Best Practices for Conducting a Successful Virtual Trade Show
An effective virtual trade show requires careful planning to ensure both exhibitors and attendees find maximum value from it. To this end, emphasise flawless execution as well as engaging both exhibitors’ content as well as attendees’.
Viewers can visit branded booths, interact with booth reps in live chat sessions, download presentations and brochures, connect with other attendees in networking lounges and view all content post event on-demand.
1. Build a Community
Virtual trade shows make community building even more critical than in-person events. Hosting pre-show content like webinars, Q&A sessions and fireside chats allows your attendees to familiarize themselves with your event platform, connect with sponsors and exhibitors early and form long-lasting bonds even after it is all said and done.
Guest speakers and industry experts can add tremendous value to any event and build brand loyalty among attendees. Virtual events provide the ideal venue for sharing presentations, videos and handouts directly on the platform using pop-up notifications – saving attendees both time and hassle while creating an interactive event with greater ROI.
2. Engage Attendees
Virtual events present unique challenges when it comes to keeping attendees engaged, but one way of accomplishing this goal is through offering various sessions ranging from informative webinars on the event topic, breakout sessions and fireside chats – this helps attendees to gain more knowledge on its subject matter while meeting and conversing with exhibitors, as well as interact with each other during each session.
By providing video conferencing capabilities at the show, exhibitors and attendees can easily arrange one-to-one or group meetings during the show – building relationships both during the show itself and afterward.
To encourage interaction and engagement among your attendees, virtual networking areas and gamification elements such as scavenger hunts can help increase interaction and engagement. You could also provide digital brochures or videos for attendees to download as collateral – choosing an event platform with customizable virtual booths as well as chat features, session attendance tracking capabilities and analytics tools will ensure everything runs smoothly!
3. Create a Unique Experience
Organisers looking to ensure the success of a virtual trade show should carefully consider both attendees’ and exhibitors’ needs, beginning by getting to know their target audience early on – holding pre-event group chats or Q&A sessions can help build relationships and ease nerves prior to starting the event itself; sponsors could send attendees sponsored merchandise such as notebooks or mugs prior to its start date as another way to boost brand recognition before it starts.
Exhibitors can differentiate themselves by inviting attendees to upload digital collateral directly onto their booths, such as videos and links to websites. Exhibitors featured in keynote sessions may add a meeting link so those wishing to know more can request one-on-one virtual appointments; this enables exhibitors to increase lead capture directly from attendees while increasing ROI from events.
4. Make It Easy for Attendees to Connect
At virtual trade shows, attendees typically have specific goals in mind that they want to achieve. Acknowledging and helping attendees meet these objectives are crucial elements for event success.
Sponsored merchandise such as notebooks, mugs and t-shirts with sponsor logos embedded can get attendees more engaged in virtual trade show events and build brand recognition and value every time it is used.
An agenda can help ensure that attendees and exhibitors participate when they’re most interested. This is particularly beneficial when trade show sessions span over multiple days in various time zones.
Facilitating meetings directly between attendees and exhibitors to share interests is an excellent way to generate leads – something most in-person events don’t allow for.
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