Webinar, Virtual Event, or a Virtual Conference – online corporate events may take many forms, but their core offering remains centered on flexibility. As the past two years have demonstrated, physical conferences lack the flexibility offered by virtual meetings. As a result, corporations have come to expect a lot from virtual event platforms.
Previously, virtual events were usually planned as add-ons to a live event in order to include people who couldn’t attend in person. This is no longer the case – virtual events have emerged as their own popular category of corporate activities. A recent industry report states that up to 90% of event organizers are investing in virtual events to meet this demand.
With so many new players entering the market, the question for corporations is not whether to host virtual events, but where to host them. Here’s a handy list of factors to keep in mind:
Convenience
A major appeal of virtual conferencing platforms is their ease of use, compared to the thousands of moving parts that go into making a physical event successful. That said, it’s important to pick a virtual event platform that is designed to help you do less, not more. Complex mechanisms, non-intuitive UIs, and overcomplicated user guides make for a tedious virtual meeting – especially for those organizing them. In order to truly reap the benefits of virtual conferencing, it is important to test out multiple platforms to see which one you and your team find the easiest to operate.
Virtual conferencing has the power to lower barriers of access to an unprecedented capacity. However, this cannot be possible without the choice of platform aligning with the average technical skillset of the choosing organization. No matter how big an event or the organizer’s intent for it, ease of use is crucial.
Communication
Be it conflict resolution within a team at a small meeting, or business development through networking at a giant trade expo – communication is the whole point. Open communication allows people to connect with each other through the means that suit them best. It may be text for some, audio chat for someone else, and video feeds for another.
While the right mix of communication tools is not challenging, finding a platform that balances them well maybe. In fact, video conferencing tools are a great illustration of this premise: despite the gamut of features available, users reported feeling fatigued and disconnected regardless. The key to choosing an effective virtual conferencing platform is to pick one that can support multiple modes of communication without difficulty or confusion.
Capacity
The number of attendees that a platform can accommodate plays a big part in determining its suitability for an organization or service provider. Corporations looking for a medium to host company-wide open houses may contend with platforms that can comfortably host up to 100 people; sponsors at a corporate show may refuse to participate for an audience of less than 1000. There is truly no one size that fits all.
The ideal virtual event platform for you can host all attendees without downtime or lags. This is crucial to not only create a smooth and hassle-free meeting experience for all, but also to put your mind at ease.
Customization
Attendees at a virtual event can quickly lose interest if they have limited avenues to engage with the data being presented. Facilitating these interactions may prove to be easier at physical events, but with the right set of customization tools, a virtual conferencing platform can create a captivating and immersive experience for its attendees.
Customizable platforms enable a truly multimedia experience for audiences, with the platform itself supporting the event messaging; environmental graphics, avatars, booth and demo spots can make an event much more engaging as well as effective.
Monetization
Just like physical events, virtual events can have sponsors too. In fact, the profitability of virtual events has been a driving factor in their rise in popularity. While this factor may not be a consideration for corporations, event organizers and marketers must opt for platforms that can support monetization, advertising and branded content.
Aided by customization, monetization opportunities can be the big pull brands need to associate themselves with an event. For brands, marketing collateral can be integrated with the event experience to drum up interest among audiences. For event organizers, micro-events with ticketed entry can be created within larger expos to create more monetization opportunities. For both sides of the equation, monetization opportunities make virtual events infinitely appealing.
While there is an offering in the virtual conferencing segment to meet every need, there is no one platform that suits everyone. The five factors listed above, however, can help you make the right choice of virtual event platform.
