As a building block to sales, nothing beats face-to-face conversation. Unfortunately, many of the conversations that take place at tradeshows are far too shallow to move customers much beyond, “Thanks, we’ll think about it.”
That shallowness is virtual events’ raison d’être. And it’s the primary reason why you should consider virtual events as a way to complement your participation in real or “physical” ones.
Virtual events are Web-based confabs that draw people together, often for the same reasons they’re drawn to tradeshows and corporate conferences: to shop, share, study, sell and socialize. The participants—attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and speakers—interact with each other through their desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones by logging onto a shared “virtual environment” (a Website). The environments typically look and feel a lot like convention centers; and the various activities within are a lot like physical tradeshows.
But the similarities end there.
“Virtual events give exhibitors the ability to do much more extensive presentations,” said Randy Selman, chairman, president and CEO of Onstream Media, a Florida-based provider of virtual event platforms. “They give exhibitors more time in front of a target audience—and a potentially bigger one because you’re now able to reach people unable to attend the physical event.”
Selman sees almost no limit to the volume of material an exhibitor might present to the audience of a virtual event.
“One of the great things about a virtual event is that you’re not limited to doing 30-minute or one-hour presentations,” said Selman. “In effect, you’re able to put an entire course online and make it available to visitors either from your booth or from the organizer’s auditorium or ‘learning center’.”
Selman also advises that before accepting an organizer’s invitation to join a virtual event, you need to ask yourself three questions.
“Do you have more to say than you’re given the opportunity to say during the physical event?” asks Selman.
If the answer is yes, participating in the virtual event makes sense.
“In this case, taking advantage of the virtual event would be a much better use of marketing dollars than just exhibiting and presenting at the physical event,” said Selman.
Second, how long is the virtual event? Depending on the organizer’s goals, a virtual event can either be a short-lived or a permanent community. The organizer’s decision about the event’s length has a direct bearing on the event’s capacity to generate business opportunities.
“Obviously, there’s a lot more value in maintaining an online presence all year round than there is in having a
virtual event just prior to, during and immediately after the physical event,” said Selman.
If you want the maximum number of sales opportunities, the “permanent” virtual event would be the better “add-on” to your booth in the physical tradeshow.
Third, does your company want to do business internationally?
“Do you believe you’ll get additional leads from the global community you’ll reach through the virtual event?” asks Selman. “If you want business from overseas, the virtual event is for you.”
Your booth in a virtual event is in effect an online library. For a fee—virtual event participation typically starts around $1,000—you can put a vast amount of collateral in front of attendees: downloadable PowerPoint presentations, photos, videos, brochures, e-books, white papers, case studies, price lists and spec sheets. You can even house your whole corporate Website in your booth. Attendees who enter the booth choose the collateral they want from your “playlist”. They can also interact with your reps via a live chat room.
While preparation is easy, the effort shouldn’t be taken lightly. Selman urges exhibitors to think broadly when gathering content for their virtual booths.
“Don’t just replicate what you’re presenting in your booth at the physical show,” said Selman. “You can put a lot more information in your booth at a virtual show that attendees can access.”
But be on guard against going overboard.
“You have to be very organized in presenting information, so attendees can immediately see what products you offer and find the information of interest to them quickly,” he adds.
Properly organized, your booth in a well-attended virtual event can produce quality leads and lots of them. But the greater payoff comes from tapping the speaking opportunities.
“The speaking opportunities are the big value of virtual events,” said Selman. “Speaking improves the chances the audience will hear your story. A 20 or 30-minute speaking opportunity will drive the traffic to your booth, especially if you can get in front of the audience when there are famous speakers or more famous companies speaking.”
Organizers typically package virtual event speaking opportunities as sponsorships. A sponsorship can triple the cost of participating, but is well worth the cost.
With the right speaker lineup and strong online promotion, a virtual event has no downside for exhibitors who participate. If they like what the virtual event has to offer, attendees will pre-register, just as they would for a Webinar, and the organizer will provide you those leads, whether or not the individuals ever watch your presentation or visit your booth exhibit.
Bob James is vice president, marketing for ITN International, an event analytics company known for pioneering the use of NFC (short-range wireless) within the exhibitions industry. With operations in China, France, the UK and the US, ITN International provides exhibitors—more than 150,000 of them—with innovative lead management solutions based on NFC.
