We are hearing that budgets and travel restrictions for government are starting to loosen up a bit and event planners are more optimistic about growing their in-person attendance. But this growth in physical events does not necessarily signal a downturn in virtual events. We believe that online events such as webinars, virtual tradeshows, and streamed hybrid events are here to stay and here's why. [Tweet "Online events -- webinars, virtual tradeshows, hybrid events are here to stay. #GovEventsBlog"]
- Content Marketing - organizations understand the value of having good content. Being able to share your perspective on a tech trend, policy, or the latest topic in the news cycle is easy via social channels. This constant flow of information keeps the organization in people's newsfeeds and on the top of their mind. Online events allow you to capture the shared content and repurpose it as blog posts, smaller video snippets, whitepapers, etc...for months after the actual event.
- Cost - in-person events are expensive to host and there is a cap on how many you can do per year. For online events, the financial cost is lower and the time commitment is also reduced (if you reuse content) so you can do more events. Online events can also be tailored to niche audiences. It may not be cost-effective to hold an in-person event for a small, but strategic, niche audience but they can easily and effectively be reached online. [Tweet "Online events can also be tailored to niche audiences. #GovEventsBlog"]
- Interaction and Measurement - just as online ads have more direct and immediate metrics to show than print or broadcast ads, online events can also provide immediate metrics. Upon beginning the event you know how many people are in attendance. You can quantify interaction through questions submitted or other online activities (such as polls). Immediately after the event you can reach out to people with follow-up while they are still online and the event is still fresh in their mind.
What do you think are the greatest benefits of virtual events? Which one(s) will fuel their continued growth? Let us know in the comments. [Tweet "What do you think are the greatest benefits of virtual events? #GovEventsBlog"]
