Virtual events have become more popular over the past few years, and it seems that this trend will continue. However, as event planners prepare for the future of virtual events, there’s still a lot more to learn.
We are lucky that event technology has made it possible to host online events that can align with the goals and strategies of attendees. There are several benefits of hosting virtual events – whether you’re holding a virtual conference or an internal sales kickoff – and several virtual event ideas can inspire you.
( Also Read: 31 Tools for Hosting a Virtual Event in 2021 )
8 Virtual Event Ideas
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Live gaming/competition
Having varieties of competition and live games is effective for virtual events. It is an effective way of providing engaging demos to an audience while getting their full attention. In addition to this, such activities will have the audience going back to check the social media pages of the event, just to know the winners.
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Virtual performance
Holding a virtual event doesn’t mean you have to forget about fun. One of the most popular and entertaining ideas for making your virtual events fun is to have musician performances. This adds fun to your event and keeps the audience engaged. People miss concerts during virtual events. Take advantage of this and incorporate performance to directly entertain attendees.
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Curate your virtual session
One major challenge of virtual events is that attendees can easily feel like they’re going through some Webinars put together. Each session has topics that are related, which can feel like a fragmented experience.
As an event marketer, you must organize your content. Curated tracks will make it possible for attendees to easily navigate content and pick the ones that they’re interested in.
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Have Q&A sessions
Question and answer sessions are one of the most important features of virtual events. These sessions attract people to the event. Attendees desire to have the chance to communicate with leaders and role models in their industry. This allows them to voice their opinion and ask relevant questions that may not have been addressed during the event.
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Attract top talents
Even though “content is king,” its delivery is equally important. There are various ideas to apply in virtual events, particularly for content-driven events. You can invite top moderators and speakers that can own the virtual setting and encourage engagement. You must research to optimize who is presenting your content, and energize the audience by making the atmosphere exciting.
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Organize virtual photo booths
Photo booths have naturally evolved to fit the landscape of virtual events. Virtual photo booths can fit the needs of any event. You can easily customize pictures and use them to create shareable, engaging, and unique content. Take this a step further by turning the pictures of your attendees into a virtual mosaic.
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Permit pets and other family members to join
Since more people now work from home, other members of the family are more likely to be close by – kids, pets, and so on. It is best to create a moment or session where family members and pets can join in.
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Provide live and downloadable content
Just as it is with regular events, virtual events have simultaneous sessions; this makes it possible for attendees to select the sessions they can attend.
Luckily, you can record and upload every session so that participants can access them later on. Another vital feature is to add content that attendees can download; this will enable them to get the most out of the event.
Conclusion
Virtual events will keep on growing in popularity as companies reconcile with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on traditional events. Luckily, the insights listed above will help you host an entertaining virtual event. Ensure you provide memorable experiences and personalize the experience of your attendees through these ideas.