With the rise of virtual events in 2020 due to the inevitable presence of the pandemic, many businesses are now dependent on technology to reach out to their customers. Though nothing beats face-to-face interaction in physical events, virtual events have been proved to be just as successful due to their convenience and accessible data collection. Here’s why you should be running virtual events as well. Unlike physical events, virtual events are catered to an unlimited number of audiences. Knowing what type of online event you intend to host is vital so that you can target the right audiences to attend. At the peak of which online events are taking over the world like a storm, check out these types of virtual event ideas for you to host this 2021.
Virtual job fair
Career fairs are relatively common, especially in schools, to help students start their job-seeking that matches their skills set. A virtual career fair is a great virtual event idea that enables employees and organisations to reach out to a global talent pool through convenient and cost-effective ways. This will be an excellent platform for interacting with potential candidates through many technological tools. Some features can include chat boxes, webinars and presentations, and extending geographical boundaries to access information required for your organisation. Virtual career fairs can also allow organisations to conduct interviews in real-time and collect resumes and applications on the spot.
Virtual conference
Virtual conferences and summits cater to large audience sizes. This is used in a variety of different formats where virtual attendees can learn, discuss and network. Some brands practice marketing their event through online conferences as well. A high-quality virtual conference experience will incorporate a variety of elements. This includes live streams, VR immersion, AR activities, webinar workshops. Not to forget, a variety of interactive tools such as live polling and Q&A sessions. These virtual conferences and summits are great virtual event ideas as they can get super creative in terms of format and interactions, according to how suitable the central theme is.
Virtual exhibition
Some examples of virtual event ideas like virtual exhibitions include wedding shows or arts and culture exhibitions. During these unprecedented times, many couples may find their weddings cancelled or postponed. Virtual wedding fairs are a great way to create a fully immersive virtual environment to help get couples back on their feet and build their dream wedding together. This includes discovering and interacting with wedding vendors of different categories and watching live webinars from wedding professionals. Over the weekend of 19 and 20 September 2020, Delegate held a virtual wedding festival with over 16,000 attendees. See what happened at the Delegate Virtual Wedding Festival here!
Online exhibitions have also been used significantly around the arts and culture sector, such as museums and art shows, since social distancing measures were put into place. These also offer an effective way to target specialised interest groups in a more commercial setting. Such virtual exhibitions provide the potential for real data on user behaviour that is more accurate than the physical location. This offers new and highly valuable ways to learn about the audience and what they might be interested in.
Virtual product launch
A virtual product launch is one of the best ways to introduce a new product to the consumer market. With this event, the product is shared with a global audience, and your organisation can increase prospective customers, as well as provide measurable insight about the attendees. With the help of interactive technological tools such as audio and video chat, webinars, videos, and presentations, a virtual product launch can be made more effective than ever.
Virtual open day
Open houses and CCA fairs are expected in Singapore when one is looking to get into a school or university of their choice. They are helpful to provide prospective students with the necessary information about the school environment, guide them to make sound decisions, and aid in the application processes. Physical open houses can no longer take place due to the pandemic. Thus, a virtual open house event can help schools and universities reach out to a global pool of students. With technology, it is easier to promote programs effectively through accessing online brochures, course outlines, webinars and program guides. Students can also easily find the relevant staff to chat and ask enquiries related to what they are interested in.
Virtual trade show
One of the most popular webinar formats is online pieces of training, workshops, and e-learning. These are courses where participants learn a skill or complete a course or certification. With tools such as live Q&A and screen sharing, attendees can become active participants so that they can engage with the speakers. Some large businesses also invest in a lot of money and effort to host internal virtual events or training, where well-known guest speakers are still able to deliver an inspiring and energizing experience for employees. Webinars can be used for a wide range of events, from training sessions, company bonding, to sales kick-offs.
Talk shows and podcasts
If you are unable to produce visual content or will like to make your live events available in different formats, you can consider hosting an online talk show or podcast events. Podcasts have become even more popular than ever due to a higher demand for listening to a range of audio material such as stories and life events. These are a series of episodes consisting only of audio files which are pre-recorded in high-quality audios. A webcast or webinar could be live-streamed, and attendees can download and listen to the event at a convenient time.
Hybrid events
Hybrid events, which are events that can be effectively conducted both onsite and virtually, will soon be the new normal in the events industry. Trade shows, conferences, and sales kick-offs are some examples of perfect hybrid event programs. These are beneficial solutions when many of your attendees are unable to attend in-person. As hybrid events balance between in-person and virtual attendees, these two experiences must be balanced. Make sure that your content is relevant to both in-person and virtual attendees- don’t plan activities that isolate one group from participating.
Planning a virtual event? Delegate PLAY is a fully immersive virtual environment that allows users to host online conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and job fairs all under one platform. You can read more about it here.
We’d love to help make your virtual event a smashing success. For more information or a demo of Delegate PLAY, feel free to contact us via the form below. We promise to get in touch with you in a jiffy.
