Let’s face it, as we move into March of 2021, Covid 19 isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon and there really is no concrete timetable on when we are going to be able to have in-person events (we know, it sucks). Now, there is a real concern of Zoom burnout from 2020, but here’s a fun fact, Zoom is not the epitome of Virtual Events and these events will have a very special place even after the pandemic. So if you are wondering if you should still be investing in virtual events, here are 5 reasons why your next event should be virtual in 2021.
- Access to global expertise
- Access to more data
- Easier logistics
- Scalability
- Collaborations
ACCESS TO GLOBAL EXPERTISE
Now that the world has accepted that the pandemic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, many professionals have doubled down on investing in equipment and learning how to enhance the quality of their virtual presence when speaking at events. With all the new investments into software, cameras, tools and strategies, speakers are getting better at delivering in a virtual capacity.
With more speakers willing to jump on a virtual call than say travelling across the world to speak, the pandemic has given us access to people that we may have never been able to pre-pandemic.
For us here in the Caribbean, being able to tap into experts in a variety of markets has allowed us to get insights and help us grow in a very timely manner.
It has also allowed many of the top minds in the Caribbean and the diaspora, to start pooling and sharing their knowledge like never before and make inroads into markets that might have remained on their vision boards.
Not worrying about the logistics of how to get great minds like Prof. Sir Hillary Beckles, Dr. Terri-Karelle Reid or Aldwyn Wayne into your country and many of our other thought leaders will only help to strengthen the region.
ACCESS TO MORE DATA
Virtual Events are able to give you some great tangible data. Think about that for a second. All of the data you collect from profiles gives you a better understanding of who is at the event.
You are able to get analytics on where your guest is tuning in from, which social platforms drove the most traffic to your event, which sessions at your event were the most-watched or had the most engagement, how many persons attended the event, who connected and networked with who, you can properly track all of the questions asked during the sessions…the list goes on.
These are things that become super difficult to keep track of when you have a physical event. Much of this information goes undocumented.
Virtual Events give you an opportunity to better understand what is happening before, during and after the event.
EASIER LOGISTICS
Think about the logistics that go into any event. Venues, travel, physical bodies needed to manage the flow of people, catering, equipment, space limitations, the weather.
There is a multitude of logistics and planning that goes into a physical event that you don’t need to worry about when your event is online.
Virtual has its own set of variables you need to consider but the logistics checklist will definitely be shorter in comparison to their physical counterpart.
If your company or as an individual, you are looking to have an event but you are on a tight budget, it will be easier to start off trying to build a virtual event than trying to go about hosting a small in-person event.
SCALABILITY
This is by far one of the greatest advantages of your events being virtual. There are no limitations to where people can log in from and begin engaging.
This is going to be crucial for us in the Caribbean as we continue to build our profiles both individually and as companies. Having our events and getting attendees across the globe to join and see what we have to offer, in order to build greater connections is huge.
Pre Pandemic, no focus on creating events to showcase our knowledge & expertise and if we did, it was most likely our local audience.
As we work with more clients on building these events, we have been amazed to see where some of the attendees have logged in from. Imagine you are hosting an event from in Trinidad and Tobago and you have attendees tuning in from Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Europe…it’s exciting how far-reaching these virtual events can go.
We also have the advantage of no longer being limited by a physical space and it’s capacity!
COLLABORATIONS
The time for us globally but especially in the Caribbean to operate collectively is more important than ever before.
For the Caribbean to grow in strength, we need Caricom and its diaspora to foster better connections and collaboration.
When you engage on platforms like LinkedIn, you quickly realize that people from the Caribbean have obtained prestigious places and positions that can accelerate the growth of the region.
So many of them are looking to get involved in building up the region and are willing to spend some extra time in doing so.
While flying them in every other week isn’t ideal, financially viable or even physically possible thanks to closed borders, virtual events and workshops will allow for these collaborations and should be something that everybody is aiming to do.
Look for specialists in your niches across the region and diaspora, reach out to them and start having those conversations about how you can begin working together for the greater good of the region.
There are many reasons why you should be doubling down on virtual events, even when we are able to connect in person, hybrid events (a combination of online and in-person attendees) are most definitely going to take over as they give us the best of both worlds.
Here at TCJ Events, we are seeing more of our clients willing in 2021 to start looking at how they can create an engaging online event because they have realized that we aren’t out of the woods with the pandemic.
More companies are willing to lean in now that they have seen the early adopters execute and they are starting to see how creating these events can aid in helping them achieve those same goals and objectives the in-person event was geared toward.
If you are looking at new ways to go beyond the standard Zoom Webinars, so you don’t bore your digital audience to death, reach out to us. We have some extremely creative solutions for your organization’s next event to be a hit.
You can also check out our Instagram as we share tips for virtual events and behind the scenes when we are on jobs.
