A Complete Guide to Virtual Events

Virtual Event Platforms have undoubtedly become the world’s answer when it comes to organizing any type of event. Mainly because, the benefits & advantages of going virtual through an advanced event technology, are hidden by none. Event organizers and planners from diverse industries are shifting to virtual venues to host all forms of events. Therefore, it would be no mistake to say that knowing all about the virtual events industry is a need of the moment, so you don’t miss out on what the world is heading to! In this blog, we have covered all the essential aspects of a virtual event that you must know. Go on and dive into the universe of virtual events, or say, the future of the events industry!

What is a Virtual Event Platform?

A virtual event platform is an online event service that helps you organize an engaging & successful event over a virtual venue. It enables you to create a life-like event through the advanced blend of event management & technology through an immersive 3D environment, captivating visuals, and excellent interactive features. 

With the help of a professional & skilled virtual event platform, you can seamlessly organize a productive virtual event of any type, format, and industry. The best virtual event platforms provide the users with high scalability & customization facility, allowing the organizers to create an event exactly like their imagination and preferences. Not just this, but it also renders a seamless event execution, with highly engagement, networking, and interaction-driven virtual venue.

Although a virtual event lacks direct face-to-face interaction, the right virtual event platform for sure provides an innovative set of top-notch features & tools to recreate the experience of an on-site event. Another reason why choosing the virtual format of hosting an event can be very profitable is it saves your time, effort, and expenses!

Why are Virtual Events Important?

Virtual events have become progressively popular in the last few years. However, the reason behind this constant growth & inclined demand of the virtual event platforms is not limited to one. But one prominent reason that has given a great rise to virtual events is the possibility of organizing both small-scale and large-scale events while ensuring safety amidst the pandemic. Therefore, the importance & benefits of hosting virtual events go hand in hand.

Here are some top reasons why virtual events are important –

#1 Better Exposure

With virtual events, you can reach a larger target audience and collaborate with global experts & speakers. It is so because traveling across countries for an event can be quite effortful but attending a virtual event brings users the comfort of accessing events while staying at home.

#2 Less Expensive

The format of virtual events brings organizers the opportunity to save large sums of expenses as the need to travel, arrange accommodation, logistics, venue, resources, and a lot more gets eliminated. All an organizer has to do is- book an efficient virtual event platform that provides all the required features & tools to host a successful virtual event.

#3 Time & Effort Saving

With the help of choosing the right virtual event platform, not just the organizer but even the event attendees get to save a lot of time & effort. After determining the goal and strategizing the event, an organizer can sit back and see the magic of a virtual event platform work. A productive virtual event platform renders the users with a complete set of innovative features that help organizers make a memorable event without having to spend their time & efforts.

#4 Totally Oriented Towards Pandemic-Precautions

The biggest reason that pushed event management to a virtual world is the requirement to follow Covid-19 pandemic precautions. The format of virtual events is totally precaution oriented that enables the users to organize, host, and attend important virtual events while maintaining complete social distance & avoiding large gatherings. It has made the hosting of significant events totally possible while ensuring that everybody is safe from the pandemic.

#5 Eco-Friendly Format

Time has told the world how saving our environment while maintaining proper sustainability & minimizing pollution is really important if we want upcoming generations to have a future. Virtual events are important because they are a big step in the direction of saving our environment. It is so because, with the help of virtual events, the carbon footprint of each event participant is minimized with the eliminated requirement of traveling and using other physical-event resources.

#6 Futuristic Technology

The modern virtual event technology is also very futuristic in terms of world technology evolution. By taking our events virtual, we are moving towards innovation, growth, and advancements that are absolutely future-oriented.

#7 Maximum Attendance

With virtual events, the limitation or boundation of attendance also gets eliminated. Users can now organize an event with limitless attendance while also maintaining a proper functioning and productive optimization of the event platform. With zero geographical constraints, an event can now reach a diverse audience across the world. The traffic of your event also increases with the feature of social media streaming.

#8 Easily-Available Event Content

In a traditional format of an event, the content or details shared at the event is not accessible once the event is over. While one can still find a video of the event in rare cases, living a real-like event experience is impossible. However, this is one important aspect of virtual events that makes them very efficient and helpful. With the feature of on-demand content availability, a participant can easily experience the event and access the content even after the event is over.

#9 Immersive Virtual Experience

An advanced virtual event platform comes with innovative features like a 3D venue, a 360-degree environment, immersive venue designs, dynamic lobbies, banners, and a lot more. These exceptional features help the users have a life-like event experience that is no less than a physical event. Not just this, but an advanced platform also has valuable interactive, networking, and engaging features that make the virtual event experience even more immersive.

#10 Detailed Event Reports & Analytics

When talking about the traditional physical event format, analyzing the efficacy of an event can be a tiresome and effortful task. But when it comes to a virtual event platform, it provides the organizers with complete event data analytics and reports. This feature not only helps them analyze the efficacy, success, and ROI of their overall event but also each aspect or element of the event.

What Makes a Good Virtual Event Platform?

The virtual event industry is packed with countless platforms providing multitudes of different features & tools. However, it is significant to choose a platform that not just meets all your event needs & requirements but also provides inventive features, assuring a successful event execution.

Here’s what makes a good virtual event platform:

#1 Innovative Features

An excellent virtual event platform is well-resourced with not just the most efficient features but also the innovative ones. The world of virtual event technology is getting more & more advanced, and it is vital to ensure that the virtual tools of your event are good enough to create a memorable event experience.

#2 Safe & Secure Venue

It is important to ensure that the virtual event platform you choose provides a completely safe & secure event venue. While organizing a vital event like a virtual team meeting or a virtual sales meeting, various important details & documents are shared. And, it is of great importance to keep these data safe. While talking about safety, it is also significant that the user data is safe in a virtual event platform. Hence, make sure that the platform you choose assures complete data security.

#3 Complete Backend Support

A strong backend support from virtual event technology plays a vital role in ensuring a seamless event execution. A good virtual event platform offers 24*7 backend support to solve all user queries as soon as possible.

#4 Ease of Use

An outstanding virtual event platform is one that provides an easy-to-use venue, ensuring a smooth user experience for your attendees throughout the event. While the use of several innovative features is significant for an event to be successful, it is also vital to ensure that the venue is easy to understand and navigate for your remote audience.

#5 Robust Delivery of Content

The delivery of virtual events has to be powerful and smooth in order for it to be a success. The audience wouldn’t like a lagging or buffering video if it happens from the technical end. It can also affect the overall success prospects and performance of your virtual event. Therefore, a good virtual event platform is robust & well-resourced with a strong internet connection, assuring the organizer a smooth event execution.

However, a virtual event platform is about a lot more.

What to Look for in a Virtual Event Platform?

Virtual event technology comes with various world-class tools and features. While selecting a suitable virtual venue for your event, there are some of the most innovative & excellent features that every platform must provide.

Here’s what you should look for in a virtual event platform:

#1 Flexibility of Customization

The flexibility to customize your event the way you like is a great facility a virtual event platform can provide. With the help of this feature, the event organizers can personalize every aspect of the platform based on their likes & requirements. From choosing the way the virtual venue looks to the touchpoints & color themes, everything can be customized.

#2 Top-Notch Audience Engagement Tools

An advanced virtual event platform is well-resourced with top-notch engagement tools. Attendee involvement & engagement is the most significant of any virtual event as that is what determines its success. Mentioned below are some of the best virtual event platform features responsible for boosting engagement at your online event:

• Fun Gamification: Numerous games to have fun and earn points
• Social Wall: An engaging wall with all social media posts shared around the event hashtag
• Photo Booth: A photo booth to capture moments in branded frames and share them on social media platforms
• Signature Wall: A virtual wall to write messages and share event experience
• Custom Audio Notifications: Custom audio-based notifications to keep the attendees updated, informed, and engaged throughout the event. It also helps in ensuring that the user doesn’t miss out on any important aspect of the event.
• Leaderboard: A leaderboard with the names of attendees with the most points. This feature helps in motivating the attendees to participate in various aspects of the event.

#3 Innovative Networking Opportunities

Networking is one aspect that every attendee looks forward to in any event. Therefore, it is significant to ensure that a virtual event platform also provides excellent networking opportunities to its users so they can have a valuable experience throughout the event. Mentioned below are some of the top networking tools provided by an excellent virtual event platform:

• B2B Meeting Schedulers, allowing the audiences to book available meeting slots
• AI Matchmaking, helping the attendees to find their matches based on their likes, interests, background, etc.
• Business Card Exchange, so attendees can exchange their contact details easily.
• Networking Tables, where attendees can have valuable interaction with other attendees.

#4 Dynamic Designs

An exceptional virtual event platform is well-resourced to provide dynamic design templates & flexibility to the organizers. The design of a virtual venue helps in creating a life-like experience for virtual event attendees. Hence, make sure you look for a platform that gives beautiful & custom venue templates & designs.

#5 Excellent Interactive Features

Interactivity plays a vital role in hosting an engagement-driven event for your audience. The best virtual event platforms know the importance is interactivity at any event. These features help your audience connect & network better. All in all, any event is incomplete without enough interactive features. Hence, ensure that the virtual event technology provides you with the latest most effective interactive virtual tools & features. Mentioned below are some of the top types of interactive tools that you must look for in a virtual event venue:

• Live Polls
• Live Q&A Sessions
• Quizzes & Surveys
• Live Chat
• Multi-Format Communication
• Excellent Networking Tools

#6 Multi-Format Content

Display & sharing of multi-format content effectively adds more value to your virtual event. From background audios to images, gifs, & videos, a virtual event platform should be capable of displaying the required content items as productively as possible. A good platform provides you with diverse & dynamic content displays like banners, logos, video demos, sponsored content, ads, and a lot more.

#7 Captivating Booth Templates

Booths are another necessary aspect of any event like exhibition, fair, launch, etc. It is one thing that has to efficiently represent the brand identity and a well-thought design. An excellent virtual event platform gives you the liberty to design your own booth or choose from a library of diverse well-designed templates.

#8 360-Degree Environment

With online events comes the responsibility to create a life-like event experience for the attendees. A 360-degree environment is an innovation that is helping audiences have a matchless experience during a virtual event. Therefore, look for a platform with the feature of 3D features & a 360-degree environment to boost engagement at your virtual event.

#9 Easy Navigation

To create a seamless user experience at a virtual event venue, ensuring the quality of navigation is very essential. An experienced virtual event technology understands the significance of creating an easy-to-use, understand, and navigate event platform.

#10 Scalability

Another out-of-the-box quality of a virtual event platform is the scalability it provides. The best event technologies give organizers proper flexibility & scalability while planning a virtual event. Not just this but they are also provided with the most suitable & productive features based on shared budgets.

What are the types of Virtual Events?

Virtual events can be of different types, having different scales & goals. However, leading virtual event technology is capable of hosting any type of event that you imagine, with features that you require, on any scale that you need. Not just this but organizers or planners from any & every industry can organize their preferred formats of a virtual event.

Here are some of the top types of virtual events you can host over an all-in-one virtual event platform:

#1 Virtual Conference

A virtual conference refers to an online event dedicated to information sharing related to common industry background or subject. It lets you organize an informative event with expert speakers & attendees from across the globe. A virtual conference platform is well-resourced with world-class networking & interactive features to help audiences make the most out of the event.

#2 Virtual Shows

A virtual show is more dedicated towards creating an immersive engagement-driven event to virtually showcase, exhibit, or demonstrate diverse types of products & services. Not just this but a show can also be related to the goal of celebration or entertainment. A virtual show platform is well-packed with engaging features like dynamic designs, exhibit booths, social walls, gamification, photo booths, etc. Mentioned below are some of the top types of virtual show events:

• Virtual Trade Show
• Online Award Show
• Virtual Fashion Show
• Online Motor Show
• Virtual Property Show
• Virtual Comedy Show

#3 Virtual Launches

Launch events hold great significance for any organization which suffered a lot of hindrance due to the pandemic. An online launch platform enables the users to launch their new products or services online, with a comprehensive set of top-notch features to ensure the success of the event. A virtual launch platform provides users with features like a 360-degree product demonstration, complete product specs, product demo videos, direct website linking, and countless more tools.

#4 Virtual Exhibitions

Exhibitions are yet another type of event that focuses on exhibiting & showcasing items to a specific target audience through engaging features and tools. A virtual exhibition platform is well-equipped with aspects like captivating exhibit booths, external integrations, availability of all necessary documents & content, engagement zones, and a lot more. An online exhibition can also be from any industry or background as a highly-customizable platform makes it possible to structure the venue based on your brand requirements.

#5 Virtual Meetings

Holding meetings is essential for any organization, be it a team meeting or a meeting with international delegates. Just like other events, important meetings & discussions also came to hold because of the pandemic. However, a virtual meeting platform makes all types of gatherings & vital discussions possible with a safe to use & interactive virtual venue, making meetings with global stakeholders absolutely possible. Mentioned below are some of the top types of meetings you can hold over an online meeting platform:

• Virtual Annual General Meeting
• Online Town Hall Meeting
• Virtual Team Meeting
• Online Sales Meeting
• Virtual Corporate Meeting

#6 Virtual Fairs

The concept of taking different types of fairs virtual is gaining more and more popularity. It is so because the world is acknowledging the efficacy of online fairs as it has become easy to accomplish goals in a better way by also saving expenses, time, and efforts. A virtual fair is driven by outstanding venue designs, booths, content access, and most of all, networking opportunities & tools. Here are some of the top types of virtual fairs:

• Virtual Career Fair
• Online Job Fair
• Virtual Hiring Fair
• Online Property Fair
• Virtual Education Fair
• Online Trade Fair

#7 Virtual Summits

A virtual summit brings the best of industry experts, speakers, and business leaders to share insights on a specific topic or event theme. With the help of a virtual summit, you can easily connect with global specialists without any hassle or extra effort. A virtual summit platform is well-resourced with features like interaction-driven auditoriums, halls, networking zones, and a lot more.

#8 Virtual Expo

A virtual expo enables remote attendees to browse through various expo booths and vendors. An online expo event also brings numerous engaging features & sessions together to make the event memorable for global audiences. A virtual expo platform is also highly interactive with tools like multi-format communication, gamification, photo booths, a captivating lobby, and a lot more.

#9 Virtual Fests

A virtual festival is a highly engaging, entertaining, and interactive event held over an immersive virtual platform. From educational and entertainment to the art and music industry, a background of any and every type can organize its own virtual fest. Not just this, but important occasions, festivals, events, cultural fests, and a lot more can also be celebrated over a virtual fest platform.

Organizing virtual events is one thing but ensuring its success is another essential aspect. And, nothing assures the success of an event like the factor of audience engagement. Hence, let us head towards the way to understand the engagement segment of a virtual event.

How to Boost Engagement at Virtual Events?

Audience engagement is a factor that can either make or break your virtual event. Therefore, it is vital to ensure attendee engagement & experience at your online event.

Here are some of the top ways to boost attendee participation and engagement at your virtual event:

#1 Create a Captivating Virtual Venue

Your virtual venue is the first thing that can compel your audiences to participate in the event. A captivating venue will entice them to explore other aspects of the event as well. Therefore, make sure you choose a virtual event platform that can provide you with an excellent virtual event venue with dynamic designs & details. However, don’t forget to confirm that the venue is easy to use & navigate for your audience.

#2 Provide Useful & Compelling Content

The next essential thing to ensure at your virtual event is the type of content you present, share and display at your virtual event. Apart from the format of content, the way it is presented, and its relevance play a vital role too. Hence, provide useful and compelling content at the virtual event. Also, make important presentations and documents available, accessible, and downloadable to further enhance engagement at your virtual event.

#3 Real-Time Interaction

Interactivity plays an essential role in boosting attendee engagement at any type of event. Therefore, try to make your online event as interactive as possible. Apart from using various interactive tools like live polls, Q&A sessions, quizzes, multi-format chat, etc., also try to include as many real-time interactive sessions as possible to further improve audience engagement.

#4 Provide Breaks

Attending prolonged sessions can make your audience have a tedious event experience. Thus, provide mini-breaks during the sessions and throughout the event so your attendees can freshen up and participate in the event with a better attention level. Apart from this, you can also try to keep your sessions short to keep your attendees engaged.

#5 Include Gamification

Gamification is the best feature to enhance engagement and involvement at your online event. An excellent virtual event platform provides innumerable game options to include at your virtual events like a virtual scavenger hunt, virtual escape rooms, car rush, and a lot more. Your attendees can also collect points by interacting through different aspects of the virtual event to come on top of the leaderboard and win exciting prizes. Make use of these gamification tools to keep your audience involved throughout the virtual event.

#6 Use the Feature of Photo Booth

Photo Booth is yet another captivating feature that can effectively keep your attendees involved. A virtual event technology also renders the users with multiple templates and branded booth options to make the virtual event more interesting.

#7 Include Efficient Networking Tools

Building valuable connections & networking is one aspect that everybody looks forward to at any event. Therefore, include the most efficient networking tools & features to get the conversation & interactivity going between your attendees. An inventive virtual event platform is well-equipped with the most innovative networking tools like networking tables, B2B meeting schedulers, business card exchange, and a lot more.

#8 Use Social Walls

A social wall is yet another feature that can drive engagement at your online event. It collects and curates all the posts shared by your audience around the event through hashtags used, and presents them over a common wall. People can easily view, like, and comment on the shared posts using this feature. This feature not only boosts engagement at your online event but also enhances its social presence.

#9 Keep Your Audience Informed with Notifications

The most skilled virtual event platforms also provide multi-format notifications to keep the attendees informed, updated, and engaged at a virtual event. Use features like custom audio notifications that can also notify your remote attendees with their specific names, as this will effectively keep them involved throughout the virtual event. Summing up, virtual events are indeed the future of the events industry! Organizing a successful virtual event requires you to take accurate decisions, create a well-planned strategy, and most of all, choose the right virtual event platform. Go on, follow our guidance, and rest assured, be ready for a successful virtual event!

Moving ahead, another aspect that largely matters to provide a satisfactory experience to your virtual attendees is networking opportunities. Let us have a look at some of the top ways & features to boost networking at virtual events.

How to Boost Networking at Virtual Events?

Enhance networking aspects at your virtual event with the following top-notch features & ideas:

#1 Pre-Event Contests & Activities

Organize different ice-breaking activities or contests to get the interaction going between your attendees. Organizing various activities over a pre-event microsite can be a great way for your attendees to get in touch with other event participants and start making valuable connections while fulfilling their networking objectives. 

#2 Leverage the Power of Social Media

Social Media has become a very important aspect of everybody’s life today. The world is on social media, meaning your target audience is too. Therefore, work on social media campaigns, strategies, and activities that could help your prospected event attendees interact & participate, further building a great network that benefits all.

#3 Include the Tool of Networking Tables

Networking table is an inventive virtual event tool that could be a great way to boost networking at your virtual event. With the help of this tool, your participants can indulge in valuable conversations with other event attendees or speakers who are available at the networking tables. The feature also provides multi-format communication tools to the users. 

#4 Level-Up the Participation with Fun Games

Gamification is one of the most elementary aspects of virtual event platforms. While it can effectively keep the attendees engaged, the gaming tools can be a really good way to boost up the networking at your virtual event. Hence, including games like a virtual scavenger hunt, virtual escape room, and a lot of ones that can be played in teams, can productively level up your event’s networking objectives. 

#5 Utilize the Innovative Feature of B2B Meeting Scheduler

B2B Meeting Scheduler is one of the most valuable, efficient, and helpful virtual tools when it comes to networking. With the help of this feature, your attendees get the option to pre-schedule a meeting with fellow event participants based on the available time slots. 

#6 Include Virtual Business Card Exchange Tool

Exchanging business cards to share necessary contact information used to be the easiest way to maximize reach or open ways for prospective leads. Therefore, a virtual event platform now also comes well-resourced with the feature of Online Business Card Exchange to help all the event participants share basic contact details seamlessly. 

#7 Use the Tool of AI Matchmaking

While attending any event, your audiences might hope to catch up with like-minded people or ones from a similar background or interests. The tool of AI Matchmaking helps the organizers to fulfill this requirement of attendees, by matching them up with people they are exactly looking for through the efficacy of artificial intelligence.

#8 Include Advanced Search Filters In Your Event Platform

Like AI Matchmaking, the tool of Advanced Search Filters also enables your virtual event attendees to seamlessly network with the right people or fellow attendees. With this virtual event feature, your event participants can add filters on the overall attendee list based on their preferences and find a relevant match to take ahead the networking goals.

#9 Provide Multi-Format Communication Tools

To ensure seamless interactivity solutions, provide your remote attendees with multi-format communication tools like text, audio, and video chat. This way, your attendees can interact the way they like.

Frequently Asked Questions About Virtual Events & Virtual Event Platforms

Summing up, virtual events are indeed the future of the events industry! Organizing a successful virtual event requires you to take accurate decisions, create a well-planned strategy, and most of all, choose the right virtual event platform. Go on, follow our guidance, and rest assured, be ready for a successful virtual event!