Have you decided to experience the benefits of a virtual event? If so, what type of virtual event have you been involved with, business or personal? And what has worked and what hasn't worked for you?

While you're thinking about those questions, or even if you're not, we have comprised ten advantages to hosting virtual events and conferences.

10 Benefits of hosting virtual events that will guarantee you have happy sponsors and attendees:

#1 First Impressions count

Having seamless, easy to follow virtual event registration forms that quickly gather all the information that you are looking to gain and a simple payment system (if you're taking payment) are critical to giving a great customer experience right from the start.

#2 Manage Leads

Sponsors want the ability to access easily and quickly follow up leads from the virtual event. Sharing with the sponsor's the relevant attendee they are looking for is very important. If you're not sure what they want, then poll a handful of sponsors, and then you can make sure you ask the right questions to gain that information at the time of registration. The more you can do to alleviate your headaches, the better. If you're running sponsors-focused sessions, make sure those sessions capture the attendees' necessary intelligence attending the session so you can share it with the sponsors.

#3 Showcase what the audience wants

Having the right event planner involved who understands your audience needs and virtual event experience is key to success. Once you have the right person, let them use their creative flair to build an event scheduled with engaging sessions. It certainly helps to choose wisely when picking a virtual event platform, as you will need to make sure you have the flexibility and reliable support to go with it.

#4 Enhance the sponsor experience

When hosting a virtual event, it's not just about keeping the attendees happy it is essential to find unique ways to enhance the sponsor experience. Without them, probably the virtual event is most likely not going to happen because of the financial costs. Just because virtual event technology allows for sponsorship fees to be lower than an in-person event, that doesn't mean that just discounting the sponsorship fee is enough. Sponsors need to know as much as possible about who is engaging with them throughout the event and how many times.

#5 Offer attendee feedback

On top of the data you collect during the registration process, you need to find ways to understand the event's metrics to help you plan the next one. These data points can include the number of people who really attended a session and not just signed up, how long they stay engaged, and how well each of the speakers was received by the audience.

#6 Promotes attendee growth

A good reason for virtual events' success is that there are no geographical boundaries, and people don't need to travel to attend. This allows for a more significant number of attendees to be able to participate in the event, which is a win-win for all, you, the attendees, and the sponsors.

#7 Cost savings

With in-person events, the challenge was always the costs of T&E. That now has been eliminated, so attendees only need to have a computer and internet access to be able to attend. For many companies, this allows them to let more of their employees register for the virtual event than a typical in-person event.

#8 Event planning time reduced

Due to the event planner not having to deal with hotel site selections, on-site event staffing, and signage, time and costs are gained back. This allows event planners to focus more time on event programming, sponsorship, and overall user experience.

#9 Allows for being able to deliver additional value

When attending in-person events, the challenge has always been the overlapping session dilemma. With virtual events offering on-demand content 24/7 is a more straightforward process and will make the attendees gain more benefits from the event.

#10 Greater networking options

Virtual event platform allows for ways to enhance the professional relationships through unique interest meet-up spaces and providing online attendee directories. Online events are a great place for introverts and those who tend to shy away from traditional networking as they have more control.

The benefits of running your own virtual event are endless. Whether you're dipping your toe into the virtual event world or an experienced virtual event veteran, we have a lot of additional ways to help you and your organization shine. Contact us now to discuss your next virtual event info@marketingmonarchs.com