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What is a ‘virtual event’, and how can you organise one?

Danielle • 3 March 2023

A virtual event is an event, conference, or meeting that is held online, instead of in person. 

But at this point after the acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis has long faded, why might you still choose to hold a virtual event? Furthermore, what form might your event take, and how can you help ensure your virtual event is a success? 

Virtual events remain relevant long after the pandemic 

It’s difficult to talk about virtual events without referring at some point to the coronavirus crisis that helped to make such events so extremely relevant to many of us in a short space of time. 

The fact is, back in those urgent days of 2020 and into 2021, great numbers of us were very thankful for the existence of video conferencing technology – such as Zoom – for enabling us to hold events that might not have been possible otherwise. 

Whether the virtual events that you might have hosted or participated in back then were straightforward meetings with work colleagues, or perhaps webinars, virtual conferences, or even something like an online fitness class, there’s a good chance that you will already know something about how virtual events work. 

A big misconception, however, is that virtual events essentially faded into irrelevance once all those COVID-19 restrictions – such as the notorious ‘support bubbles’, ‘tiers’, and travel restrictions – ended. 

Quite the opposite has happened – our experiences of virtual events throughout the pandemic demonstrated to us how relatively straightforward such events were to set up and hold. 

And even though the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is now a mere memory for many of us, there might still be situations where you can’t easily get everyone into the same room. 

Those could include factors like accessibility and extreme weather, but also cost. After all, we’re all trying to reduce our spending right now, and the costs associated with in-person events, such as venue and equipment hire, might be prohibitive to significant numbers of people. 

So, what steps should you take to plan a virtual event? 

There are various measures you can adopt to help make sure your upcoming virtual event is memorable for all the finest reasons. Below, we’ve set out just a few: 

  • Think carefully about your aims for the event . Why are you thinking of holding a virtual event at all? Your answer to this question will inform so many of the details of how you execute your event, such as the timing, the video conferencing platform you use, and the content you include. 
  • Create content that is relevant, useful, and compelling . When planning a virtual event, remember that the content really is the event. After all, there won’t be a fancy venue to distract any attendees from mediocre event content, and it’s a lot easier for someone to close a browser window unnoticed, than it is to surreptitiously leave a brick-and-mortar venue in the middle of an event. So, your event content needs to fulfil your central aims at the same time as being captivating for audiences. 
  • Come up with a suitable date and time . Time zone differences may be among the reasons for you not making your event an in-person one, so the specific date and time you choose could be more important than you think. You will naturally want as many people as possible to attend, so even if every potential attendee is in the same time zone, holding your event too early or too late could mean fewer people turning up.  
  • Spread the word about your event . Both in-person and virtual events require good marketing – as do ‘hybrid’ events, which combine elements of the two. Whatever the form and type of event you’re planning, your promotion efforts should be targeted and effective, making good use of channels such as social media, email, and perhaps even video. 
  • Make sure your catering is as good as it can be! Surely with a virtual event, you won’t need to think much about the food, as your attendees will probably just be working through the contents of their fridge while present at your webinar or virtual conference? Perhaps, but dedicated virtual event boxes exist to help ensure you make the right impression with your virtual events. 

The key, really, is to make your virtual event as successful as the equivalent in-person event would be, if it was executed as effectively. Our own virtual event boxes here at Caiger & Co – encompassing beautiful hampers that could even incorporate your own branding on the packaging – can help ensure every attendee remembers your event for the best possible reasons. 

Simply send us an email or give us a call today, on +44 (0)7392 833 930, to learn more about how we can help.  

 

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