosting technology and software allows you to record, meaning you’ve got a valuable piece of content at the end of every event which you can use for to share with attendees afterwards as a useful reminder, create highlights or outtake videos or even create more leads by popping that valuable content behind a sign-up form on your website. 

So it seems to be a no brainer – why wouldn’t you make the move to virtual events? 

There’s just one last thing to consider and we haven’t mentioned it yet but it’s the big one ‘delegate experience’ we’ve all been to amazing events in the flesh and seen the elements which come together to make them a success from epic organisation to sensational staging, great speaker line ups, valuable takeaways and more – just how do you bring that ‘event experience’ online? 

Learn more in our next blog Key elements of a successful virtual event.