Tag Archives: Virtual Events

The Real Scoop on Virtual Events

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With fall upon us and colder weather coming, our "hibernation" instinct kicks in and people start to stay in more. But even if you are ensconced in layers of blankets with a pumpkin latte in hand, you can still grow your professional knowledge base. Virtual events have been growing in popularity among event planners and attendees alike. In the government market specifically, over 60% of federal employees surveyed reported attending one or more webinars in the past year. 46% of government marketers surveyed are planning on investing in webinars in the coming year.

The allure of virtual events is cost and time savings. With no physical venue to rent and no need to travel, both planners and attendees save money as well as time. These virtual meetings run the spectrum from basic webinar-type presentations of power point slides, to interactive video demos, to fully immersive virtual worlds with online tradeshow booths that include the ability to chat with exhibitors. But no matter the format, all virtual events share a key challenge - how to engage and keep the attention of attendees who are in an environment full of distractions. Meeting this challenge requires commitments on the part of attendees and event planners. Continue reading →

A Real Look at Virtual Events

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It's been a little over a year since we last looked at the state of virtual events. Since that post, streaming has become more mainstream with the launch of Facebook Live. The rise in mobile device usage and access to high bandwidth connections has fueled the viability of video in recent months. Its popularity -- and power -- is growing at an amazing rate thanks in part to Google and Facebook's efforts to promote video through prioritizing it in their algorithms.

While every virtual event does not require video (many audio and slide-driven webinars are very valuable and popular), it is a dynamic way to hold the attention of virtual attendees. It also serves to broaden the reach of live events to an online audience.[Tweet "Virtual events can broaden the reach of live events to an online audience. #GovEventsBlog"] In 2016, the Super Bowl, the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the debates were live streamed creating a second venue for people to watch and interact online. While the Federal events we list on GovEvents are nowhere near the scope of those events, there is a real need and opportunity for virtual events in the federal market. Continue reading →

Why Virtual Events Will See Real Growth

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We are hearing that budgets and travel restrictions for government are starting to loosen up a bit and event planners are more optimistic about growing their in-person attendance. But this growth in physical events does not necessarily signal a downturn in virtual events. We believe that online events such as webinars, virtual tradeshows, and streamed hybrid events are here to stay and here's why. [Tweet "Online events -- webinars, virtual tradeshows, hybrid events are here to stay. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Want To Go Virtual?

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With temperatures plummeting across much of the country, the idea of staying inside is incredibly appealing. Regardless of the season, organizations are struggling to get in needed training and networking with slim travel budgets. All of these factors boost the need for and interest in virtual trade shows.

This article in BizBash provides a great walk through of the decision making process that should go into whether of not to take your event virtual. Some quick highlights from their thoughts: Continue reading →

It’s Time to Stretch Into Hybrid Government Meetings

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Extending a meeting over the internet ("online" or "hybrid" conference/meeting extensions) means broadcasting meeting content in a way that remote attendees - in the U.S. and potentially worldwide - can securely access the presentations, interact with the presenters, discuss the topics online,  chat & network amongst themselves, and access archives of the conference/meeting sessions afterwards.

Here are the top "myths" I hear from government meeting planners:

Continue reading →