The demand for Virtual
Events has seen a steady rise ever since Coronavirus has taken over the entire
world and made people's lives recluse. While virtual events have been present over the
years, most people have never tried testing the waters and always opted for physical
events over virtual events.
The landscape of events seems to have changed as people are now afraid of attending any
gatherings. Keeping safety measures in mind, a lot of brands have taken a leap this year
and are organising virtual events. Conferences, trade shows, and exhibitions all have a
motive in common – they are used as marketing tools by brands and organisations to
engage with their consumer base and generate leads. While we know what’s in it for
brands to organise virtual events, we are going to delve into how brands are generating
ROI from these virtual events.
Over the years, people have chosen on-ground events based on the belief that they are
more interactive than any digital communication. While face-to-face interaction does
have a charm of its own, is it really more engaging than virtual events?
The truth is both traditional and virtual events have their own sets of pros and cons,
but let’s look at what gives virtual events an edge currently and in the times to come.
One of the main purposes of hosting events is to generate leads through networking
sessions, and virtual events are a mine for data collectors. During any exhibition and
event, it is difficult to keep a track of your audience, getting their business cards or
any sort of feedback. Virtual events provide real insights as the hosts monitor
everyone’s activities online. You get a clear idea of which session worked with your
audience, who did they interact with, how much of the content was consumed by them,
which demos they viewed or which booth they visited. Therefore, virtual events eliminate
guesswork and provide actionable intelligence based on hard facts.
Virtual events have a wide reach and can target global markets as well. The scalability
of virtual events results in lead generation as they are accessible to anyone who has a
smart device and internet bandwidth. The more the people are aware of your brand, the
bigger your consumer base. The audience growth is substantial as virtual events
eliminate discrepancies such as physical barriers or time zone differences. Virtual
events are an important tool in supporting two major marketing strategies- awareness and
advocacy.
Virtual events are very cost-effective and yield
better results than traditional events. You don’t have to plan out the travel costs, the
venue budgets or any other type of logistics. The virtual platform is tailor-made to
suit your brand for a much better price. As organisations and brands are suffering from
severe revenue slow down and pay cuts, it is important to reach out to your employees
and consumers, and keep engaging with them.
Feedback is an important feature that lets any organiser understand how he has fared so
far. While collecting feedback is a bit of a task with on-ground events, data collection
from virtual events is very easy. The brand can understand the pulse of the target
audience through feedback sessions and get clarity on the exact needs of the audience.
The audience also feels valued as their opinion is taken into consideration, which in
trun promotes long-term brand loyalty.
Virtual events in the coming days will prove to be an indispensable marketing tool that
the brands will leverage to create their consumer base. With clear set ROI and other
benefits at play, it’s time to ditch the traditional way of executing events and going
digital.
