Exhibitions are famous around the world. And are considered as quite important. They can be dedicated to educational, cultural or business purposes, like history museums, art galleries or trade fairs. These exhibitions help in preserving the art, culture and history. And also, they assist us in sharing these values with new generations. Not only this, they help many people in doing business. But all this was interrupted last year due to the outbreak of a pandemic.
As the pandemic spread, the lockdown was imposed. So people started isolating themselves. And it was apparent that no social gathering can be done, even for educational purposes. So people looked for an alternative solution and turned to online events.
Virtual events are becoming the most sought out way of hosting events these days. They are proving quite helpful and reliable, especially in this period of uncertainty. And the same is true for the virtual exhibition. Now you must be thinking about how a virtual exhibition fair takes place? Let’s understand.
Virtual Event Technology and Exhibition
Virtual events are the events hosted on a digital medium. In other words, they are the digital version of the physical event. To host a virtual event, you would require a virtual event platform that offer a 3D interactive environment to recreate the feel of a physical event in a digital medium. All the participants or attendees are connected through an online network.
Just like any virtual event, a virtual exhibition is also hosted online on a virtual exhibition platform. Attendees can virtually witness the art gallery, museums or exhibitor’ booth. They can see the products or arts presented by the businesses or individuals. Or the different stalls by exhibitors right from their home.
Isn’t it convenient? Well, if you think so, then wait. Because there are more benefits of hosting an exhibition virtually.
Reasons Behind the Rising Trend of Virtual Exhibition in the B2B Industry
Best buck for your money
Virtual exhibitions are the most cost-effective ways. Since the audience is connected virtually, you don’t need to spend money on the venue and various other things. And not only this, even the attendees can save a lot of money. They don’t need to travel to the event venue. And can avoid expenses like travelling, food and accommodations.
More time in your hand
You must have heard this common saying ‘time is money’. And with the virtual event, you can save both time and money. Firstly, you don’t need to travel to attend a virtual event, which means you can save your time, which you otherwise spend travelling. And you can use that time for more meaningful work.
Besides this, it allows a broader audience to attend your event. Even people from different countries can attend your event. The only thing that is required is time. You need to mention the international time of your event.
Host an international audience
Many people dream of getting a global audience for their event. But it is difficult to get, especially in a physical event. And even if you get an international audience, the number will be still low or limited. So, what should you do? How can your audience cross geographical barriers? The answer is by switching to the virtual exhibitions.
With a virtual exhibition, you can invite as many people as possible. And not only this but also meet with a global audience at your event.
Hassle-free experience
Another reason for people to enjoy the virtual exhibition fair is the convenience. Often people find it cumbersome to locate a particular exhibitor’s booth or art installation or artefact in a crowded event. But this can be avoided with a virtual event. You can easily navigate through the virtual event platform to find your favourite exhibitor’s booth or any place of your interest. And that too with the comfort of your home.
This enables more people to attend the event who otherwise would have missed the event.
Far superior returns
You can get the best out of your investment by opting for a virtual medium for your event. Wondering how is that possible? Think about it this way, you don’t have to spend too much on organising a virtual event. And still, you can get a larger audience from all over the world. This means a higher ROI (Return on Investment). If you want to get similar results from a physical event, you would require an enormous sum of money. So we can safely conclude that virtual events are a better deal than physical events.
Engage your audience
Many people think it is tricky to engage attendees in a virtual event. Well, they are wrong. Since many virtual event platforms offer multiple engaging features, it is much easier to engage people in a virtual event than you think. But you need to select the right platform/software for your event. Ask for the audience engagement features while choosing the virtual event platform. Here are some of the features that we would like to suggest to you. These are Gamification, Leaderboard, Social Wall, AR photo booth and so on.
Apart from this, networking is also crucial. In fact, many people attend the event with the sole purpose of making new connections. And a virtual exhibition can be an ideal event for networking. So, you can’t ignore networking. For this, again, you need to look for networking tools available in the virtual event platform. These are our favourite networking tools – Networking table, 2-way communication, B2B meeting scheduler and so on.
Customisation options for exhibitors
In any exhibition fair, the exhibitor’s booth or any instalment is very essential. It forms the core of the event. And this is true regardless of the medium. So, you need to provide customisation options to the exhibitors at your event.
Also, you can give some level of autonomy to your exhibitors, for instance, a DIY Booth. This option lets an exhibitor select colours, banners, functionality, icons, symbols along with video recordings, pictures, or even PDF.
Here is more on Virtual Exhibition Platform Features:
Know what’s in attendees’ mind
Along with tons of benefits, one thing that gives the edge to the virtual event over the physical event is access to feedback. In a virtual event, you can easily collect feedback since it is collected automatically. While you would need to employ people, especially for collecting feedback in a physical event.
Also, feedback is crucial. As it helps to understand an attendee’s experience at the event. And enables us to make the necessary changes to deliver a better experience in the next event.
We hope this article will give you insights into the increasing trend of virtual events in the B2B industry.
Are you planning a virtual exhibition?
We have lots more ideas and strategies to host an immersive and engaging virtual exhibitions and fairs. Get in touch with us anytime!
