It’s safe to say that we’re all grateful for technology right now, especially during the midst of a global pandemic. It’s allowed us to keep in touch with our friends, family, to continue working from home, and to watch a lot of Netflix.
Technology has also been a lifeline for the events industry. With most in-person gatherings postponed or cancelled, many events have moved online. In fact, the number of virtual events doubled from 2019 to 2020. And with restrictions still in place in 2021, we expect virtual events to stick around for quite a while.
So what actually are virtual events, and what are the benefits of hosting them?
Both good questions, and you’ve come to the right place for the answers.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at what virtual events are, the different types of virtual events, and the benefits of hosting an online event. We’re also going to explore how using a virtual event planner makes the entire process much easier to manage. Trust us when we say there’s a lot more to it than you might think.
What is a virtual event?
A virtual event is any event, conference, or meeting that takes place online instead of in person.
Odds are at this stage in the pandemic, you’ve been to some kind of virtual event in the last year. Whether that’s attending an online workout class, joining a work video call on a Monday morning, or attending a virtual conference - one way or another, we’ve all been there.
So with most events unable to take place in person, online events have come to the forefront of the event industry. For this reason, they’re now a key part of many companies’ strategies, allowing them to continue reaching their audience without having to be in-person.
What are the common types of virtual events?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of virtual events out there, and what each entails:
#1. Webinars
Webinars are often hosted as standalone sessions, or in a series covering a central theme. They’re usually educational (the word ‘webinar’ is a combination of ‘web’ and ‘seminar’), and typically last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.
At Genero, our team recently worked with the University of South Wales to facilitate live webinars via zoom including individual talks and panel sessions with over 600 delegates from all over the world. You can find out more about the event in our USW case study.
#2. Conferences
Virtual conferences allow for live, interactive audio and visual collaboration with an online audience. As with traditional conferences, virtual conferences and summits can include speakers, breakouts and keynotes sessions for targeted audience segments.
Virtual conference platforms can include anything from a simple facilitated Zoom Webinar or Meeting with online breakout rooms, right up to a fully augmented reality event where delegates and contributors can move between areas. These include a load of branding and sponsorship activation opportunities and gives delegates the closest to a live event experience.
To put it simply, there’s no ‘one-size fits all’ approach with virtual conferences, and there are options to suit every budget and every agenda.
Find out more about virtual conferences in our case study: Moving the Autumn Conference online for Plaid Cymru
#3. Webcast or streamed events
Webcast and streamed events are a watched-only broadcast of content that can be shared live and/or on demand. Ranging from an awards ceremony to a conference, these events can be broadcast to a public platform, or can be sat behind levels of security as required.
These types of events lend themselves well to large audiences, and interactivity can be promoted as much or as little as required. Depending on the platform, users can engage via a chat function, or integrated with conference apps for live voting and a Q&A.
This type of event can also be pushed live to social media channels for further engagement if required.
Why host a virtual event?
There are a lot of benefits to hosting online events, namely being that you get a wider audience and less outgoing costs in comparison with live events. So let’s take a look at these in more detail:
#1. Bigger reach
Virtual events allow for greater audience reach, removing the barrier of geographical constraints.
Imagine you’re planning to host an event in central London. Due to the location of the event, people from other parts of the country aren’t able to attend.
Now let’s say you’re hosting the event online instead. All of those people who weren’t able to attend the event in-person can now tune in virtually instead, allowing you to reach participants who wouldn’t be able to attend if the event had been hosted solely in-person.
#2. Cost effective
Think about the costs you incur when you host a live event. You have the venue, branding, promotional materials (which need to be printed), food, drinks, an AV system… The list is pretty long.
But hosting a virtual event keeps costs much lower. You’ll have to pay for the online platform you’re using to host the event, and perhaps a venue if you’re hosting a hybrid event, but the outgoing costs are undoubtedly lower than an in-person event. In fact, 84% of organizations who had already run virtual events reported that they spent less on virtual events than live events.
#3. Easier to manage
Virtual events offer much fewer operational challenges than in-person events — trust us on this one! All you have to do is manage the virtual side of things, ensure that speakers know when they need to be live on the screen, and make sure all your delegates can access the event.
In-person events can have far more logistical issues, and it can be tricky to keep on top of last minute changes when you’re already at the facility and the event is underway. But virtual events offer a new level of flexibility, both for delegates, hosts, and event speakers alike.
#4. Environmentally friendly
Online events are undoubtedly more sustainable than in-person events. There’s no food waste, and much lower CO2 emissions of event logistics and transport. Not to mention, delegates will all enjoy the event from the comfort of their own home, making them far less likely to go and buy a snazzy one-time outfit for the occasion. As a result, they’re reducing their carbon footprint too.
#5. Longevity of footage
Virtual events allow businesses to reuse their content, meaning that they can provide their audience with relevant and useful information long after the event is over. So long as everything is set to record, they can repurpose any of their recorded talks and webinars in the future by making them downloadable, or upload them to their website for on-demand use.
Will a virtual event be engaging for my audience?
Keeping your audience engaged can be tricky when hosting an online event. The lack of face-to-face interaction can make it difficult to hold the attention of a virtual audience, but there are things you can do to keep them engaged and provide an online networking experience.
For example, opening up a discussion or holding a Q&A is a great way to involve your audience with the event itself, even if they’re not physically there in person. In fact, 66% of businesses opened a discussion with their audience at virtual events last year, and 62% held a Q&A, so it’s clearly a popular choice for audience engagement.
And to ensure that your attempts have been successful, it’s always useful to obtain feedback from your attendees. Learning from their experience will help you make better informed decisions about virtual events in the future.
What is a virtual event planner?
Virtual event planners take care of everything relating to your virtual event. Starting with the development of strategy, planning the event itself, and delivering the virtual event to your audience, virtual event planners are the glue that holds online events together.
In other words, virtual event planners facilitate the professional delivery of fully online events from start to finish.
These events can be as simple as an internal virtual meeting, or as sophisticated as a virtual conference with hundreds of attendees.
A skilled virtual event planner will also take the time to understand the required outputs for the event itself. In order to provide the best event possible, they’ll find out everything there is to know about the event. Whether that’s understanding your agenda, how many contributors your event has, how many expected delegates, and so on.
With this information, they’ll use their knowledge and expertise to provide the best solution for their event.
Let’s use an example to put it into context.
Imagine you’re hosting an event where branding is particularly important.
With this in mind, your virtual event planner will identify the best medium and format for your branding to be presented to delegates. Based on our experience, we’d recommend a Vision Mixed platform pushing content where delegates would watch. As a result, you’d be able to push content where delegates would watch, allowing for brand fore and background graphic activations as well.
So no matter what you want to get out of your event, a virtual event planner will identify the best platform and means of delivery to ensure that your event delivers.
Do you need a virtual event planner?
With the increase of online events, the need for virtual event planners is prominent now more than ever before.
Research has shown that businesses struggle to set up and run their own virtual events, with 32% struggling without the required technology, and 27% not knowing how to get participants to attend. So it’s clear that there’s a need for virtual event support.
So if you’ve been reading this article and thinking to yourself, ‘hosting virtual events sounds like a lot of work, and I’m not sure where to start’, a virtual event planner could be the way to go. Which leads us nicely into our final section…
Using Genero as your virtual event planner
Genero is one of the leading online and virtual event planning companies in the UK. We’ve helped facilitate events for brands all across the UK, including virtual events for companies such as Heineken, HSBC and Carphone Warehouse.
Now let’s take a look at a few of the reasons why Genero could be the perfect partner for your next virtual project.
#1. Dedicated online events team
At Genero, we recognise the importance of having a dedicated team to work with online events. So when you work with us, our experienced online event team will help you plan a virtual event that engages attendees. We’ll also look after all live stream and event production elements, too.
#2. Over 20 years of experience with events
Our virtual events team has over a decade of experience in online events. As a result, we’re fully prepared to adapt to any unexpected changes and capable of handling hurdles that arise throughout the process.
No matter what gets thrown our way, we’re ready to put our skills to the test and provide you with the perfect online event.
#3. Reliable and trustworthy partner
At Genero, we pride ourselves on being a reliable and trustworthy partner. We provide you with reassurance and confidence throughout all stages of the event, and will work alongside you to ensure that the final delivery meets the standards you’ve set.
We’re also open and honest with our communication, so you can trust that the work we’re doing is always in your best interest.
Contact us to discuss your next virtual event
No matter the size or complexity of the event, the team at Genero will provide impeccable attention to detail and provide you with the perfect online event.
Do you have an online event you want to deliver? Contact the team at Genero today to discuss your ideas, and let us take care of the rest.