In the last few years, the number of virtual conferences and events has increased dramatically. With the advent of the global pandemic, there was a rapid increase in the percentage of virtual meet-ups as live physical events have come to a stop. Today, hosting virtual conferences have become an important aspect of every organization globally. The event format’s flexibility allows guests to participate in sessions from the comfort of their own homes. As a result, geographical obstacles and travel restrictions are no longer an issue with virtual events. However, virtual conferences empower businesses to foster meaningful connections with delegates globally without having to book travel tickets.
Virtual conferences offer numerous options to organizations to grow and expand. As we enter the digital age, hosting virtual conferences became part of the new normal. It not only allows businesses to increase employee productivity by involving them in the conference but also speeds up the decision-making process. Additionally, it also facilitates organizations to communicate with international delegates and business partners from afar. That is sometimes not possible due to geographical barriers with physical conferences.
According to a recent survey, more than 85 percent of registrants intend to participate in virtual conferences. Undeniably, virtual conferences are here to stay for long. Many large-scale organizations have been leveraging it for a long. Whereas those who are new to it have intended to make it part of future strategies. Virtual conferences have numerous advantages, ranging from increased flexibility to lower operating costs. We’ve put together a virtual conference guide for you in this post, which includes the finest tips and tricks for running a smooth and seamless virtual conference. Let’s dig in!
What Is A Virtual Conference, & How Does It Work?
A virtual conference differs from a virtual meeting or a webinar. Virtual conferences are an online event that takes place with the help of a comprehensive virtual conference platform. It can be a one-day or multi-day online event that is held using an internet connection. And allows attendees to connect from remote locations effortlessly to have meaningful conversations via networking features available. Educational sessions, product demos, panel discussions, roundtable talks, training sessions, keynote addresses, and more can all be part of a virtual conference. Virtual conferences have numerous advantages and provide numerous opportunities to scale your business and generate qualified leads.
Why You Should Organize A Virtual Conference?
The benefits of virtual conferences are immeasurable. Virtual events can help your conference reach a diverse set of audiences around the world while also producing a significant return on investment. Virtual conferences are an excellent way to keep going in difficult times when social gatherings are no longer happening in the outside world. Here are a few benefits of virtual conferences to be aware of:
- Increased Reach
Virtual conferences enable participants to take part in the event from any corner of the world. The hassle of traveling to the event location gets completely resolved. Thus, resulting in increased reach and accessibility.
- It reduces the cost involved
The costs involved in setting up virtual conferences get reduced considerably when compared to physical conferences. The need for booking venue, food, and beverages, hiring technical staff all gets resolved with virtual conferences. All you need to invest in is high-tech virtual event technology to host your conferences online.
- Enhanced attendance and leads
As virtual conferences allow attendees to partake in sessions remotely, the attendance at virtual conferences is relatively high. More the attendance, the chances of generating qualified leads even increases with the same.
- Valuable data tracking
Virtual conferences allow you to keep complete track of all the attendees present during the event. Right from how they navigated, what they shared, downloaded, where they went and when they left, every move is tracked. It helps in generating an accurate real-time event analytics report.
- Instant feedbacks
To keep the conference lively and interesting, virtual conferences include live polls, surveys, Q&A sessions, and more. Additionally, it facilitates the instantaneous collection of useful input from attendees, which is practically hard to achieve with live physical conferences.
- Increased ROI
Virtual conferences offer a substantial return on investment when compared to traditional ones.
How To Organise A virtual Conference?
Below, we have enumerated some tips to organize a virtual conference that ensures success.
1. Leverage the right virtual event technology
To ensure the success of a virtual conference, one must use technologically advanced virtual conference platforms. In recent years, the competition between virtual event platforms has increased dramatically. There are numerous options available in the market. The first step toward success is to choose the right virtual conference platform with the most exciting features for your needs.
Choose a platform with a diverse selection of interesting and interactive features to keep participants’ attention during the event. What’s more, what’s better than a platform that gives a number of networking solutions for seamless networking and real-time data analytics reports?
2. Identify your event goals
You must be well aware of your goals what you want to achieve. If you are clear with it, you will create an effective strategy to ensure a successful event.
3. Know your audience well enough
To get the most out of your virtual conference, you must first figure out who your customers are. You may build strategic planning that appeals to your target audiences if you have a clear understanding of who they are. You can conduct polls before the event to learn more about your audience’s preferences and dislikes.
4. Plan a strategy for your conference
Create an effective strategy for your virtual conference to get the maximum out of it. Make sure while creating an event strategy, you keep your attendee’s preferences in mind. It will help in boosting engagements at the conference while delivering value to them.
5. Keep time zone in mind while selecting date & time
To achieve maximum attendance, selecting the right data and time is a must. Before making a final decision, keep time zone factors in mind if your event is intended for international participants. To ensure maximum attendance at the conference, choose a day and time that accommodates the most number of people. Also, keep an eye out for any national holidays that may conflict with your event dates.
6. Promote your virtual conference
Create excitement for your event even before it begins. Marketing and promoting the event in the right way is the key to ensure event success. It makes sure your event reaches the greatest number of people as quickly as possible.
7. Do a dry run
It’s always a good idea to do a practice run before the big event. It aids in the detection of any obstructions. If there are any, you are still left with the time to fix it and host a seamless virtual conference.
8. Engage Attendees during the conference
Engage your attendees during virtual conferences by offering various options for engagement. Encourage your attendees to take part in interesting quizzes, contests, games, photo booths, and other activities during the conference.
9. Gather feedbacks post-event
When the event is over, don’t forget to collect attendees’ feedback. Gathering post-event feedback from guests allows you to obtain a clear image of which aspects of the event generate the most interest from attendees and which areas do not.
Final Word
As time has changed, virtual conferences have become phenomenally popular and are likely to stay here. If you have not yet thought about hosting your conference online, now is the time to get started!