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In-person events are a great way to network, make contacts, and distribute content. As businesses and governments look to tackle the impact of the pandemic, digital alternative for events has been the go-to option to manage the fallout from event cancellations.

A virtual event is an online event that often features webinars and webcast. It involves people interacting in a virtual environment rather than a physical location. These events work well as they are highly interactive and give a similar feel to a physical event.

Types of Virtual Events

There are many different kinds of virtual events most of which are tailor made to specific needs. Let us look at some of them briefly.

1. Virtual conferences – Similar to conventional conferences, virtual conferences and webinars are highly engaging where large sessions are presented by thought leaders from the industry who interact with the attendees. This is mainly achieved by hosting a virtual lobby where the attendees get to choose the sessions they want to attend. Virtual conferences offer the opportunity to sell tickets, engage with the audience through Q&A sessions, polls, and live chats.
2. Virtual trade shows – Similar to how live trade shows are held, this platform does not have the limitation of the geographical location. The attendees get to interact with the sponsors and hosts, getting access to loads of valuable information regarding the products and services.
3. Virtual career fairs – Online job fair allows employers to connect with job seekers in a virtual environment. These events have transformed the way potential employers interact with the candidate. The different interactive features have helped in breaking down geographical barriers and extended the reach of the prospective employers without losing the engagement that attracts job seekers.
4. Virtual open days – Offer an alternative for traditional open days at colleges and universities. These offer an opportunity to prospective students the freedom and flexibility to learn about the academic institutions.
5. Virtual benefits fairs – It is designed to help the benefits provider and employer communicate the benefits for their employees at scale through the interactive online events. These events are useful for enterprise organizations with multiple locations and results in more informed employees.

Benefits of Virtual Events for attendees

1. Additional value for the attendees – Events are known to have sessions that may overlap. With on-demand content available through virtual events for the attendees, more people can sign up for an event.
2. Fewer Distractions – At times during in-person events, it becomes difficult to focus with a large pool of audience. Virtual events offer the opportunity to attend the event from any location without any distractions.
3. Accessibility – Signing up for an online virtual event by purchasing a ticket allows the attendee to revisit the portal and rewatch the sessions later. It also allows the attendees to attend other interesting sessions which they might have missed initially.
4. Ability to network and interact – Virtual events presents the attendees with a chance to talk with internal and external colleagues during the event. They can share insights and observations relevant to their work. Engaging in live chats show the attendees how to set-up private chats and follow up discussion with other attendees. Publicizing the takeaways from the virtual events in social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter set the platform for developing new relationships that could endure beyond the virtual event.
5. Offers an opportunity for more team members to attend – Travel cost is eliminated in the case of virtual events so budgets can cover the cost of more attendees. These attendees can get together post event with their teams for retrospectives and follow-up working session to translate their virtual event into takeaways and action items.
6. Great for people with mobility challenges – Virtual events are a great opportunity for people of determination who cannot attend events at a physical location.

Virtual events for attendees can be useful in maximizing their time attending various events, meeting more people, and follow through on some interesting ideas that they may be limited to during in-person events. These events are cost-effective and offer an opportunity to listen to some fascinating people around the world who are experts in their field. Think of it as an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before due to time, price or location.