Virtual events like webinars are projected to be one of the biggest trends in marketing for 2021. Read on to discover how you can plan a successful virtual marketing event that helps drive leads and sales.
Think About Your Audience
The first step to planning a successful virtual event is understanding your audience’s motivations. Does your audience come to you for education? Entertainment? Interesting conversation? By identifying why your audience is following you, you can determine what type of virtual event would interest them the most. If they come for education, host a webinar. If they come for entertainment, hold a virtual “party” or meet-up. If they come for conversation, try a virtual networking event. Refining your event based on your audience’s motivations is a good way to get more sign-ups and ensure your efforts aren’t falling on deaf ears.
Make It Accessible
One of the biggest decisions to make when building a virtual event is whether to host it live, or pre-record it. Live events can be beneficial if you’re looking to interact with your audience in real-time and can create a sense of urgency for interested parties to join if they know there is a limited time frame when they can participate. On the other hand, recorded events can make it easier for more people to attend or view your event if they can’t make the original time slot. Do you want your event to be more intimate and immediate, or if you would prefer to create content that you can continue to promote over weeks or months?
Encourage Interaction
The success of your event often comes down to the engagement level of your audience. Creating an event that includes elements of audience interaction such as Q&As, “Pop Quiz” style surveys, or brainstorming can help them feel connected to your company and create a more entertaining and engaging experience. Encouraging interaction helps you gauge interest as the event plays out, and helps attendees become more invested in your content over time.
Build a Funnel
If you’re planning strategically, your virtual event should not be a one-off for attendees. Those who attend should be entered into email drip campaigns, served ads, and even encouraged to make a purchase or sign-up for an engagement with you right then and there. Since these types of events are hands-on and in-depth, attendees are often willing to make a purchase very shortly afterward. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to capture them as customers.
80.2% of event organizers have been able to reach a wider audience with virtual events.
Are you planning virtual events for 2021? The KWSM team has extensive experience in a wide range of virtual events, and we’re ready to help you take your event marketing to the next level.
CLICK HERE to contact us about creating your virtual event today.
