2020 was very much the year of virtual events, as previously physical venues began offering an online version of their event. Often times this would include interactivity among viewers or participants, letting them feel more involved. With people staying remote due to the pandemic, these types of events skyrocketed in adoption. As outlined in our 2021 video trends webinar, we have reason to believe that this year will also tremendous use of virtual events with high usage and evolution of the concept.
So what types of virtual events are out there? Which ones are right for you, and what might your goal or goals be? We outline 8 different use cases for your virtual events platform and possible goals to help your event be a successful one.
Virtual conference or summits
The poster child for virtual events. Virtual conferences or summits are long form content. They can span over multiple days and will include material such as keynotes, speaking sessions with thought leaders and more. Interactivity is often a large component of a successful virtual conference. This can include live Q&A, chat, live audience polling, breakout sessions, networking opportunities and more.
Potential goals
- Driving event registration
- Survey feedback
- Engagement or networking metrics
Virtual trade shows
So what’s the difference between a virtual conference and a virtual trade show? Sometimes it’s all in the name, and frequently the two are used interchangeably. A good way to conceptualize it, though, is thinking of a virtual trade show taking the place of an in-person trade show. That means factoring in the booth experience, exhibitors and other elements that can often be left out of a virtual conference. It can also encompass added activities like virtual happy hours, offering a perfect time for sponsorship.
Potential goals
- Drawing large attendance
- Attracting exhibitors/sponsors
- Checking attendee engagement
- Contributed leads
Virtual corporate events
Teamwork is often forged through colleagues getting to know one another. Corporate led events can be a great way to start fostering this comradery amongst peers at an organization. It can also be an opportune time to discuss the vision for the company, letting employees embrace a stakeholder view of operations. Forward thinking companies can also place a degree of charitable activities in the event, to bolster PR (public relations). For most, though, employee engagement will be paramount. This can be trickier for virtual team building, but often times a necessity due to proximity of employees and costs associated with flying everyone to a single location. As a result, activities, polling, breakout sessions and more can be used to foster more engagement from participants and let them get to know each other more.
Potential goals
- Employee engagement
- Charity milestones
Virtual school activities
Distance learning and graduations are prime examples of virtual school events. The latter in particular tends to be a hybrid event, with the ability to have something in person while leveraging an online solution to broaden the audience to those who couldn’t normally attend. However, virtual events can also be fundraising in nature, seeking donations, or those that might appeal to alumni rather than current students.
Potential goals
- Tracking usage
- Measuring engagement
- Donations
Virtual job fairs
Companies often discover key employees by broadening their reach and expanding hiring efforts. Joining or hosting a virtual job fair is a method to achieve this, getting your company in front of applicants. This gives organizations a chance to sell themselves, as well as be sold to by possible future employees. Job boards, group assignments and even the ability for breakout 1 to 1 video chat can help facilitate this job fair role for virtual events.
Potential goals
- Attributable hires
- Raising awareness
Virtual concerts
We are now drifting into the entertainment side of virtual events. Concerts are a great way to see live performances. However, seating is often limited. The ability to broadcast that concert can expand audiences, either as a solely virtual event or as a hybrid event that contains both an in-person and remote element. Forward thinking concerts can also change things up, polling audiences for requested songs from a list of options (to avoid true surprises) or offering clickable video overlays that act as call to actions that lead to auxiliary items like t-shirts, mugs, etc. It can also offer different levels of experiences, such as an additional charge for “backstage” access with cameras located in additional locations for a behind the scenes feeling.
Potential goals
- Ticketed attendance
- Fueling auxiliary sales
- Sponsorships
Virtual sporting venues
Another entertainment venue, sports events can also be turned into virtual events. This isn’t a common associate, sports are often broadcast live and rarely referenced as virtual events despite on the surface seeming similar to others. That said, companies can spice things up and make them more aligned with being a true virtual event, such as offering the ability for fans to chat among themselves live. It can also include the ability to create breakout rooms during live coverage to discuss with like minded fans on teams or players. Companies can also leverage this for additional sales, selling merchandise related to the teams through video overlays. Not too surprising, the goals here are the same as a virtual concert.
Potential goals
- Ticketed attendance
- Fueling merchandise sales
- Sponsorships
Potential goals
- Ticketed attendance
- Fueling auxiliary sales
- Sponsorships
Virtual private events
This is the grab bag of everything else. Anything from wedding expos, or even weddings themselves, to non-profit events. As a result of the mixture, the goals will often be different. For example, a wedding expo would function off likely vendors sponsoring, while the vendors themselves would depend on ROI for their sponsorship. A non-profit organization, though, will lean on donations or perhaps raising awareness of their existence to facilitate fundraising down the line. Alternatively, the virtual event might be a means to an end, and instead setup to raise awareness for a specific cause.
Potential goals
- Attracting vendors or sponsors
- Raising awareness
- Donations
Summary
Virtual events come in many shapes and sizes. While virtual conferences or summits tend to be the most associated with the term, they can truly range from something massive in scale to something quiet intimate with a much smaller group.