Erik Huberman is the Founder and CEO of Hawke Media, a full-service outsourced CMO and marketing consultancy based in Los Angeles, CA.
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As the U.S. continues to come back to life after more than a year in quarantine, people are starting to go back to their offices, interact with clients and even attend large gatherings. Since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cleared concerts and conferences in 2021, business execs are itching to put on more live conferences and hybrid events later this year.
But I believe virtual digital marketing events and webinars will continue to have merit in a post-pandemic era as a means to reach even larger audiences while reducing travel costs and saving time — for both attendees and event hosts alike.
Below, I’ll dive into some of the many benefits of virtual events.
Save Time and Money
Would-be attendees often face cost and time constraints when it comes to traveling for conferences. These costs are amplified if your company is exhibiting at the show. Trade show planning and display companies estimate that a trade show budget should be approximately three times the cost of the booth space. For instance, if your booth space costs $2,900 — the average for PackExpo in Las Vegas — the total trade show budget would be approximately $8,700. This figure is likely on the low end, as the ancillary costs outlined below can push trade show expenses closer to $50,000.
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These ancillary costs include the following:
• On-site show services.
• Shipping and drayage costs.
• Your booth display.
• Staff, including comp time if the trade show takes place on the weekend, travel, lodging and food.
• Marketing, sponsorships and promotions, including influencers, corporate gifting, related events and more.
Travel, food and lodging for employees equal about 18% of your budget as of 2019, but those numbers could be higher in 2021 with rising fuel costs and inflation increasing food prices.
Put More Budget Into Marketing (and Save on Logistics Costs)
You can reduce costs substantially by hosting a virtual event. Even though you’ll need to invest in the technology to produce a professional webinar (or days’ worth of webinars, if you’re trying to replicate a conference experience), you won’t have any costs associated with shipping, travel, lodging and food, show services or booth space. You can also create a scaled-down set for the cameras that will cost less than a full-fledged trade show booth.
With less to worry about in terms of logistics, you can focus your company’s resources — including human capital and cash resources — on creating engaging content for attendees and on enhanced marketing and promotions. In a traditional trade show setting, promotions only take up about 8% of your budget. But you can increase that spend to ensure your virtual event sees the attendance it deserves.
Extend Reach
It’s not just companies that contend with the high costs of attending conferences. Conference attendees also shell out big bucks for event tickets, travel, food and lodging. Working parents may have to pay for extended child care hours or in-home help if they are traveling to events, or one parent may have to take time off work to finagle schedules so someone is home with the kids.
Virtual digital marketing conferences are cheaper and more convenient for attendees. With the right software and proper event planning, you can replicate the camaraderie and connection experienced at in-person conferences.
In spite of the convenience of virtual events, 35% of registered attendees fail to show. Surprisingly, this is only slightly higher than no-shows for in-person conferences. However, you can extend your reach by offering content “on-demand” to registrants after the event.
From an attendee’s perspective, virtual events provide freedom and flexibility. Attend sessions in your pajamas and slippers. Skip a session and catch it later on-demand. Watch from your local coffee house, your home office or even the beach. No one will judge. And without the overwhelming exhaustion that often comes from travel followed by hours on a trade show floor, you may even get more out of the event.
Meet People Where They Are
One of the tremendous benefits of digital conferences is that hosts can engage attendees immediately through features like virtual polling and Q&A surveys. When it comes time to follow up, you are reaching out online. Your audience members are already online, so you’re not tasked with converting your in-person relationship into a virtual one.
Virtual conferences allow you to deliver content at scale to attendees in every phase of the buyer’s journey. You can collect data and analytics easily that goes far beyond the information collected when you “scan the badge” of a visitor at your trade show booth.
What Makes a Good Virtual Event?
To ensure your virtual event goes off without a hitch, you’ll want the right technology platform for your webinar. Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of professionals who can provide full-service event production to scale, along with training and support.
Of course, content is king when it comes to virtual events. For instance, 2020 eCommerce Week LA, one of the events we put on, featured 45 panels, sessions and workshops presented by more than 105 speakers. Without travel and logistics to worry about, you can spend your time lining up the best speakers and putting together engaging content your audience will love.
Especially as more marketing events return to live venues in 2021, the myriad benefits of a virtual conference make it worth considering.
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Author: Erik Huberman, Forbes Councils Member
