Our life has changed. It has changed rapidly and radically, preventing us from engaging in many activities we have always taken for granted, such as meeting friends, hugging each other, and organising business meetings. Disinfectant gels, masks, and videoconferencing have entered our daily lives. As you can imagine, some industries have been affected more than others: the events industry is one of them. Ironically, now that we cannot organise and participate in them, many are beginning to realise how important a role events play in our social and professional life. This is why the professionals in this industry immediately set about finding an alternative that would allow them to “meet” in complete safety, for a variety of reasons. A few months into the global emergency, we can say that we are witnessing an unprecedented growth in virtual events. Would you like to know more about this and plan a virtual event for your brand? Then you have come to the right place.
How virtual events work
Virtual events are nothing but the technological answer to our need to meet to communicate, interact in real-time, and connect with each other. The purpose of our platform is to provide rich and complete online experiences, designed to provide the same immediacy and effectiveness as live events. Thanks to virtual events, companies can get in touch with their audience or their industry, engage the press, offer training experiences, and much more. There are several virtual event formats, each suited to specific business needs.
Virtual trade-shows
This is one of the most interesting areas in the field of virtual events, as well as the one that is experiencing the fastest development. Trade shows are indispensable in almost all areas of production and business: thanks to these events, companies of all sizes can meet customers and suppliers, make agreements, and even plan their business for the whole year to come. No wonder, then, that the cancellation of almost all trade shows worldwide since early 2020 has plunged entire industries into a panic. Fortunately, technology in this area has indeed made enormous progress, which would have been unimaginable until very recently. Nowadays it is possible to organise virtual events accessible to thousands of people, with separate levels of access for organisers, exhibitors, and the public, in which each exhibitor can have their own stand and visitors can move around in virtual environments that guarantee an aesthetic experience of the highest level. Also, within platforms like this, it is possible to regulate interactions through private and group chats, manage appointments, organise panels, and much more.
Virtual conferences
This is one of the easiest events to adapt to the virtual format. Conferences are inherently broadcasts, i.e. they are centered on the figure of one or more speakers who speak to a wide audience with low levels of interaction. For those who organize panels, conferences and congresses, virtual events are an excellent option that potentially allows for higher quality services while reducing costs. For instance, it is possible to invite speakers from all over the world without having to pay for their travel or accommodation expenses. Besides, the technological tools at our disposal allow the same or an even higher level of interactivity as live conferences, with the option to take queries from the audience, filter and store them and then create extra content, specifically designed to meet the audience’s demands.
Exhibitions
The trend of online exhibitions has established itself during this emergency, but both the organisers and the public are realising the immense possibilities offered by this format, regardless of the need or availability of real-life alternatives. Thanks to the astonishing level of high-definition that digital media have achieved in recent years, it is possible for anyone to enjoy works of art of all kinds remotely. This, potentially, represents an interesting source of income for museums and galleries, to be considered even after the emergency is over. In addition to the public of local residents and tourists to which these institutions normally cater, they can now also target a very large international audience, which would otherwise be beyond their reach.
Webinars
Webinars were a popular training tool even before the pandemic. Their flexibility and effectiveness are widely known and even companies that mostly favour real-life events occasionally commission webinars or offer them to their clients. A webinar is nothing more than a lecture or a presentation, often given by a group of experts, structured along the lines of a seminar or workshop. Participants from all over the world can interact, collaborate on joint projects, put what they learn into practice, respond to surveys, and hold discussions with each other and with the official speakers or trainers.