Virtual Event Attendees Have Different Needs: eMarketer Reports
According to a recent study, 52% of businesses intend to increase their budget for virtual events in 2011. Putting on a virtual event has different implications than normal physical events.
Traditional events provide an opportunity for professionals to get out of the office, catch up with industry colleagues, and make new contacts. Studies show that the primary activity of traditional event attendees is networking.
Virtual events allow for much different interactions and because of the nature of the attendee, and the manner in which they attend, they have different goals and priorities within that event. eMarketer took a deeper look at the actions taken by virtual event attendees in America and I think you might be surprised.
Unlike traditional events, virtual attendees want to download materials and watch live webcasts. Very few chat with other attendees or exchange information with vendors in comparison to traditional events.
Quality content (specifically downloadable content) matters most in virtual events. White papers, resource guides, presentations, etc can be the fuel of quality interaction with your attendees.
Next time you plan a virtual event, put your traditional game plan aside and consider how you will better engage the audience.
Virtual events continue to offer a strong opportunity even if the interaction is different than you may be used to!
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