Spring 2020 saw the human experience change dramatically, as the global population faced the most alarming health crisis in generations. Social distancing saw the end of countless lectures, summits, concerts and more. With this, uncertainty for events organisers was inevitable.

Across all industries, organisers were forced to reconfigure thousands of scheduled events. To avoid cancelling or postponing, it was time to find alternative solutions.

We live in a digital age. We have the right platforms, tools and equipment to stay in touch with our loved ones in our personal lives and maintain good communication with our team members, partners and clients in professional life. For many industries, these technologies meant that with small tweaks they were able to deliver service to the people and arrange events in which they have invested significantly, even during the midst of a global pandemic.

Video meet ups are nothing new. Vloggers, gamers and influencers have been practising live streaming on the internet and various social media platforms for years. Equally, artists are entertaining fans all over the world with at-home performances and concerts. Perhaps it is time for events to thrive under the same conditions.

Events are a vital part of engaging clients and partners, so the stakes are high. But organisations need to not be worried when there is so much to embrace about virtual events.

The first and most obvious advantage is cost, finding a decent venue for a reasonable price can be challenging, and so a digital event might be equally effective and far less expensive.

A successful event requires a lot of preparation from the presenters, and even hard-boiled professionals might experience stage fright, especially if the audience is not fully focused. ‘Home sweet home’ is not just a phrase on decorative elements, it represents the comfort zone and that is why the pace of virtual events may feel more genuine and run more smoothly.

It might be challenging to have every speaker present during an event. But, with virtual events, the pre-recorded material certainly adds more permanent value and has the potential to be more informative. Part-live and part-recorded hybrid virtual events have proved that attendees tend to be more focused on the presented topics, and more frequently take part in polling questions and post-event surveys.

Virtual events are often recorded and are available as on-demand for the registrants who could not join the event, as well for the others who are interested on the respective topic. So, it’s a win-win for everyone.

The ‘new normal’ has given us a lot of interesting opportunities on hosting events online. If you want to learn more about virtual events — drop us a line!