Use features such as webinars, video calls, and online games. A virtual event is an event that takes place digitally. Its goal is to offer a holistic event experience without requiring attendees to leave their rooms. Let's take a closer look at the 5 main types of events, virtual conferences, webinars, hybrid events, town halls, and online training events.
These are the most common types, and they are also the types of events that Kaltura specializes in. But there are many more types, such as virtual networking events, virtual weddings, online concerts and festivals, virtual tours, virtual coffee talks and happy hours. Virtual conferences give your attendees opportunities to access events remotely. Presentations, roundtables, panels and networking events in a virtual conference will most likely take place entirely online, although in some cases there may be face-to-face attendance at the so-called “Hybrid Event” that has been gaining a lot of popularity, as detailed below.
Virtual conferences require intensive coordination, just like an in-person event. This includes inviting speakers, scheduling sessions, and facilitating communication between participants. Virtual conferences are perfect for large-scale annual events that attract a large audience in a multi-day, multi-track format with recorded or live performances and networking opportunities. Virtual conferences work well for brand awareness, community building, and lead generation.
Webinars are the most common type of virtual event. You can attend a webinar on your topic of interest virtually any day of the week. They'll find their way through your email inbox, your social media feeds, or through banners on the side of a related article. Webinars can also be presented live or on demand, though on-demand is a much more passive experience.
Viewers have no participation options, other than a comment section. Webinars are perfect for broadcasting educational content on a single track, with limited interaction between participants and the host (unlike meetings or training sessions). Product presentations, tutorials, conferences, and panel discussions are good reasons to host a webinar. Hybrid events are a combination of live in-person events with virtual components that can be recorded or live.
This can be as simple as a live conference or panel discussion that is broadcast to online viewers, who can view and comment. Or it can be as complex as a combined in-person and virtual event designed to deliver rich, interactive experiences for both live and remote participants. Hybrid events take advantage of in-person events and virtual conferences. Event capacity is no longer limited to what is possible with physical space and attendees no longer need to travel to the event in person.
Hybrid events are perfect for events where physical experience is essential, but organizers want to offer the option of attending remotely, reaching a wider audience, or an audience unable to attend the physical event. Hybrid events can also mean a virtual component in the form of an application, intended to enrich the in-person visitor experience. Town halls and live webcasts focus on fostering company culture, aligning and updating staff on workflows or developments, creating professional connections, or facilitating meetings of people with common interests. They offer live streaming or video on demand in real time to increase attendees' sense of urgency and belonging.
Privacy is maintained by limiting access to guests. They have existed for some time. But the types of virtual events have developed and changed in recent months more than at any other time. But let's not go ahead and see what types of virtual events there are to start with.
Invite-only online meetings typically help people connect with others who share similar interests or ideas, but in real time. These trainings help people learn or develop a skill and, perhaps, be part of a course, and may come with certification. Online training typically involves a series of webinars, Q&A sessions, and sharing content in the form of a PDF or presentation. As you can see, there are many types of virtual events out there.
A virtual conference is for companies to increase brand awareness, generate leads and build relationships, which is more than just a virtual meeting. Typically, virtual conferences take place over a small number of days and may include lectures, roundtables, training, educational sessions, and more. If you want to bring together people from multiple locations who share the same interests and want to learn more about your industry, then a virtual conference is the way to go. Online workshops are ideal for a company looking to deliver skills-based training without having to meet face to face.
One of the key factors of a successful online workshop is keeping attendees engaged by engaging the audience to test their newly learned knowledge. Online workshops tend to be better with fewer attendees, which gives everyone the opportunity to interact with each other and ask questions if they don't understand. Live streaming occurs when a streamed video is sent over the Internet in real time and has not been previously recorded. This can be done through several platforms, such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
Although live streaming was used before the pandemic, it has become increasingly popular over the past year. It's a great way to connect with potential customers through social media and helps communicate your brand message. First of all, there is the virtual summit, a type of collaborative online event in which speakers present their work, usually through a presentation, and talk about a specific topic to an online audience, conveying remarkable information to them. In general terms, virtual summits last several days, between 3 and 10 days, and on average have around 30 guest speakers.
Arguably, the first thing that comes to mind when someone hears a “virtual event,” online conferences are a similar representation of their physical counterparts. As expected, it comes with multiple speakers, different areas for live and on-demand content, plus several areas designed to replicate a large conference venue, such as virtual break rooms, networking, and entertainment activities. An online exhibition should expand on the information presented in, or generate interest in, the content in which attendees will participate on the virtual stage, providing them with some additional extras. With this in mind, make the virtual exhibitions offered as relevant, immersive and tangible as possible.
Like its physical counterpart, the goal of a tour is to arouse interest and emotion around a product or offer by taking it on the “virtual path” to increase brand and product awareness. No need to travel, virtual tours use conference tools to show the same content, only this time it's done online. And, in fact, their research found that live, compared to pre-recorded virtual concerts, facilitated greater social connection. In addition, research suggests that audio quality is important for enjoying music, especially when listening to new music (Schoeffler et al.
Monetize and improve your online events and webinars. As partnerships continue to fight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they must find new ways to thrive and succeed through innovative and successful event execution. Most webinars are interactive with the audience sending questions, answering surveys, and talking to each other. On the other hand, an on-demand webinar is when you manage the recording of a live webinar event that is available for others to view.
While using software to record, attendees can continue to have experiences similar to those they get from live webinars. Glue Up's webinar participation solution allows you to conduct webinars and provide your attendees with a seamless, premium membership experience. It also allows them to talk and share their ideas with panelists during webinars or conferences. There are generally 5 types of professional virtual events, 4 business models and 3 pillars to consider when creating a virtual event.
Webinars are among the simplest virtual events and the “entry level” of virtual events. Webinar technologies include Zoom, BigMarker and Crowdcast. At Guild, we host Zoom how-to webinars to help Guild users master the creation and operation of professional communities and groups. We include time for attendee questions at the end of the presentations.
We also run industry-specific webinars with partners such as Memberwise. This expands on the concept of a simple webinar. Additional content introduced to expand the impact and value of the webinar. An example of this is a cross-brand collaboration between Marketing Week, Econsultancy, Influencer Intelligence, Creative Review, Design Week and Oystercatchers in their “Lowdown” series.
This webinar series introduces thought leaders and experts from digital, marketing and creativity, and is supported by content centers and detailed subscriber-only reporting. A single webinar or webinar series, but with an element of “connection” and professional networking for attendees before and after the event. The best of these virtual events move attendees, speakers (and sometimes sponsors) of the webinar to a private space or hallways for continuous connection, discussion and networking. Event organizers, such as professional services companies or B2B media owners, can create private professional communities, where topics covered could be explored in more detail or intellectual leadership content could evolve.
An example of this is B2B marketing, which supports senior marketers by organizing a peer support network in Guild, so that they sit next to their events. They facilitate peer discussions about the challenges of running a marketing department. This is more like a traditional 1-day conference or summit that has been moved to a virtual environment. An example of this is Digiconf, a highly regarded 1-day digital marketing conference designed for digital marketing and B2B communications strategists.
It is a collaborative and participatory conference divided into 4 “thematic” sessions, each of which offers a series of short presentations, Q&A sessions and panels with full participation of the public. Attendees can tune in all day or drop in and out of the conference. Given the current challenges of Covid19, the team has generously turned it into a free event this year. Paid assistance is also a model that can be used to generate charitable giving.
For example, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Greater London Group organized the “Corona Con”. The reason events are so important, especially professional and B2B events, is the opportunity to network with colleagues, speakers and experts, but also the opportunities for buyers and sellers to meet. Virtual event technology, including platforms such as Guild, can help move these valuable network elements from physical events to digital platforms. For the event itself, but also before and after the event.
Just as you would put yourself in the shoes of your attendees when planning an in-person event, you should do the same for a virtual event. When it comes to the full event schedule, virtual events can be added to the mix of events you host, events you attend, and your internal events. You might think that virtual events don't offer an opportunity to participate, you're wrong. While many virtual events are held live to maximize attendee engagement and attendee experience, it's important to have the option to upload pre-recorded session or speaker content (e.g.
The benefits of a virtual summit are twofold, the host gains more credibility and authority, which helps him gain prominence as a renowned player in his industry. Whether you're hosting a virtual conference, virtual meeting, or virtual event, there's a lot you can do with your virtual event solution. At virtual events, attendees are constantly online, making it easy for them to respond to surveys and polls during sessions. This format gives new life to the usual content that we have become accustomed to seeing with virtual events.
Attendee Networking module helps create a virtual social space for attendees, exhibitors and speakers to meet and interact. COVID-19 changed the events industry, but it will help companies and planners make more strategic decisions around the use of virtual event technology. Flexible platforms allow you to customize each virtual event to fit your audience, business objectives and budget. When used together, an event management software and a virtual event platform can save you time and money by storing your data in one place and taking care of everything from your event website to your email marketing and your mobile event app.
This year has forced many to switch to virtual and has caused many to cancel their physical or ground events due to social distancing and confined space measures. . .
