Virtual events and hybrid events, to a lesser extent, have largely been forgotten in the race back to in-person events. After two long years, companies can finally hold their events in person after masking mandates and travel restrictions have been lifted. Everything is back in person, from trade shows to sales kickoff meetings, association conferences to all-hands meetings.
This race to in-person has not been without difficulty. Staffing shortages, empty exhibit halls, and low attendance numbers have plagued many events. Companies continue to ignore the challenges and focus exclusively on the benefits of in-person meetings, ignoring the ever-growing evidence that these in-person events are becoming more of an expense to their business rather than a revenue source.
In 2019, less than 50% of all companies had ever held a virtual event and relied exclusively on in-person events for their marketing. This isn’t 2019, and companies need to stop ignoring the lessons learned through 2020 and 2021. A successful event strategy will take advantage of a combination of wholly in-person, hybrid, and fully virtual events. Read on to see a general overview of which event goals work best for each of the different types of events you should be leveraging.
In-person events have seen a massive rebound in 2022. While 2020 resulted in an oversized swing to virtual events, 2022 has seen a similarly inflated environment for in-person events primarily driven by a feeling of homecoming and enjoying life.
In-person events are great for creating connections and face-to-face interactions. No matter how impressive video conferencing gets, the ability to reach out and give a handshake and engage in a face-to-face conversation is almost impossible to replace.
Here are some of the benefits of in-person events:
The latest buzzword from event tech providers is “Hybrid.” The idea of a hybrid event sounds great at first glance! Who wouldn’t want to have the best of both worlds?
Before you jump into hybrid events for your organization, here are two things you need to keep in mind:
Once you have those two mindsets locked in, you are ready to take advantage of hybrid events. Here are some of the most significant benefits of hybrid events:
Despite what many in the event tech industry say, virtual events will not replace all in-person events. As the event tech industry is undergoing another paradigm shift as they struggle to remain relevant, saying that virtual events can meet all of the same aspects as in-person events is blatantly incorrect.
Virtual events, however, have a substantial list of reasons why they are and will remain relevant to your event strategy. Ignoring the benefits of virtual events should be done at your own risk.
Virtual events are great for your and your sponsors’ brand awareness and lead generation. They can provide a space for you to attract a larger audience than an in-person event, especially when considering multi-day or multi-stage events.
Here are some of the main benefits of virtual events:
As an event organizer, you ensure that your company has the most effective event strategy possible. As such, you must take advantage of all the tools at your disposal, including virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. You can focus on marketing, programming, and improving your event strategy with the right event tech provider. At the same time, they complete the build of your virtual conferences and the virtual component of your hybrid events.
This can bring on a team of platform experts at a fraction of an FTE cost. Fully Managed, or Done For You, experiences are hands down the best option that you can find for event platforms.
Your platform doesn’t have a Fully Managed Experience? Why are you still using a platform that can’t provide you with that level of support? At vConferenceOnline, we specialize in that level of support. Click below to schedule a demo today to see how we can help create an incredible virtual conference for your organization while increasing your virtual event revenue.
Before you go – we are giving you one free Fully Managed event with any annual agreement, but only through the end of August. Click below to schedule a demo, see vConferenceOnline in action, and get your free Fully Managed event. We’ll be your support for your event and allow you to focus on other ways that you can be irreplaceable for your organization.
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