Can Virtual Events Deliver Real-World ROI?

Virtual events can be used for anything from corporate training to road shows, user conferences or global product launches. Web-based platforms allow participants to enter a virtual environment where they can view live or on-demand conference sessions, enter virtual booths, network with peers, speakers and event staff --all from the convenience of their Web browsers. 

While many virtual environments look like elaborate real-world conference or training centres, IBM recently launched its Virtual Event Centre, where high definition video and realistic graphics make participants feel almost as if they are in a real building. Smooth transitions from room to room, conference halls that dim the lights as sessions start, together with easy navigation by clicking on a map or integrated hot buttons are all state of the (virtual) art. 

The environment and technology advancements are not only convenient and fun for attendees, they offer incredible benefits for companies hosting virtual events. By dramatically increasing their reach to include a wider audience at a much lower cost, marketers who have executed successful virtual events are rapidly discovering another aspect: a steady stream of highly qualified leads. 

Physical trade show leads often provide little more than business card data. The overwhelming majority of information never makes into the CRM system, simply because it is very hard to capture. How do organisers track someone taking a datasheet from their trade show booth? How do they record the question a visitor is asking at a physical conference session? At a virtual event every activity, every chat, every poll question is recorded and can be associated with the individual attendee. The marketing team will know where attendees went, how long they stayed, what they saw and who they met. 

Sales organisations have taken note of leads with this level of detail. So now that you know why virtual events are a good idea, let's explore the "how." What do you have to think about, as you are planning your first virtual event?

Before the event:
• Content is king. Make sure your content is fresh and schedule speakers far in advance. 

• Promote the event on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Both sites provide target group segmentation, which can be very granular. 

• Keep registration simple. Limit required information to four or five fields.

• Provide an easy way for attendees to place your event on their Outlook calendar and send reminder e-mails one week before and one day before the event.

During the event:
• Keep sessions short, around 15-30 minutes. Leave breaks between sessions to encourage attendees to visit the exhibit hall and to network. 

• Hold surveys, polls, group chats and networking sessions to promote the exchange of ideas among attendees.

• Your booth staff should be trained to point visitors to ongoing sessions, videos, white papers, datasheets or other collateral.

After the event:
• Track, track, track. Analyze how long attendees stayed, what they viewed, what questions they asked and how often they come back to the on-demand portions.

• Provide a summary of trends captured from your event (e.g., results of your surveys and polls to your registrants) in order to maintain the conversation within your community and provide value and insight. 

• Follow Up. The beauty of a good virtual event is that registrants can visit it any time they like. Use e-mail and social networking tools to follow up with non-attendees, share some of the excitement and encourage them to visit the on-demand environment. 

With the above best practices in mind, the ROI of virtual events can be incredible. Make the insights into individual participants available to your sales team as part of your leads process. Your attendees will appreciate a conversation where the sales person knows what they experienced, what topics they are interested in, and what questions they presented. What's more, your sales team will appreciate how these highly qualified leads will enable more meaningful dialogue for less, which is after all, the proverbial "holy grail" of lead generation.

And because of that, your virtual engagement strategy will soon be an indispensable component of your corporate marketing mix.