We all noticed that the adoption of virtual events was the only way for corporations and the event industry to ensure the continuity of their respective businesses. With the increasing popularity of the virtual stage, several formats like virtual exhibition, expos, trade shows, career fairs became widely acceptable.
Today, several brands are looking for innovative solutions to enhance their global reach of attendees and showcase their products & offerings on a vast scale. And, online exhibitions are an excellent means to do this remotely over a secure and reliable virtual exhibition platform.
What is a Virtual Exhibition?
A virtual exhibition is an online event that aims to recreate the scenarios of a physical environment. With exceptional branding and customized solutions, you can create an immersive event experience. The online format of the exhibition enables attendees to join the event virtually from different remote locations. Also, the selection of an all-in-one virtual event platform is significantly responsible for elevating the level of an online expo or exhibition.
How to Host a Successful Virtual Exhibition?
With so many events happening every day, it is important to choose the platform features carefully. Let us take you through some essential features that your virtual venue partner should have;
Seamless Navigation
With the participants attending the event virtually, make sure to choose a virtual platform that is simple to navigate. A user-friendly platform helps minimize the chances of attendee drop-off. Keep the event joining process as simple as possible and avoid the need for additional downloads or installations before joining. You can also consider providing video tutorials related to the navigation process. It will act as a guidebook for the attendees and would enhance the platform experience.
Choose the Right Virtual Exhibition Platform
It is vital to choose a robust, secure, and feature-rich platform to deliver unique event experiences. To do this fruitfully, do your research, study the latest industry trends, and incorporate the right tools and technical aspects that can wow your attendees. An ideal online expo platform should include the following;
- The expertise to build an impressive landing page
- Include multiple interactive tools to encourage attendee engagement
- Create customized exhibitor booths and a 3D environment to make your virtual exhibition super exciting
- Add endless networking opportunities that make ways for new connections
- Seamless integration of popular apps and social media platforms
- Should be backed by 24/7 customer support
- Helps the event planners with a comprehensive record of attendee footprint and insights
- It should be 100% secure and trustworthy
Make Distinguished Stand Designs
Virtual stand designs are similar to the exhibitor stalls that a physical exhibition includes. They are excellent means to lure more attendees and convert them into potential customers. Now, depending on your budget, event & business requirements, you can choose to have 2D or 3D designs.
Customized Branding Options
Customization is a unique aspect of some best virtual event platforms. It allows organizers to create an attractive landing page that is an effective tool to draw more participation. You can make the most of colorful designs and customized templates to enhance the visibility of your brand.
Creating custom virtual booths is a great idea for exhibitors to gain more customers, sales, and better ROI. They can get super creative while designing their booths and their content.
Drive Audience Engagement
With a large group of people attending your event, it is important to provide tools and functionalities that can keep them involved and hooked.
You can use features like AI matchmaking tools to let people engage and connect with like-minded participants based on their interests and concerns. Besides this, you can leverage interactive tools like live chat features, live polls, and Q&A sessions to promote 2-way interactions in real-time.
We all love games, so how about including this as an exciting activity to make your virtual event more enjoyable and entertaining. Temple run, shooting games, spin the wheel, word games, crosswords, tic-tac-toe are some of the best choices.
If you wish to make your virtual exhibition more interesting, you can add tools like a social wall, a signature wall, a branded photo booth, and a leaderboard challenge.
Include Endless Networking Opportunities
Networking is a significant factor why most individuals, exhibitors, or sponsors attend an online exhibition. The platforms that provide private and group chat options make way for attendees and exhibitors to interact and connect. Best virtual exhibitions platforms, like Dreamcast, also offer tools like business card exchange, B2B meetings scheduler for participants and sponsors to connect after the event based on their mutual time.
Social Media and Third-party Integration
It is another vital feature that has been gaining extreme popularity in recent times. It refers to promoting your event on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or LinkedIn to enhance your global reach and boost the brand value. You can also use event-specific hashtags to let more people know that the virtual exhibition is happening.
Supports Live and On-demand Content
Some online exhibition requires keeping the exhibitor’s booth accessible even after the live event is over. To support this, select the appropriate virtual event technology that allows you to stream live or on-demand content seamlessly. On-demand content enables participants to access the exhibitor’s booth, content, or meaningful reviews post the event. In a way, it prolongs the shelf life of the event, its content, and attendees ought to remember it for a longer time.
Perform a Dry-run
With everything in place, do not forget to perform multiple rehearsals to ensure the success of your online event. Check the technical aspect, Internet connection, system compatibility, and ensure that your platform includes 24/7 customer support that can provide immediate assistance to your virtual attendees.
Final Word
With each passing day, we have realized that digitalization is the key to hosting successful virtual events. Similarly, a virtual exhibition that can be highly engaging and profitable for the attendees and exhibitors is sure to stand out! If you are looking to host an online exhibition, make sure to include the above-mentioned aspects. It will help you plan immersive, engaging, and lucrative virtual events.
