Everything That You Need To Know About Virtual Events!
Today everybody is talking about virtual events, and there is an adopted opinion that it is a new phenomenon that became one of the most popular online activities. Phenomenon maybe, but it's not new. What most people do not know is that virtual events exist for almost 30 years. Yes, you heard it right. So, let us start from the beginning.
History of Virtual Events
In April 1993, Alan Saperstein & Randy Selman launched "Convention View" as a presentation for investors at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. They were recording trade show stands and then attached those videos to HTML floor maps. It was the groundbreaking solution back then, and today considered pioneers of virtual events. Even they had initial success, the company closed it down. In November 2010, they come back with an incredible virtual tradeshow platform called – MarketPlace365.
It took almost a decade until virtual events become trendy. During the 2000s crisis, their potential was intensively tested because of one of their significant advantages – they grant an economically powerful way to bring thousands of attendees to the event from around the world. But how do you turn a multi-day conference, filled with networking opportunities, educational sessions, and the attendee insights they generate into virtual events?
Virtual events benefits
You can't, and you should not! Real contact can't be exchanged for virtual. At least I believe in that. You should focus on how all the features that this platform offers can be used as an advantage and try to accomplish what is not possible with real events. And believe me, there are many!
First, impress your audience with creative design. This is your opportunity to brand your virtual venue as much as you want. No restriction from hotels, no expensive branding solution, and what stands between you and fantastic venue decoration is only the brief you should give to the designer. The sky is the limit.
Invite as much people as you want!
Second, how many people you want to invite? 100? 500? 10 000? It doesn't matter! A platform like this can support you with any number of attendees you choose. Therefore, no venue limitation, no budget limitation – your agency needs to create an HTML invitation and send them to all your prospects in one campaign. You see, you already save hours of hassle choosing the seating set up and wondering will your budget cover DDR for all your guests.
On the other hand, I didn't even start with the best part. I know how challenging it can be to find and gather all speakers you need for your event from my personal experience. Your sales team is traveling nonstop, the CEO is not a talkative person, and the marketing department already has full hands. Now, you can pre-record all your sessions a week before the event, and have them ready way much before the event. Furthermore – for the first time you will experience the event that starts on time, fully respected agenda, and of course, all will finish exactly when you planed. On-time!
Let's not forget about attendance flexibility! The virtual event can last for days, even weeks, and your invitees now will not have an excuse that they do not have time to attend or they are not available because of some other commitments. Additionally, with this platform, you give them a 100% user-friendly experience where they can log in and log out whenever they want.
Furthermore, these are just some of the features available on this platform. Soon, I will be talking more about each of them and explaining all advantages and disadvantages. However, before we jump on that, there is one important feature all marketing people will love – Data tracking and report.
Data tracking and report
Trust me; it's much better than you think. For instance, virtual event platforms can integrate Google analytics, which can track every single move your attendees do after they log in. You can have clear visibility, which one of them watches the video, visit all sponsor's booths, with whom they chat, and the list goes on and on. Amazing, right?
I know I can talk about this until tomorrow, but some of you will never be convinced. Thus, that is why I have one small surprise for all you who read this article. Whoever is interested in learning more about virtual events, please get in touch. I will send you a demo where you can find all the information you need. And even more – for all of you who want your own, virtual event, I guarantee the first 10% discount. It can't be better than this!
Still not convinced? No problem; send me an email or contact me directly at monja@markableuae.com, and I will do my best to do a full evaluation of your event objectives for you. My team and I will immediately find a solution that will ensure you the best ROI.
Monja Uzunovic
As a passionate marketing & event professional, I'm client-oriented, with an instructive sales approach, and I do believe that " The power of mouth" is one of the best ways of advertising your work.