In 2020, the rise of remote work was undeniable. Along with the rise of remote work comes the rise of virtual events. In fact, the virtual events industry is expected to be a $400 billion industry by 2027. Virtual events allow participants to remain in the comfort of their own homes while gaining the knowledge and excitement of attending their normally scheduled events. In short, a virtual event is any event held online.
Types of Virtual Events
In the corporate world, there are 4 types of virtual events. These include virtual conferences, webinars, internal hybrid events and external hybrid events. All these events have the potential to host many participants. Conferences will most likely have several speakers while webinars are more like virtual seminars.
Both internal and external hybrid events will have a combination of in-person and online attendees. These online attendees can be logging on from anywhere in the world.
Benefits of Virtual Events
There are many benefits to hosting virtual events.
Save money
Organizers save money on travel, venue, staffing, food and drink costs, accommodations. For attendees, they save considerably on travel expenses, as they can and will participate from their own homes.
Improved Feedback
Data and analytics are built into virtual events platforms. This data can tell you information about participants, numbers of active participants, number of participants in each session and so much more. Also, this data is collected in real-time, so you’ll never have to guess at what the most effective aspect of your event was. To say the least, this data is hard to track with in-person events.
Flexibility
With an online platform, many more people can participate as speakers or even just as participants. If you were hosting an in-person event, travel and scheduling could be an issue for certain speakers. With virtual events, your speakers just need a free hour or two. Your attendees will have a better opportunity to ask questions or make comments.
Timeliness
As an organization plans an in-person event, they can create a virtual event back-up plan. This is a great option for the current state of the country. If something were to happen where you couldn’t host your in-person event, you can give your participants the option of a virtual event either same day or within the week with little prep needed.
Features of a Good Virtual Events Platform
There are many features of a virtual events platform that are necessary for an excellent event. We will highlight 5 features that you platform must have in order to best serve your participants.
File Sharing
Your host or hosts need to be able to share their screen, share their files, PDFs, videos and anything else they need for their presentations. This will keep your participants engaged throughout your event.
Meeting rooms
Your virtual events need to provide the opportunity for the large group of participants to break down into smaller groups. Meeting rooms or break out rooms can give your participants a more focused session.
Networking
Participants at a virtual event should be able to ask questions, make comments, and talk to each other through messaging. Some of the best opportunities at in-person events come from participants talking to each other.
Provide Feedback
Feedback for organizers is very important. They can use that information to provide better services in the future. A great platform will give the opportunity for participants and speakers to provide feedback.
Recording
Recording events is a great way to provide a service to participants that had conflicting schedules. Not only can the hosts review their content, but recordings can be saved to the company library for employees, leads, and customers.
Host Your Virtual Events with Zib
Zib’s online office platform has all the features you need to host all your outstanding virtual events. Zib Messenger provides a personalized experience that your employees and customers will love. Head on over to our site for a free trial of this interactive and engaging platform.
Contact us today to get started with our professional virtual office program.
