The Complete Guide to Virtual Meetings in 2022
With the rapid development of videoconferencing technologies, they have become another business advantage. Online conferencing is extremely useful in business for team management, organization of work, customer service, etc. So why not use this remote communication mode to make your brand known?
Virtual conference concept
Virtual conferences are very different from online meetings. The latter is effective for occasional and regular remote team meetings, indoor corporate events, and even some outdoor occasions.
Virtual conferences enable everything that is not possible with video calls: extensive public communication, attraction of sponsors, thorough analysis of data, etc. They are similar to webinars, but provide more opportunities for communication, building business relationships, etc.
Why virtual conference?
The virtual conference allows you to increase the level of attendance. Traveling takes time and expense, and it's much better for participants if they don't have to waste time and money on some questionable activity. And it's doubtful if you don't offer a remote participation option) if they have alternatives.
Goals of the virtual conference
General goals for scheduling virtual conferences include:
- potential business goals - increase in lead generation, brand awareness, community involvement, revenue generation;
- social goals - from personal improvement to leisure.
It is always better for a virtual conference organizer to set two main goals from the categories listed above. It forces you to focus on something measurable and actionable.
Stages of organization and tasks
Even any organization offers a few basic steps to follow. In the case of a virtual conference, you can achieve better results by following the steps below.
- Create a concept - the main idea around which your plan will be built.
- Build a strategy - what elements will you use to achieve your goals.
- Select software and hardware - this may incur some costs.
- Think about registration and audience surveys to collect data.
- Collect feedback after the online conference to learn about your audience and take into account possible errors.
These steps help to separate responsibilities and work, since preparation requires careful consideration of many aspects. Finally, they allow for better analysis and comparison after the event has passed.
Sponsorship features
Sponsoring online conference scheduling provides an opportunity to cut costs and looks very similar to an offline event. The only difference is in the way advertising is implemented. In addition, you may run into sponsors that are harder to convince. Here you need to use all the positive data (from forecast calculations and previous analysis).
What data and analytics can you get
The main types of data are:
- event data - what, where, how and when it was organized;
- profile data - information about participants;
- engagement data — interaction dynamics and results.
First, it will help you organize the comparison with previous events. The second is aimed at completing or creating profiles of your potential customers. The latter shows the effectiveness of your strategy.
Virtual conferences require a thoughtful organizational approach. This is a multi-layered event that requires the use of certain tools. To get the most out of it, you have to pay a lot of attention to detail.