6 Reasons Why Virtual and Hybrid Events will continue to exist
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the virtual and hybrid events industry has witnessed unprecedented growth. Before pandemic meetings, conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and a variety of other events were all held in person. The Covid-19 epidemic, on the other hand, disrupted the worldwide events industry, forcing organizations all around the world to cancel their events. Organizations were forced to use the virtual approach due to the requirement to recreate all occurrences during the lockdown mandates. According to the research, In 2019, the virtual events industry was valued at approximately $78 billion. From 2020 to 2027, this market is predicted to increase at a compound yearly growth rate of 23.2%.
Virtual and hybrid events platforms have swiftly expanded in popularity while being first considered a transitory solution. The huge benefits of virtual and hybrid events are slowly but steadily becoming obvious throughout the world. As a result, it’s no surprise that a virtual and hybrid events strategy is becoming increasingly common in corporate strategy around the world. As a result, event professionals and organizers will benefit from continuing to conduct events in the virtual and hybrid medium even after live events are given the green light again.
The following are various reasons why virtual and hybrid events will continue to exist:
Reach wider audience
Due to geographical and economical constraints, the audience reach of in-person events is typically relatively limited. Long-distance travel to attend events, no matter how important they are, is never possible due to the high expense of time and money. However, by going virtual, you can easily eliminate all of these worries while also making your events more accessible to a larger audience.
Virtual events can reach a much larger audience. Throughout the epidemic, individuals have acquired a better work-life balance, making long-distance travel eventless and less appealing. Online events are not only more inclusive, but they are also more cost-effective.
Flexibility for attendees
Attendees at Online events may browse content at their own pace and zoom in with the topics of their choice much more quickly. In the event of parallel sessions, for example, participants are not compelled to choose between them: they can simply watch one live while watching the other on-demand. Virtual venues also allow for post-event visits: depending on the contracted license, online events can be available for up to 12 months after they go online, providing visitors with further learning opportunities. Most importantly, in situations like covid, you have the flexibility to switch from on-site to hybrid or virtual.
Add more value to sponsors/exhibitors
At first look, it appears that virtual events do not offer good value for exhibiting companies and sponsors/partners. There is no physical location, no genuine booths/stalls, no opportunity for in-person connection, and so on. A deeper examination, though, shows a different image. Exhibitors/Sponsors may communicate with attendees virtually at any time, display and market their services through virtual social communities ( which are incorporated in most major event management platform ), and no longer have to worry about empty event booths at the actual location. There will be fewer visits and more important, productive encounters.
Productive Marketing
Virtual events are often less expensive to put on than live events and may reach a larger audience. We may now put those savings into more audience-drawing speakers or goodies to give home with participants. Furthermore, rather than focusing on event space, we should think about online event technology, which may make or ruin an event. To guarantee that your vision is realized, consider reliability, adaptability, simplicity of use, participants’ ability to understand the platform, and interaction opportunities to avoid “screen fatigue.”
Advanced Analytics
In comparison to physical venues, virtual venues can capture more data about attendees and their experiences. In a face-to-face event, when registration data may be the only option for data collection, analytics on real-time event attendance, heat maps of visited areas, and content consumption KPIs give the event planner a picture that is difficult to understand. Interactive adverts and clicks allow attendees to communicate more efficiently with the sponsors.
Increased Learning Opportunity
As said before, the overall expenses and time necessary to conduct an online event are greatly reduced. During the online event, organizers can use the extra resources to conduct more engaging panel discussions, speaker sessions, virtual breakout rooms, networking sessions, and other activities. As a result, the attendance experience would be elevated by levels. Attendees can access virtual event sites before and after the event for an extended period of time. Participants will have the option to ‘learn; more through one-on-one sessions, which is unlikely to occur during a live event.
To Conclude
In-person events will return in the future, but the epidemic has demonstrated how technology and virtual platforms can connect people from all over the globe together to create meaningful experiences that are accompanied by measurable and actionable data. As the COVID-19 epidemic hits its last days, the advantages of virtual and hybrid events will secure their presence in our event and professional industry in perpetuity.