The 3 Main Types of Virtual Events – What’s right for your group?

As the summer begins to wind down and the fall approaches, it seems as though in-person meetings will stay on hold for sometime due to Covid-19. While the precautions taken are necessary to the health and safety of all, it may have you asking “what do we do now?” While in-person interaction is irreplaceable, going virtual seems to be the choice for most meeting planners. A virtual event can be just as valuable as in-person with the right planning and execution. The first step to ensuring that your virtual event is a success is selecting which type of virtual event option would be most valuable to your group. The 3 main types of virtual events include:

Virtual Event Options:

Webinar

A webinar is a seminar carried out over the internet and usually lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. Webinars allow attendees from around the world to listen in and learn from one or more speakers presenting content. Due to their educational “class like” nature, webinars have thrived with 100% virtual attendance. You can add interactive portions to webinars like polls and Q+A’s to make the webinar more engaging.

Virtual Conferences

Much like an in-person conference, virtual conferences are centered around a live agenda including keynotes, networking, breakout sessions, and more. Like a webinar, virtual conferences can include engagement tools like Q+A’s and polls to keep the audience’s attention. Virtual conferences can be much more convenient to your audience and provide just as much value. A virtual conference allows attendees to view live keynotes from the comfort of their home while still building their own agenda of relevant content and interacting with other attendees.

Hybrid Events

A hybrid event can be a conference, seminar, workshop, or other meeting types that combine an in-person event with virtual components. Internal hybrid events can be used to share a message to the entire company while employees are not all gathered in the same place. This is good for if all attendees cannot attend your event. Allowing the virtual component allows attendees who couldn’t attend to receive the same value as those who attended in-person. External hybrid events can be held for those who are outside of your organization. Like internal hybrid events, external allows attendees who are unable to travel to the event to still participate and learn.

While going virtual may seem intimidating to some, there are also several perks to a virtual event. For example, virtual is more accessible. Virtual options allow you to accommodate attendees who are unable to attend in-person. This is also the best option for those in parts of the world who are still unable to hold in-person events due to Covid-19. Also, going virtual can cut costs for both the company and attendees. If the event is completely virtual, travel and hotel costs will vanish. A more affordable option that requires no travel will most likely result in higher event registration and attendance.

While the value of in-person events will never be lost, virtual and hybrid events seem to be the go-to for the time being. Luckily, virtual events have their pros as well. Higher attendance and lower costs are already two great reasons to go virtual! Need help booking keynote speakers for your virtual event? Inquire today to learn how Eagles Talent can help you!