A virtual event is an organized meetup that happens online over a virtual events platform instead of a physical venue. These events can either be small-scale Q&A sessions, webinars, etc. or large-scale conference with thousands of participants.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, virtual events are now more popular than ever. Even though we cannot meet physically due to social distancing requirements, we can still connect online. Several companies and businesses, including Microsoft, are now holding virtual events such as the Microsoft Build developer conference.
Here are 7 ways to host a virtual event for your company. A design digital agency can help you conduct these events smoothly so that both you and your attendees enjoy a great virtual event experience.
1 – Livestream On Social Media Platforms
Almost every major social media platform today has a live stream feature that is very useful in boosting engagement. According to Facebook, live videos are six times more engaging than conventional videos.
Here are some ideas on how you can host a virtual event for your company using the live stream option on social media platforms.
Q&A Sessions – Instagram Lives is a great place for hosting a virtual Q&A session. You could either invite guests your community would like to hear from, or you could go live with a colleague for a co-presentation.
You can take questions from your community before the event or allow them to ask a question during the live session.
Demos and How-To Videos – Bring your audience together and take them through a tutorial on Facebook or Instagram Live. You could talk about anything here. For instance, if you have a makeup brand, you could give a makeup tutorial. Or if you’re part of a baking company, you could walk your audience on how to bake the perfect Nutella fudge brownies.
2 – Webinars On Virtual Events Platform
A webinar is typically an online presentation that is conducted in real-time. In a webinar, you will share your screen as you go through a presentation or a demo. Your attendees can participate by asking questions via the chatbox.
Some great webinar platforms you can use are:
Zoom – Zoom Video Webinars are easy to use for both you and your attendees. You can use the Zoom platform to conduct virtual events with audio, video, and screen sharing for higher engagement.
YouTube Livestream – YouTube Livestream is another easy and free option for live streaming webinars.
Livestorm – On-demand webinars from Livestorm include integrations with Slack, Google Analytics, and several other engagement tools.
Demio
With Demio, you can host a live or a pre-recorded webinar. Some of its features include a call to action buttons, private chat, interactive polls, etc.
3 – Private Events On Zoom
As a leader in the world of video conferencing, Zoom allows your business to host several types of virtual events including demos, online classes and tutorials, webinars, Q&A sessions, and a lot more. If you want to keep the event exclusive, you can simply set a password for people to enter the call.
For instance, if you have a wellness company, you can interview therapists, nutritionists, yoga instructors, and broadcast the interview on a private Zoom event.
4 – Branded Events On Intrado
Intrado is another great platform where your company can host its virtual event. The best thing about Intrado is that everything here is customizable which is great if you want to host a branded event.
If you use Intrado to host your online event, the platform will remain accessible to you for several months. This means that you can continue including your online event in your demand generation activities for several months after conducting the event. Creating an online event requires a lot of time and effort, so it’s a big advantage if you can continue to extract value out of your work for several months.
Intrado even offers you plenty of sponsorship capabilities. For instance, sponsors can personalize their virtual event booths. Plus, there’s a live chat feature as well.
5 – Social Stories
Social stories are a great tool to share visuals and videos of interviews, tutorials, etc. You can add stickers, filters, and special effects to conduct polls, take questions, host an influencer takeover, and much more. You can then add these to your Instagram highlights for future viewers.
Some of the best social stories’ tools include Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and Twitter.
6 – Humanize Your Company On LinkedIn Live
In 2019, LinkedIn introduced the LinkedIn Live feature to allow companies to boost brand awareness and engage with their audiences. According to LinkedIn, videos on LinkedIn Live receive almost 24 times more comments than regular videos.
Your company could use LinkedIn Live to show behind-the-scenes content, announce newly launched products, and hold a Q&A session with your CEO and other business executives.
Leading tech company Cisco used the LinkedIn Live feature to speak to employees about career tips and why they enjoyed working in the company. Highlighting your employees humanizes your company and help to inform the viewer about your corporate culture. Moreover, it’ll also allow potential candidates to learn about the skills you’re looking for.
Another excellent to add a human element to your company is to have a weekly event on LinkedIn Live. You could feature new employees in each episode where they speak about their career path, their successes, the mistakes they made, and answer questions. This series will help to position your employees as industry experts and differentiate your company from the rest.
7 – Internal Hybrid Events On Microsoft Teams
Your company can use Microsoft Teams to conduct internal hybrid events. These could be companywide events, sales kick-offs, training programs, town halls, department meetings, etc.
For companies that have offices across the globe, Microsoft Teams is a great tool to conduct hybrid events. This helps to connect the entire company when employees are not all together in the same place.
Last Few Words
Whether you’re conducting a webinar on Zoom or hosting an internal hybrid event on Microsoft Teams, virtual events can help you cost-effectively connect with your audiences.
Emerald Colour is a full-service marketing agency in London, providing you with creative, digital, and print services.
Author Bio:
Richard Kearsey is a digital designer at Emerald Colour – a digital design agency in London that offers various services, like website design, animation, bespoke exhibition stand design, etc. He loves creativity and enjoys experimenting with various design techniques for both web and print. He also enjoys sharing his thought on the latest design trends and upcoming marketing ideas.