You don’t have to be an event professional to have experienced a canceled in-person conference due to the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Did you know that you can host or attend conferences virtually instead?
Like their in-person counterpart, virtual conferences are dynamic events consisting of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, exhibitions, etc. Participants build their agenda but access the content digitally rather than navigating a physical conference hall or hotel space. Virtual conferences can, and should, combine pre-recorded and edited content with live talks and events. Furthermore, the live portions can still be recorded, archived, and accessed later by participants who maybe had to attend another workshop happening at the same time.
Networking sessions and vendor booths can even be transitioned to virtual alternatives. Some people might argue that nothing can replace that moment of establishing a connection in-person. But with entire online sessions contextualized to networking in addition to data collected through attendee polling and Q&A, it seems hard to argue that virtual conferences don’t present MORE opportunity for client insight and lead generation.
Some popular virtual conference tools we use and recommend to our clients are:
- EventMobi is an end-to-end event management platform that makes it easy for organizers to plan, promote, and deliver engaging virtual and hybrid event experiences
- Whova is a platform that creates authentic audience participation and engagement while simplifying the entire event planning, registration, and networking process
Baldwin Audio/Visual Solutions predicts that virtual conferences will play a large role in event coordination in the future and not just due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefits offered by digital alternatives means they will still be commonplace and part of a hybrid event strategy even once traditional in-person conferences start back up. Since you’ll likely be attending and maybe even hosting a virtual conference in the near future, knowing who and where to go for the necessary equipment setups and advice is paramount — that’s where we come in!
Baldwin Audio/Visual Solutions can help you leverage networking, plenaries, and online registration capabilities that will save you time and money. We can help manage everything from pre-recorded and edited videos, Q&A, or even breakout sessions that run concurrently. So contact us today to learn more about virtual conference solution packages!
Please click here to read Part 2: https://baldwinav.com/transitioning-from-physical-to-virtual-conferences/