Are your face-to-face meetings or events “on hold”? Or maybe the thought of hosting virtual events is overwhelming and you don’t know where to start?
Over the last few months, I’ve had many conversations with leaders who postponed their retreats, events, or meetings until some future date when it’s safe to meet in person. Others have simply been overwhelmed or intimidated when thinking about how to do a virtual event.
You might be surprised to learn that going virtual will allow you to maintain–or grow– relationships with your customers/members/employees, have higher attendance than face-to-face events, and even bring in revenue.
Virtual events are here to stay!
The opportunities are endless in a virtual format. Here are some of the virtual event benefits:
*Higher Attendance because it is
less expensive for the participant (no extra cost for parking/meals/hotel/travel)
shorter time commitment (no time out of the office or away from home)
registration fees are lower
*Lower costs of hosting/producing because there are
no food & beverage, or meeting room rental costs
no printing costs for materials (programs, name badges, etc.)
minimal, if any, décor needed
lower speaker fees (potentially 25-50% less than in person)
*Increased Revenue because
attendance increases
costs are lowered
more Sponsors/Supporters since they get a better return on their investment
*Increased Attendee engagement by offering opportunities to
learn from others in small discussion groups
interact with other attendees in Chats and with the Presenter in Q&A
offer pre- and post-event social media interaction
For the best results, you will want to work with a team of trusted, experienced professionals to make sure all aspects of your virtual event are well-planned.
Services needed for successful virtual events:
virtual platform to host the event
registration and attendee management and reporting
speaker/presenter rehearsals and video recording
regular communication with participants before, during, and after the event
marketing the event through multiple channels (email, social media, etc.)
virtual event features (chat, Q&A, small group breakouts, and polling features)
financial aspects like payment processing, sponsor invoices, and detailed reports
This is a partial list of services and features. The specifics will depend on the type of meeting or event you host– and your budget.
We have worked with a variety of companies, non-profit organizations, and other groups to bring their webinars, trainings, meetings and events to life.
We would love to help you, too.
You can do this – and you will be glad you did!
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