Reimagining the Virtual Conference

With the global rise of Covid19 pandemic causing unprecedented changes to all industries around the world, those who are assocaited with event sector and conferences will know full well how this crisis has brought most of the associated industries to a halt, and provided momentum for mitigating against this type of disruption in the future.

As the Corona virus pandemic preventing any large gathering for the foreseeable future, people around the world are reimagining the whole idea of integrated smooth large gatherings. Social physical gatherings and conferences have been canceled, IT industries are instituting mandatory workfromhome policies and universities are moving classes online. If the coronavirus is going to reshape the way we work, as many of us have speculated, it will also need to change how we do large gathering and conferences, a multi-billion dollar industry in which millions of people participate each year.

Physical gatherings and conferences have long been the touchstone for exchanging ideas and strengthening relationships, both in business and academia.

Virtual conferences have been a technical possibility for several years - while, sometimes it deemed a second rate alternative to meeting people face-to-face, with the increasing options during current situation, virtual conference applications could provide not only an alternative to hosting meetings, but the preferred option given the extensive benefits.

Meanwhile virtual conferences may not completely replace in-person events, but they do offer some advantages like adding in AI-powered focused marketing campaigns and brands can provide a more accessible experience than would be possible with traditional event. 

Virtual conference offer unique benefits that may have a long-lasting effect on event marketing in the future. 

Another huge benefit of going virtual is the ability to increase the participation of both participants and speakers. Negating expensive flights and hotels costs, as well the large time commitment needed to travel thereby opening the conference to a much wider global audience. One commonly stated downside to virtual conferences is the lack of networking opportunities that come from large public conferences.

But hey, there is no question that virtual conferences saving on the production of greenhouse gases and save delegates thousands of dollars which is the need of the hour to combat climate change. It’s an entirely new interactive experience, which requires adapting our perspective, habits, and tactics to make it work effectively.