With the drastic change that the online presence has brought, companies just like individuals need to adapt and change their approach to marketing and live events. Is it still necessary to run live corporate events or can organizations move and adapt to an online virtual meeting?
The pros outweigh the cons when it comes to virtual events. Not only can these events reach more people, but is more cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and can be watched or followed any time of the day, right across the world.
Corporate events have been used for multiple different reasons such as marketing, spreading new information, or advising and helping clients all across the world. With these events moving online certain pros and cons have a wider effect on not just the individuals attending but also the environment and online servers that need to provide this platform for these corporate events.
Benefits of Virtual Events
Cost-effectiveness
Live corporate event prices are rarely the only reason why clients decide to deter from attending them. Most clients need to travel, book accommodation and pay for transport and food for numerous employees to attend these conferences.
However, with the live conferences moving to an online platform companies can spend money on the entrance for their employees without weighing any of the other expenses racking up the bill.
Corporate companies are saving the bulk of their expenses by not needing to pay for multiple venues or sound at these venues and can save money on food preparation, multiple sound teams, rentals, and staff to maintain and entertain all the guests and clients that are attending.
Increased Accessibility
Accessing the right people can be a struggle for big corporate companies. These institutions take pride in marketing and advertising to the people that need their products or services the most.
These online events give corporate companies a wider and further reach than ever before. They can now add clients from across the globe to their live events by simply inviting them. And these clients are accessing the live event with one click, from anywhere in the world.
Increased Reach and Audience
Inclusion is part of live events. Individuals can take part in many activities or seminars by simply being present. With online event meetings, this is even more so. Clients and attendees can join by simply clicking a link that will take them exactly where they want to be.
Online conferences take away the stress of long queues and seating arrangements. This also allows the attendees to be in the right place at the right time. Clients and customers can come in and leave as they please without disturbing anyone.
Flexibility and Convenience
One-location events can cause substantial inconvenience for clients that need to travel or make arrangements to attend. This is where online events add some of the most value to their customers and attendees.
Corporate clients can attend these live events without leaving their homes. They can watch, follow and participate in the comfort of their own home office. Customers have the flexibility to attend important meetings while having time for their personal or other professional matters that could occur at the same time as the virtual event.
Environmental Benefits
Virtual events can have a colossal impact on more than just one environmental area. The main area will be the energy it cost to run an entire live event. This ranges from the fuel airplanes and cars used to commute all the clients to the corporate event.
Simple things such as paper waste and the amount of rubbish that needs to be taken into consideration can have an immense impact on the environment. With online events, corporations can start replacing paper with online documents. This will save physical space, paper waste, and the loss of documents we can save a substantial amount of energy.
By simply moving to online events, corporate companies can lower their carbon footprint and drive others to follow to ensure a cleaner planet.
Check Out What Are The Pros & Cons of Virtual Event: Explained:
Cons of Virtual Events
As with all things, with pros, there will be cons. Live conferences are no different from that perspective.
Lack of in-person Interaction
Feeling the energy and atmosphere of a live event is one of the most thrilling feelings that drive individuals to this event. The lack of in-person interaction can lead to a plummet in numbers.
Some clients use live events to connect and interact with people from different backgrounds and occupational fields. However, online events take away the opportunity to network with different individuals. Bridging the gap between in-person meetings the online meeting can leave some customers feeling a void that is not worth attending.
Technical Difficulties
Connection errors can be extremely frustrating for clients when they are in an online meeting. These issues can distort information that needs to be communicated to the team or client. If both parties do have a technical team on board it can be resolved in quick succession.
Moreover, most clients, customers, and event attendees do not have access to a technician close by. This can lead to information that is crucial for both parties to go unheard. Even more, technical difficulties can cause a lack of valuable input from some clients due to microphones or video problems.
Difficulty in Networking
The great advantage of having online events is the reach it gives companies, however, most companies do not take into consideration the service and network providers that their customers use. Some countries struggle with power outages, while others face problems such as network issues.
These clients struggle to connect to the server itself and sometimes miss a great length of the event purely based on a bad connection and network errors. These problems can cause clients to leave events early or equally not be able to join the conference due to networking difficulties.
Difficulty in Recreating the Atmosphere of In-person Events
Loud music is playing, and a group of people singing and clapping their hands. Free merchandise and all things connected to live events are some of the few reasons why people attend these events.
Replicating the atmosphere and energy that clients feel at a live event can be a challenge. Companies struggle to incorporate the feeling of excitement into their events, and this can leave customers avoiding or not taking in crucial information due to their lack of energy and diversion of attention.
Having a set location for an in-person event leads people to concentrate and focus on a deeper level. While online events allow people to sign in from home sounds incredible, the household duties and family members might steal some attention away from these conferences due to their mere presence.
Potential for Fatigue and Burnout
With online meetings at the fingertips of any corporation, manager, and staff member, they can happen any time during work hours. Some events can occur after hours when clients are at home. Although these opportunities are present, they can leave individuals tired.
Burnouts are skyrocketing in all businesses. Having online meetings around the clock leaves clients with a lack of rest. Some meetings will be compulsory and individuals on leave will be forced to sign in and take part due to the importance of these meetings.
Thus leaving most individuals on the spectrum of burnout and feeling fatigued on a regular base.
Summary of the Pros and Cons of Virtual Events
There are multiple reasons to embrace online events. They are not only more cost-effective but reduce environmental issues such as paper waste and energy usage.
These conferences can also be attended by more clients all over the world, and by simply clicking a button they can access different information from the event.
These events do come at a cost. Technical and networking issues can lead multiple individuals to feel frustrated. These issues can lead clients to leave early or not add any of their valuable information and knowledge to these meetings.
Some events can be long or happen at inconvenient times which can push some employees and attendees to burn out or feel fatigued, moreover with the lack of the live event hype and energy, these employees can see these events as normal uninteresting, energy-sucking events.
Tips on How To Make Virtual Events More Successful
To start with, companies can focus on providing solutions to all the cons previously mentioned. These solutions can lead employees and clients to enjoy virtual events just as much as live events.
Corporations can start by allowing attendees to engage on social media. By allowing all the individuals on a platform where they can ask questions, or say share insightful knowledge these corporate bodies can improve their online events.
Another suggestion by Forbes is to focus on your attendees. Simply understanding what these individuals want to hear at these conferences can drastically improve the numbers at their events.
Companies can also focus on not over-extending attendees’ attention span, to ensure that all the information shared is taken in.
Lastly, another way to improve any online event is to allow camera access and open Q&A with breakout rooms. Let all attendees feel heard by allowing them to ask questions.
Allowing camera access to see the faces also gives each attendee the feeling of being there. Which will also limit distractions due to their camera being on. Break-out rooms also leave space for attendees to converse over the information and obtain a complete understanding.
Check Out How To Host a Virtual Event: Tips for the Most Profitable Events Online:
Future of Virtual Events
There is a bright future for virtual events. Even without the live event hype and energy, virtual events can have a greater impact on the way corporate companies see meetings.
With easy accessibility and the spreading of information, virtual conferences can aid in more meetings than live events.
Corporate companies can gain input from individuals halfway across the world, and grow their meetings by allowing the right individuals to access it, with one click of a button.
FAQs
Why People Should Attend Online Events?
These events are easily accessible and can be attended without much effort. With all the information still being provided while sitting on the other side of the world. Obtain all the benefits of live events while sitting in the comfort of your house or office.
Final Thoughts
Virtual events are the way forward and corporate companies can not only enhance their reach but also have a greater impact with and through these events.
By adapting to the online era companies can move their business forward by simply allowing more people to attend their events. This can be done by saving money and time simply by the use of virtual events.
