How to Monetize Sponsorships for a Virtual Event

5 WAYS TO MONETIZE AN ONLINE EVENT THROUGH VIRTUAL EVENT SPONSORSHIP

Hosting a live event can be a fun and exciting way to engage your target audience online.

Whether you’re planning a live Q&A session about your products and services, or you’re going to be entertaining guests and sharing ideas about a particular topic that you’re passionate about, virtual event sponsorship is a great way to monetize an online event and increase your profit margins.

Planning and hosting any type of event can take up a considerable amount of time, and in business, we all know that time is money. To make the most out of your hard work, you can ask other brands and businesses to sponsor your virtual event and help them to increase their brand awareness. Here are 5 ways to monetize your next online event through virtual event sponsorship.

01.

Sell Virtual Event Sponsorship Exclusivity


Exclusive sponsorship is an attractive offer toO many companies open to virtual event sponsorship deals, especially if you have a niche and attractive target audience.

First, you’ll need to be crystal clear on what your event is about, and who your audience will be. Make sure to gather some data relating to your audience’s demographics, such as gender, age, interests, location. This will help you to attract the right sponsor to your virtual event. Being able to guarantee a brand that they will be promoted in front of people likely to be interested in their products or services is a top-selling point.

By positioning your virtual event sponsorship deal as exclusive you can charge a little extra too.

02.

Breakdown Virtual Event Sponsorship Into Tiers


Give smaller sponsors an interesting deal by breaking down your virtual event sponsorship opportunities into smaller and more affordable packages.

By offering pricing tiers, rather than a sole and exclusive sponsorship deal, you can attract several smaller companies to support your live event.

Having a couple of sponsors can also help you to create competition bundles and live giveaways, which brings us onto our next point.

03.

Offer A Live Competition Giveaway


A competition prize from your sponsor is a great incentive to get your audience to visit their website, download an app, or sign up to their newsletter during your live event. This is also a fantastic way to introduce your sponsor during your virtual event and create a buzz about their brand.

Another way of promoting your sponsors during a live event is to set up and send digital event goodie bags prior to your event going live. This could include coupon codes, video snippets and free e-books from your sponsors and gently introduce brands to your audience ahead of the virtual event.

04.

Maximize A Sponsor’s Exposure During An Online Event


When it comes to selling a virtual event sponsorship deal, it’s all about the value you can add.

Upsell your opportunity by highlighting the tickets you’ve sold and how many people you expect to attend your event.

Consider giving sponsors the option to pay extra for branded banners, breakout rooms and chances to speak directly to your audience. By clearing explaining what the sponsor will get from their investment, your sales pitch will be much easier to deliver.

05.

Add Value For Sponsors


Will your live event be recorded and available for the sponsor to post on their own website and across social media?

Will you be promoting your sponsors in a blog post on your website ahead of the event, with a link to discover more about the brands mentioned?

Will your marketing strategy include their logos, and do you plan to engage with them on social media?

By giving businesses valuable and tangible deliverables, they can easily see the benefits of sponsoring your virtual event. This will also help marketing managers, often responsible for securing sponsorship deals, to get the go-ahead from senior members of their team or business owners to sponsor your next virtual event.

Monetizing your online event by inviting businesses to sponsor it requires a certain level of professionalism. Often sponsors will be watching your event closely, so you will need a reliable and professional virtual event company at your side, should you experience technical problems while live.

At Virtual Creative Studios, we specialize in helping businesses to plan and host incredible and interactive live events. With our expert technical support, you can attract sponsors to your next live event and demonstrate your ability to host a professional and memorable virtual event. Our online event software will help you to provide sponsors with valuable after-event data and reports too.

For a free demo of our powerful virtual event software visit virtualcreativestudios.com

5 Tips for Boosting Engagement at Virtual Events

5 TIPS FOR BOOSTING

ENGAGEMENT AT VIRTUAL EVENTS

If you’re planning a virtual event and want to make sure you get the most out of your captive audience, we’re going to give you some tips and tricks to boost your online engagement. Event engagement is an important part of any virtual meeting, conference or get-together and you’ll need to put in place a couple of smart online techniques to keep your audience interested, engaged and entertained.

Whether you’re hosting an international event online, or a virtual conference, there is nothing worse than seeing blank faces. So, to keep all eyes on you, despite the many distractions that may take place during your live event, here are 5 incredible ways to boost event engagement for your next virtual event.

01.

Add Value & Attract Viewers


A virtual event must add value, and one way of doing this is by inviting a guest speaker, influencer or industry professional to help make your event more interesting. Interviewing a guest during your virtual event will help you to feel more relaxed while hosting, and give you the opportunity to have a natural conversation.

Ask questions, share ideas and opinions and discuss interesting topics. A guest who is more knowledgeable about the topics you’re planning on covering will also add significant value to your event, as viewers will be able to learn and listen to an expert. This will also make hosting a virtual event less daunting. If you can’t find a guest speaker to join you on a virtual event, look for alternative ways to add value, such a giving guests access to a new video or e-book, or sharing a personal experience or story with them.

02.

Live Competitions For Event Engagement


One of the best ways to keep viewers engaged during a live event, especially if it’s long, is to launch competitions that require people to enter in real-time. Bring out your guest’s competitive side with challenges, quiz questions, polls and competitions. Using a mobile device, while watching your virtual event, ask guests to compete to win a prize. You could ask viewers to share their thoughts, answer questions, download an app, or visit a website, in order to enter your virtual competition.

Remember to frequently update viewers on how many people have entered your competition, and who’s in the lead, in order to keep event engagement at an all-time high. A virtual quiz that tests how well your viewers have been paying attention to your event is another clever trick which will help people to absorb the information you’re providing during your live event. Consider this when choosing a virtual event platform, and see what other integrations they can offer to keep your attendees engaged.

03.

Ask For Online Engagement


Just because you’re hosting a virtual event, doesn’t mean you have to be the only person who needs to be heard. To boost online engagement during your live event, ask guests to share their opinions. If your audience remains quiet, consider calling out names and asking questions to people directly. This direct approach may seem a little forward, but you need to be confident in order to transform your virtual event into an interactive live meeting.

Once you call out some names, you’ll start to get the ball moving and more people will hopefully feel more comfortable coming forward and sharing their thoughts. Virtual event platforms offer multiple different types of ways for attendees to interact with presenters including live Q&A’s, chat, and video calls.

04.

Make A Virtual Event Personalized


Rather than define the topics you’re going to cover and have your event schedule set in stone, allow guests to personalize their online experience. By offering a virtual event that can be tailored and bespoke, you’re empowering your viewers to take control and choose subjects, topics or talks that interest them.

By breaking down a virtual event with individual group hosts and unique topics to discuss, people can choose what to watch, and what to avoid, which will increase online engagement and combat boredom.

05.

Create An Incentive To Stay


To keep people watching right until the end of your live event, you’ll need to provide an incentive to stay. This could be exclusive access to an e-book, video or discount code, or a competition announcement. For those who do stay until the end of your virtual event, remember to show your appreciation before saying goodbye.

A person that feels appreciated will always do more than expected, so end with a call to action such as visit my website, drop me an email or follow me on Instagram, to make the most out of the final moments of your virtual event.

If you’re planning a virtual event and are looking for a platform that allows you to provide personalized experiences, live feedback and engagement, as well as virtual competitions, get in touch with our team today at Virtual Creative Studios. As experts in virtual events, we can help boost your event engagement with the best audience engagement software and live event support.

ARE YOU READY? SEE HOW WE CAN TAKE YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

© 2020 VIRTUAL CREATIVE STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

How to Produce a Virtual Event: Everything You Need to Know

HOW TO PRODUCE A VIRTUAL EVENT- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, major in-person events have all been canceled for the foreseeable future.

But does that mean you have to postpone all of your events until COVID-19 is gone?

Thankfully, the answer is no!

While social distancing is the new normal, virtual events are the perfect solution.

Why Go Virtual?

  • Virtual events are the safest option during the pandemic. In-person events can spread germs and put participants and employees at risk.
  • They are more affordable! With virtual events, there’s no need to rent out a huge space, compensate speakers for their travel fees, or pay event employees for set-up and break-down time.
  • You can reach more people. With an in-person event, attendance may be limited by factors such as geography. But anyone with an internet connection and a smart device or computer can log on to your virtual event.   
  • Virtual events unleash your creative potential. You’re not limited by anything but technological capabilities!

So if you’re ready to put on a virtual event, read on to learn tips and tricks to make your event successful.

Producing a Virtual Event in 2020

Tips For A Successful Virtual Event:

  • Always Have A Plan:

If you want your virtual event to go off without a hitch, you need a plan. Before you contact speakers or pick an event name, sit down and brainstorm a strategy.

First, you need to think about how your event will look in a virtual format. Is it a conference, a tradeshow, or a performance? How can you translate this content into a digital medium?

It’s also important to consider your audience. What is your target demographic’s comfort level when it comes to using tech to attend a virtual event? Older audiences will want a user interface that is clean and easy to use. However, younger, more tech-savvy attendees may prefer a state-of-the-art set up that shows off the coolest new virtual technology.

Before you do anything, it’s important to think out every step of your virtual event so nothing takes you by surprise later on.

  • Figure Out The Timeline

If you want to stay organized and on-track, you have to figure out what your event’s timeline looks like. We’ll break this down a little further on, but it’s key to know that you need a general list of tasks and due-dates for everything from pre-production to post-event. Having a clear timeline helps everyone on your team stay on the same page.

  • Resource Planning

Producing a virtual event requires a lot less manpower than an in-person event. But you’ll still need help to pull this off, so it’s crucial to know who you need help from and what they need to do.

Based on your team members’ abilities and skills, assign them tasks based on the timeline you create. Here, communication is key. There are many moving parts, so give everyone as much information as possible about what they need to accomplish, why it’s important, and when it needs to be done. Give people as much time as possible to do their tasks so nothing is left to the last minute.

  • Make Your Budget

Even though virtual events are much more cost-effective than in-person events, it’s still a good idea to have a budget before you begin your project. That way you don’t end up spending more than you wanted to by accident.

When preparing your budget, make sure to consider costs like your virtual event software provider, video conferencing, and marketing. But luckily, you don’t need to worry about things like speakers’ accommodations or venue rental.

  • Marketing Matters

For virtual events, marketing is absolutely crucial. Your target audience can be global, not just local, so you need to make sure your message gets out there. Luckily, there are lots of cost-effective ways to successfully market your virtual event. Make the most of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and consider an email marketing strategy and pay-per-click advertisements, as well.

Virtual Event Production Timeline

Having an accurate and fully-fleshed out timeline is key to producing an awesome virtual event. When we work with clients on virtual events, this is the timeline we try to stick to.

  • Pre-Production

During our initial call or meeting, we get to know your team and your event. We make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to project scope and goals.

  • 3 Months Until The Event

With 3 months to go, we give clients a complete timeline. We also work with your team to onboard any exhibitors or sponsors and create a comprehensive program for the event.

Behind the scenes, we’re working on optimizing the technology you’ll need for your event. That includes figuring out what platform is best for you and what integrations we’ll need for everything to go smoothly on the big day.

  • 2 Months Until The Event

As the event gets closer, we collaborate with you to make sure speakers are confirmed and then schedule rehearsals for each presenter. At this point, we’ll also review the event’s website or landing page with you. Then we start customizing the virtual platform with your graphic design elements. At this time we also start pre-recording any content that won’t be live on the day of the event.

  • 1 Month Until The Event

It’s time to launch the website or landing page and start registering attendees. We get your final approval for these and then take care of all the technical aspects.

We also chat with your speakers to make sure they’re comfortable using the technology we provide and schedule any rehearsals if necessary.

  • 2 Weeks Until The Event

The big day is almost here! During our meeting, we’ll discuss a detailed event timeline and confirm any other details. By this point, we’ll be finishing up pre-recorded content and will be finalizing any rehearsals.

  • 1 Week Until The Event

It’s crunch time, so we’ll check in with the client as needed. At this point in the process, scripts, presentations, and other media should be finalized. We’ll go through technical rehearsals to test the quality and ease of use.

  • Week of The Event

Nearly everything is ready to go now! With all of our prep work, the event should go off without a hitch.

  • After The Event

Don’t worry, we don’t leave you high and dry after the big day. Our team will debrief with yours to see what went well and what can be improved upon next time.

Producing a virtual event might seem overwhelming, but with proper planning and the right production team on your side, there’s nothing to worry about. Have questions about putting on a virtual event or want to know more about how we can help your team? Reach out to us today!

ARE YOU READY? SEE HOW WE CAN TAKE YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

© 2020 VIRTUAL CREATIVE STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Virtual Event Marketing | Professional Online Event Management

5 TIPS FOR BOOSTING

ENGAGEMENT AT VIRTUAL EVENTS

Professional Online Event Management

If you want your online event to run smoothly, you’ll need a platform that offers professional support before, during and after the big day. Event planning can be a complex process. From setting a date, time and venue, to organizing guest speakers and selling tickets, you might start to feel a little overwhelmed as your event approaches. This is where virtual event marketing and online event management comes in.

Bringing in the professionals when it comes to hosting and setting up your virtual event, will not only make event planning less daunting but will also help you to make the most out of your event. From virtual event marketing to promote and increase ticket sales, to using online features to communicate in real-time with your guests, here’s how to market your next event and host a fantastic live experience.

01.

Virtual Event Marketing To Sell Tickets & Get Sign Ups


Even-though an online event doesn’t require a large venue, and you’ll probably be saving a lot of money when it comes to lighting and sound equipment, you still need to have attendees register and potentially buy tickets. Virtual event marketing involves analyzing your event and target audience, and creating a digital marketing plan to attract relevant traffic to your event page.

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your virtual event, but if you don’t know your hashtags from your @ mentions, let professionals do the hard work for you. From PPC, email campaigns and social media marketing, don’t waste your precious time struggling with virtual event marketing and let our experts do the hard work for you.

For virtual event marketing help, advice and guidance, contact our team today.

02.

Live Event Landing Page Development


A landing page is a specially designed webpage with one aim; to convert. When people are interested in your virtual live event, you need to direct them to a webpage that will convince them to sign up and purchase tickets.

A powerful landing page will include three elements:

1: A compelling headline

2: Clear information

3: A call-to-action

If you’re planning a virtual event, you need to inform, entice and sell, and a well-designed landing page can help you achieve this! Landing pages can also help to support other aspects of virtual event marketing such as PPC. If you’re running ad campaigns to sell tickets to your upcoming event, a landing page can help convert traffic and improve your cost per acquisition.

At Virtual Creative Studios, we work with our clients to create custom-built landing pages designed to market your virtual event and brand. Whether you need a single landing page, or several pages to target different customer personas, our team will take the time to get to know your business, your goals and your event, and create a landing page bespoke to you.

03.

Professional Support During Your Live Event


Hosting a live event online can be stressful enough without having to worry about technical failures. So that you stay connected and online for the entire duration of your event, use a professional virtual event platform. If something does go wrong, don’t panic! You’ll have access to support before, during and after your event.

At Virtual Creative Studios, our clients receive live event support 24/7. Our team is here to answer any questions and queries that you may have and to resolve any technical issues that are preventing you from planning an incredible virtual event. After the event, you will also have access to data to help you determine how successful your event was. With detailed reports, you can analyze your performance, engagement, interactions and gauge your return on investment too!

04.

Connect, Engage & Interact With Your Guests 


Connect with your audience no matter where they are in the world. The beauty of an online live event is that you can have an international audience without the need for guests to travel from far and wide to attend. However, you might feel a bit disconnected if you don’t use an online event management platform that allows you to interact in real-time.

Being able to communicate instantly with your audience adds value to your event, and allows you to learn more about your customers. Calling out the names of viewers and answering questions that they might have allows you to form a relationship with your audience and keeps people interested throughout your event.

To have complete peace of mind that your virtual event, exhibition or conference will run smoothly and for help with virtual event marketing, contact Virtual Creative Studios today. We help businesses and individuals with their online event needs, from planning and marketing an upcoming event and hosting an event online, to providing detailed reported after your event. Contact our experts now or request a live demo.

ARE YOU READY? SEE HOW WE CAN TAKE YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

© 2020 VIRTUAL CREATIVE STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

5 Reasons To Take Your Event Online With A Virtual Event

Are you planning an upcoming event, talk or conference? You might want to consider taking your event online. Technology is helping to transform how we plan, prepare and run small scale and major events around the world, so if you are concerned about limited event space, the cost of hosting an event, weather conditions and global pandemics, a virtual event might be the perfect option for you.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at 5 incredible reasons to take your next event online by hosting a virtual event with Virtual Creative Studios.

05.

Global Pandemic Proof Your Event


Social distancing regulations and restricted international travel is a major concern for event planners at the moment. Covid-19 is highly contagious, which is why many events, conferences, concerts and talks have been cancelled or postponed this year. If you’ve invested a lot of time, money and energy into planning an upcoming event, thanks to technology, you can now take your event online. Virtual events are 100% global pandemic proof as you no longer need an event space to host it, or guests to attend in person. Instead, you can host your event online and allow customers to watch and engage using a laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone.

By hosting a virtual event instead of a traditional conference or talk for example, you can protect yourself, your team and others from the on-going global pandemic. Plus, you won’t need to safeguard customers during your event by providing hand sanitizers and social distancing notices, as well as trying to limit how many people attend.

02.

Don’t Be Restricted To Limited Event Space


A virtual event is not confined or restricted by space. In fact, an online event can have an unlimited number of guests, helping to increase the reach of your event significantly. This is particularly important if you anticipate that a lot of people will be interested in attending.

Moreover, you can also save time and money by hosting your event online rather than having it held in an event space. Stop cutting your profit margins by investing in a venue and decorations and go digital and host your upcoming event online.

03.

Increase Your Profits


Virtual events can dramatically reduce your expenses and help increase your profits. Hosting an event can quickly become an expensive idea. From finding a venue to accommodate your guests and having printed marketing material made to decorate your space, to hiring lighting, sound equipment and staff for the day, if you’re not careful, things can start to get a little out of control when it comes to finances.

A virtual event, on the other hand, is far more economical and affordable. Without as much planning required, and the need to sell a minimum amount of tickets to cover your expenses basically gone, you can host an online event without investing a lot of time and money first. Saving money on your event also gives you the opportunity to spend it on marketing and increasing sales.

04.

Bad Weather Has No Power Over You


Planning an event can be complex and stressful. To run a successful event you will need to have enough supplies for all your guests, the right lighting and sound equipment for the day, and marketing material ready to hand out.

If you’re hosting an outdoor event, you’ve also got to factor in the unpredictability of the weather too! Or, you could choose to take back control of your event and host it online. The show will always go on when you host a virtual event, so that’s one less thing to worry about.

05.

More Ways to Engage With Customers


Last but not least, if you’re hoping to capture valuable customer data during your event, a virtual event is the way to go. With many opportunities to engage with your customers before, during and after your event, you can guide your audience to pre-recorded content and additional downloadable resources to add more value to your event.

An online event also allows social interaction, with guests able to communicate directly with the host and provide feedback in real-time. This is especially important if you’re hoping to create a community spirit during your event, and share ideas and thoughts with a group of people.

How to Take Your Event Online:

Rather than cancel your event due to the on-going global pandemic, send out an email or a message on social media to anyone who has already registered, to explain that you’ll be hosting it online instead.

Make sure to highlight the benefits of the online version of the event such as:

●      Exclusive access to a document, PDF, data, fact sheet etc

●      Informational presentations and seminars from individuals respected in their field

●      Discount code to use on your website, if you sell products or services

●      A live giveaway competition during the virtual event that you’ll be automatically entered into if you have a ticket

●      Ability to communicate directly with the host and other attendees with real-time interaction

To make a seamless transition for a regular event, talk or conference to an online event, feel free to contact our team at Virtual Creative Studios today, or request a free demo here. From trade shows, conferences and meetings, to live events and webinars, we help businesses like you harbour the power of technology and take their events online.

ARE YOU READY? SEE HOW WE CAN TAKE YOUR VIRTUAL EVENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

© 2020 VIRTUAL CREATIVE STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.