Taking Your Organization Event Virtual: How-to, Best Practices and More

The pandemic has caused much uncertainty during the spring of 2020. Given this, it is important for organizations to be strategic and adapt quickly. Now is the time to develop even more meaningful relationships with your audiences and connect deeper.

With face-to-face events on hold for the foreseeable future, organizations need to be strategic and should pivot marketing and communication efforts to reach their target audiences where they are. Through virtual conferences, events and exhibits, your organization can share information and engage with your audiences while providing critical moments of connections.

Even before the pandemic, virtual streaming and live video had seen a strong and steady rise in the last two years. According to Marketing Profs, over 80% of poll respondents favor a good quality live stream from a company rather than a blog or social post. And according to Data Connectors and NowSourcing, by 2021, it is projected that video, including web conferencing, will account for more than 80% of all internet traffic. Now is the time for your organization to go virtual!

VALUE OF ENGAGING VIRTUALLY

There are many benefits to engaging with your stakeholders virtually. When planned and structured well, your virtual event will be able to reach new audiences and give people a rich and searchable experience that will provide insight and value to your business.

1. Cost Savings Going virtual takes away the barriers in-person events hold, like cost. Organizations can spend a high percent of total expenses to host in-person conferences and events, such as paying for the event space, on-hand staff, audio/visual and catering. Also, attending these events can get expensive with steep group travel ticket prices and arranging accommodations. All of these costs are minimized when hosting virtually.
2. Global Reach With no-to-low cost to attend an event, there is the opportunity for your virtual event to reach a global audience. With few geographical restrictions and uncapped attendance, more people are able to participate in your event (during and after), gaining more engagement, increased reputation as a thought leader in your field of expertise, and follow-on interaction for your event.
3. More Diversity Hosting an event virtually also opens the doors to attracting in-demand speakers that don’t typically wouldn’t have the time to commit to multiple in-person events. With no travel needed, your event can attract a diverse array of speakers, moderators and panel participants, for example.
4. Sustainable In-person events carry with them a big ecological footprint. From the effects of traveling to waste thrown away and goodie bags chock full of promo items handed out, in-person conferences are far from environmentally friendly. Hosting virtually provides companies with the opportunity to reach wide and minimize the footprint.

BEST PRACTICES

If you’re thinking of taking your next event virtual, here are some best practices for you to keep in mind as you plan.

TOOLS

There are many platforms out there to help you host an event virtually. Deciding which tool to use will depend on your event objectives and how you want to deliver content.

EXAMPLES

Many organizations are making the important shift to developing virtual content. Here are some examples of the organizations we see making this pivot.

Through virtual events, your organization can provide a deeper, more connected experience. To help take your next event virtual, the CONNECTIVE Agency team has compiled a reference deck of all the things you need to know. Contact Kyra Barker at CONNECTIVE Agency to receive a copy.