By now, it’s crystal clear that virtual events are here to stay. While there are occasions when physical events are the way to go, savvy companies and marketers see virtual events as an additional digital channel they must leverage to reach more of their target audience, drive more measurable results, and do so in a much more cost-effective way. With 2025 event planning right around the corner (if it’s not already in full swing), here are eight compelling reasons why companies should invest in virtual events.
1. Wider Reach and Accessibility
Virtual events break down geographical barriers. Whether your audience is in a different country or just across town, anyone can participate from anywhere. This accessibility allows companies and marketers to cast a wider net, increase brand visibility, and engage with more of their ideal audience. Think about your in-person events now and how much of your audience you’re missing out on simply because it doesn’t make geographical sense. Regional roadshows don’t need to be regional. Local lunch and learns and workshops don’t need to be local, and the list goes on and on. Organizations don’t truly realize how geographically hamstrung they are by in-person events.
2. More Cost-Effective Event Solution for Everyone
Hosting a virtual event can significantly reduce costs compared to traditional in-person events, sometimes by as much as 90%. Expenses for venues, catering, travel, and accommodations are almost completely eliminated. This allows companies to invest in high-quality content, technology, and marketing efforts that can enhance the event experience for everyone involved. Think about the cost burden for your attendees as well. It’s been well documented that cost and time away from the office are the top two reasons why people don’t attend in-person events. And due to the uncertainty of today’s economy, companies aren’t sending their employees to nearly as many in-person conferences and events as they used to. Give your audience a solution that takes cost and time away from the office out of the equation.
3. Greater Flexibility and Convenience
Virtual events offer unmatched flexibility and convenience for event organizers and their audience. Attendees can join from the comfort of their homes or offices, making it easier to participate without the hassle of travel. Companies can schedule events at times that suit their global audience, accommodating various time zones and increasing attendance at the same time.
4. Enhanced Engagement Tools and Interaction
The best virtual event platforms (such as Elastic Events) come equipped with interactive features like live polls and surveys, video chat, imbedded webinar technology, live demos, breakout rooms, appointment scheduling, gamification, etc. These tools foster real-time interaction, making the experience more engaging for everyone involved. By creating more opportunities for discussion and feedback, attendee involvement and satisfaction increases significantly. It also provides more data points that companies can leverage to effectively measure event ROI.
5. Wealth of Data and Audience Intelligence
Virtual events generate a wealth of data that can help dictate sales and marketing strategies and enable companies to make smarter post event decisions. Organizations can track everything – registrations, attendees, sessions attended, content downloaded and viewed, peer to peer interactions, questions asked, polls and surveys responded to, event spaces visited, time spent within the virtual environment, etc. In a nutshell, with the right virtual event platform you can track every movement made within your event. Now compare that to in-person events and the data, or lack thereof, that you capture. There is simply no comparison. Virtual events provide companies with audience intelligence that they can use to sell smarter, market more efficiently, and strengthen their brand and customer/prospect relationships.
6. Sustainability and Environmental Impact
A lot of companies talk about sustainability and decreasing environmental impact, but by going virtual they can walk the walk. Virtual events offer an eco-friendly alternative to in-person events. By eliminating the need for travel and reducing waste associated with physical events, companies can align their practices with environmental values. This commitment to sustainability can enhance a brand’s reputation and appeal to environmentally conscious prospects and customers. If you’re trying to be a sustainable organization, be genuine about it and go virtual.
7. Networking and Collaboration Opportunities
Virtual events offer networking opportunities that in-person events often struggle to match. Attendees can engage with industry leaders and peers several ways, such as sharing virtual business cards, video chats, instant messaging, dedicated networking lounges, and topic-driven breakout rooms. Many virtual event platforms even feature matchmaking tools, allowing attendees to find others with similar interests or qualifications. These enhanced networking capabilities can lead to more ideal connections, partnerships, and collaborations that might not have happened in a physical setting.
8. Increased Content Shelf Life and Impact
Typically, when an in-person event is over, it’s over for good. Most organizations struggle to capture key elements of their events and extend their shelf-life. With virtual events, that’s not an issue at all. Your entire event experience can be archived on-demand for as long as you want – our Elastic Events platform comes stock with 90 days of on-demand archiving. Essentially, your virtual event turns into a content hub that you can leverage to educate, generate demand and leads, and drive pipeline for months to come. Much of the content from your virtual event can be repurposed into other content formats, of course. But the data, audience engagement and intelligence you uncover from your event can help create content that truly resonates with your target audience. This makes your content more impactful and increases your virtual event ROI even more. In-person events simply can’t deliver this kind of post event value…not even close.
Jason Stegent is the Founder & President of Elastic Solutions. Email him @ jstegent@elasticroi.com