Virtual events can save you money, generate leads, increase number of potential customers, generate leads, and help you establish your brand. Here are tips and best practices.
The online universe is becoming an increasingly visual one, with a state of the market report by Demand Metric and Vidyard showing that 83% of people surveyed feel that video is growing in importance. Another survey by Wyzowl, meanwhile, found that around 68% of people say they like to learn about new products or services by watching short videos.
Ubiquitous connectivity, competition from other bloggers and online businesses, and increasingly short attention spans make video a quick and effective way to get your message across. If you’ve ever wondered about how long people spend on websites, the average time is around 45 seconds. Offering video-based content can help encourage viewers to stay on your site longer. Virtual events, meanwhile, can help make your company significant cost savings while increasing brand awareness and establishing your company as an authority in your sector.
What Are The Statistics On Virtual Events?
Video is increasingly in demand on websites and blogs, but so, too, are streamed and on-demand content, as well as virtual events. The current health crisis has revealed the extent to which virtual events can save on transport costs, help companies reduce carbon footprints, and enable event holders to reach far greater audience numbers, potentially from all over the world. In 2020, reports Wild Apricot, the number of organizations planning a virtual event has doubled.
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The organizations that have held virtual events have found that less than half (45%) attend the live-streamed events, while a further 10% of people who have registered for events view them on-demand at a later date.
Virtual Events Growing In Sophistication
Because virtual events are well received, savvy companies have created a plethora of tools that enable companies to engage with customers and make meaningful connections that can result in conversions. Many companies are relying on experience-specific apps instead of general apps like Zoom or Google Meets. Customized tools enable companies to do things such as personalize the look of an event in the colors of their brand.
Some apps also have features such as live polling, video breakout rooms, Q&A and one-to-one meeting functions which enable a single event to be divided into various sub-events. They also allow organizations and specific clients or groups to congregate in virtual ‘meeting rooms’. Thus, different teams within the same organization can offer information, hold sales talks, or network with clients or specialists in their particular field.
Video Too Has Advanced Technologically
If you thought the popularity of video was a new phenomenon, think again. As far back as 2017, reports Cisco, video traffic already accounted for 70% of all Internet usage. The year 2020, of course, brought a massive surge in popularity of this means of communication for two main reasons – the necessity of holding virtual events and the rise in the demand for home entertainment. Technology has advanced significantly, making video more appealing to users. This is achieved through tech such as video multimethod assessment fusion (or VMAF), which relies on machine learning to control video quality.
As stated by Forbes, delivery chain technology is also improving, dramatically improving streaming experiences. Meanwhile, capture cameras, 5G, high-efficiency video coding and other technologies are enabling even small devices to deliver high quality video.
Incorporating Video Into Your Website Or Blog
Even if you are new to the world of video, you can easily incorporate this type of content into your blog or website by embedding a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video. Setting up accounts in these channels is easy and free, and it enables your users to access unlimited bandwidth. You also needn’t worry about length. As you become more confident, you can change the way you present your video, relying on slideshow galleries and grids for a more dynamic, practical means of presentation.
Some websites have auto-play on a video that tells audiences about the company and its values from the word go. This type of presentation can be particularly useful if your company is new or if you are expanding your products and services and you’d like this fact to be known from the start of the user’s journey on your page or blog.
Holding Your First Live-Streamed Event
As mentioned above, one of the easiest ways for companies to stream a big event, is to use an app that is specifically designed for the occasion. Specific apps and software can be used to create sub-events and to provide analytics on aspects such as the popularity of different talks or events, or answers to surveys or polls conducted while your event is taking place. If you are holding a small event for a select group of clients, meanwhile, you can always start out with a simple tool such as YouTube Live Events, which you can customize to some extent.
For instance, you can provide a live chat facility, enabling your audience to ask questions and receive answers in real-time. When the event is over, it will automatically be posted onto your YouTube channel, so anyone who missed out can glean key insights. Once your video is posted, you can also decide to present a more polished product by editing it, presenting only the main highlights, or dividing the video into dedicated sections so your audience can get right where they want to without having to forward through the rest of your video.
Final Thoughts
Website owners, online businesses, and bloggers alike can all benefit from the burgeoning popularity of video and live-streamed events. They have become authentic life-savers for many companies this year, since various events that would otherwise have been canceled, were able to take place.
Your entire audience may not click onto your event as it is taking place, but many will watch your content afterwards. Therefore, investing time in learning to edit will ensure that the final product you present is polished, well presented, and engaging for your different audience groups.
