Nowadays, odds are you have watched an on-demand workout class, attended a webinar online, or joined a meeting using a popular video conferencing tool. It is also possible that you have attended a conference right in the comfort of your home, especially during the height of the pandemic.
Those are examples of virtual events. Virtual event is one where you will experience an event and its content online rather than in-person. Many brands now turn to virtual event companies as the world pivots to virtual more and more. There are also many types of virtual events available today. Below are some of the primary types of virtual events:
Webinars
Webinars usually last from 30 to 80 minutes. The benefit of hosting webinars is they can allow attendees the world over to join in and listen as speakers present their content. Companies can also charge those who will join webinars through online payment services. Other webinars on the other hand are offered for free.
Most virtual event companies use video conferencing tools during webinars. Typically, these tools allow Q&A and give users the option to present a pre-recorded video or present something live. With its one-off educational nature, webinars will thrive with a hundred percent attendance.
Virtual Conferences
Similar to in-person conferences, virtual conferences are created around a complex and live agenda that includes sessions, breakouts, keynotes, and many more. Virtual conferences can also include community engagement tools and multi-session content.
While not considered as effective when it comes to networking and lead capture as in-person events, virtual conferences allow attendees to interact with others, view keynotes in real-time, and build their own agenda from on-demand content.
Internal Hybrid Events
These refer to company-wide events, department meetings, sale kick-offs, town halls, training, and many more. For organizations with branches in other countries, internal hybrid events are used to share a message to everyone in the company even if all the employees are not gathered in the same place.
Flying everyone to the company headquarters is not only time-consuming, it can also be very costly. The next best option would be to host internal hybrid events. In other words, hosting events that are part virtual and part in-person. Virtual team building activities would also work very well with internal hybrid events.
Virtual Exhibitions
Virtual exhibition is an enhanced experience that is great for both the event organizers and the attendees. Just like other virtual events, virtual exhibitions have the ability to attract a wider audience and have become one of the most popular options worldwide.
External Hybrid Events
External hybrid events are held for attendees outside your company or organization. These can be industry conferences or user conferences. External hybrid events will require a high level of video production so virtual attendees will enjoy the same quality of video provided to in-person participants.
External hybrid events also give those attendees who are unable to travel an opportunity to participate and learn. It can be tricky to provide the same value to external hybrid attendees as in-person participants can engage and network more freely with others.
Virtual Seminars
Typically, virtual seminars are used to showcase product offerings. These events are usually carried out in intimate settings like restaurants. The digital boom, coupled with the right technology has made bringing these types of sales/marketing events online possible. If planned properly and executed flawlessly, virtual seminars can provide the same level of engagement as in-person activities.
