Has your inbox been inundated with emails promoting "free virtual event!" "join our webinar!" "last chance to register!" and more over the past few months? Ours sure have, and it's a sign of the momentum virtual events have been gaining in the past few years as well as the realities of COVID-19 social distancing. We're a captive audience in our home offices.
The question is, how much is too much and should your business jump on the virtual event bandwagon or will you get lost in all the noise? Since millions of people all over the world have limited travel options, online events give them a priceless opportunity to learn, interact with others, and stay up to date with the latest developments.
There's definitely value here, both today and in the future, and there are a number of strategies that can help your virtual event stand out, capture attendees, and continue to engage with your prospective and current customers as a B2B business.
Online virtual events are becoming an integral part of the marketing process for companies across all industries. Besides being the only way to host an event at the moment, they come with a variety of remarkable benefits.
The type of online event you choose will depend on your objectives and your audience. Here are five of the most common, although there are many other ways to get creative!
Webinars are excellent brand awareness tools. They allow you to make presentations, hold discussions, educate your audience, arrange workshops, and much more. Whatever information you want to share with your target audience can be relayed through a webinar.
Key features of a webinar:
Since you don't need too many tools to arrange a webinar, it's possible to do it as often as you need. The key to making your webinar successful is high-quality content. As long as you have something valuable to offer your audience, you can hold a webinar.
"Case studies (47%) and webinars (39%) are the top-two types of most valuable influencer content formats for B2B buyers."
— Demand Gen Report's 2019 Content Preferences Survey
While a virtual conference is somewhat different from its in-person counterpart, it can and should feature all the same components. Attendees even have the opportunity to get more deeply involved. Through chat, they can ask questions they may not have been able to get answered in person (or be brave enough to step up to the microphone and ask) and since all the content is recorded, they don't have to worry about finagling a calendar to make sure they attend all the sessions they want to.
A virtual conference:
During a virtual conference, you can interact with competitors, chat with clients, share valuable content, and build a foundation for further marketing efforts.
Live streaming an event means broadcasting it by using audio and video technologies over the Internet in real-time. Live streaming turns your physical event into a hybrid event, meaning you can reap the benefits of both types simultaneously.
A live stream can generate hype around your event and attract new attendees the next time you arrange it. It also:
Live streams can be recorded and offered to the audience at a later date, enhanced by a live Q&A session.
Podcasts are gaining popularity quickly. According to Convince & Convert, 54% of podcast consumers say they think about buying advertised products. A podcast is an opportunity to share valuable information with listeners while increasing brand awareness.
This medium allow business owners to put strong voices behind their brands without substantial investments. Establishing yourself as an industry leader with a podcast can be done in three ways:
Maintaining a branded podcast in the company's niche allows you to engage with the audience, promote products and services, and improve your bottom line.
It's possible to use the podcast to share the company's stories, background, experience, and advice. By wrapping all of the above in an entertaining and passionate package, you are connecting with the audience in an authentic manner.
A sales demonstration shows your client how a product works. During such a demo, you can answer questions, discuss benefits, and drive the customer down the sales funnel. These events:
Hosted sales demos are strong marketing tools. They also allow you to collect information for further analytics to drive your sales and marketing campaigns.
Virtual events come with a variety of challenges. The right strategy can help you host a top-notch event and reap all the marketing and sales benefits.
Before hosting a virtual event, you should clearly define the "why" behind it.
Depending on your goal, you can adjust the content for your event and choose the right wrapper for your message.
Proper promotion is an integral part of your event's success. You need to mobilize all your efforts to let the target audience know about the event. Put your marketing chops to work by building a beautiful event website and landing pages, generating excitement through emails and paid advertising, and maybe even sending direct mail invitations or branded conference swag. Stickers, notebooks, t-shirts — you name it.
Pro tip: The majority of people register for the event 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Make sure to beef up your marketing efforts during that time.
Before launching the event, you need to troubleshoot all the possible tech issues. From faulty speakers and software glitches to lost connection and power outage, you should have a plan to deal with any problem that may come up.
Consider running a rehearsal to discover any potential technical issues.
For small events, you can use open-source platforms like Skype, Google Hangouts, and WhatsApp. For larger conferences and summits, consider Zoom, Webinar Ninja, Big Blue Button, and the like.
Paid event platforms offer more functionality and dependability than their open-source counterparts do. However, they aren't always budget-friendly. A solid platform for virtual events should:
Even though many people are stuck at home, they are still occupied during regular business hours. When is your audience most likely to join in? Over lunch? In the evening? Also consider these factors:
Hosting an online event can help you drive sales, raise brand awareness, and give your company an opportunity to grow. If you need help promoting your next online event, please learn more about Beacon Digital Marketing's services.