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When Covid19 locked us down, the need to stay connected with each other and continue to have humane experiences pushed us, as a community, to embrace newer technologies such as virtual event management platforms. Although they have been around for a while in the events industry, businesses and individuals have only potentially started utilizing these virtual platforms.
With more turning to virtual events, event planning companies are faced with challenges to keep evolving. Here is a list of top trends in virtual events management platforms that are changing the industry for the better.
- Hybrid events
- Inclusivity
- Augmented and virtual reality
- Event Security
- Micro experiences highly on-demand one
- Facial recognition
- Live Interpreters
- Wellness and responsibility
Of late, with the world striving to return to normalcy, event planners and organizers have been buzzing about hybrid events.
What are hybrid events?
An event, be it a conference, business expo, or workshop, that is conducted both in-person and virtually becomes a hybrid event.
Even when businesses start conducting physical events, there is much to leverage with virtual events. People themselves may not be too comfortable with stepping out and networking at crowded arenas. Hybrid events also have the advantage of cutting down travel costs for participants. This is why hybrid events are your answer- you can reap the benefits of both an in-person and a virtual event all at once.
Hybrid events can offerflexibility to your audience that a physical event may not be able to. With virtual event management platforms, participants can choose which parts of the event they wish to attend in person and which they’d like to attend online. To make your hybrid event a success, make sure to keep your audience in the know with push notifications, reminders, and extended customer support.
If you are still skeptical about whether virtual/hybrid events are the right choice for you, here are 5 key benefits of virtual event platforms that may change your perspective.
- Inclusivity
There was a surge in the talk about inclusivity, before the pandemic, even in the event management industry. Event planners started getting a more diverse range of speakers and even added inclusive food to their catering menus.
When the base shifted to virtual event platforms during 2020, events continued to pay attention to inclusivity. Apart from just inviting speakers from different walks of life to break boundaries like colour and ethnicity, virtual events challenge event planners further.
When events are hosted via virtual management platforms, it’s easy for people to sit back and not engage as well as they might at a physical event. Being inclusive and empathic of such participants, like introverts, and having them network through more exciting and friendlier features is essential.
- Augmented And Virtual Reality
One of the biggest challenges faced by event planners while going virtual is boosting their reach and audience engagement. By using virtual event management platforms that incorporate augmented reality and virtual reality, organizers can spin plain bland online events into something more realistic and fun.
Augmented reality plays a vital role in business expos and product stalls. They help you give your audience a 3D and 360-degree view of the products you showcase.
Many organizations are hopping onto create virtual experiences such as carnivals, games, and even sightseeing tours, with augmented reality tools that the virtual event platform provides. These experiences can be customized to give your specific audience an experience of a lifetime, in turn getting you higher engagement rates. To understand better, check out Wiz365’s customization features through a live demo.
- Event Security
As more and more events become virtual or hybrid, online security issues raise concerns. Every event hosted virtually, has hundreds or thousands of participants that are willingly providing their personal information. This makes virtual events a hotspot for hackers who wish to steal audience data.
Virtual event planners mustn’t ignore cybersecurity. Good virtual event management platforms provide features for encrypting all forms of data, using 2-factor authentication methods, and more such online security protocols.
- Micro Experiences
It’s well established that with a virtual event platform, you can host big mega-events that have the potential of reaching a wide audience worldwide. However, when thousands of people attend the event, it becomes difficult to customize value-driven experiences for the entire crowd.
In effect, many organizations and virtual event planners are taking to in 2021 to host events for a smaller audience, say about 100 or even lesser. This way, the organizations can cater to the small group’s specific needs that attend with micro experiences and nurture better relationships.
Micro events also lessen the risks and complications of hosting virtual events and make it easier for planners to analyze and measure their engagement and success.
- Facial Recognition
Be it at physical or virtual events, the participants always get weary of long registration and verification processes. Virtual event management platforms ease this out by including biometric features such as facial recognition. This way, attendees can log in and make their way through the event platform seamlessly, without having to wait or pause for verification.
Facial recognition and other AI-based features aren’t new, even to the event management space. With such technologies incorporated into your virtual event platform, you will be able to curate personalized content and reach out to participants in a more personalized manner.
- Live Translators And Accessibility Inclusion
Virtual or hybrid events are aimed at reaching a global audience. Hence, event planners should be aware of language differences. It is advised that organizers arrange for real-time interpreters and translators so that the entire crowd feels involved.
Apart from making a foreign audience feel welcome, event organizers should also provide accessibility features such as audio descriptions and live captions for those with disabilities.
- Wellness And Mindfulness
With the pandemic of 2019, people, in general, have become more aware of slowing things down and taking care of their mental well-being. Event planners haven’t been oblivious to this paradigm shift.
In turn, virtual and hybrid events are planned with an emphasis on wellness, mindfulness, and responsibility. Event planners advise hosts and speakers to give wellness- breaks in their meetings, conferences, and events to prevent fatigue amidst the audience.
Businesses that organize events through virtual event platforms also capitalize on this shift to play a major role in their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities.
In Conclusion
The event industry is ever-evolving just like any other potential industry out there. Being one that is highly on-demand, event planners must learn to adapt themselves and their businesses and evolve with these trends that shape the virtual event space.
To know more about how to make the most out of virtual event management platforms, book a free call with us today!
