The ultimate guide to virtual trade fairs

2020 drove us to a world where you can just sit back and produce qualified leads. You can get rid of monotonous run-arounds to arrange an ideal trade show with exceptional results. This world is termed as “Virtual trade shows”. With the advancements of the latest technologies, businesses are adopting innovative approaches to enhance profits and optimize their means.

 

What is a virtual trade show?

 

A Virtual Trade Show is driven by a powerful 3D environment, mirroring that of an on-site show, infused with efficient tools that help keep the global audience engaged and can be held from any remote location. Virtual Trade Shows are growing extremely popular with each passing day as they reduce issues like complex event planning, weak attendee turnout, insufficient reach, and sky-high expenses.

 

There is no uncertainty about the reality that the occurrence of virtual events will continue to stay and get more significant and stabler. There are several benefits of hosting virtual trade shows over on-site trade shows. Virtual events have almost recreated the look and experience of on-ground events and are continuously improving with the implementation of unique innovations every day.

 

Features that can enhance virtual trade shows:

 

Immersive 3D environment

 

Give your attendees an extraordinary experience from the moment they step into your virtual event.

Create a remarkable environment, beginning from an intense, visually interesting landing page to an impressive lobby, then moving forward, the interface should be extremely customizable for your sponsors and attendees to obtain maximum learning and an enriching experience.

 

Customizable booths

 

Virtual trade show platforms allow sponsors to promote their virtual trade show booths along with custom layouts. It lets you save a lot of time and energy that you would have spent installing a physical booth at any on-site event.

 

Networking opportunities

 

To accomplish the purpose of a prosperous event, you have to assure maximum communication between attendees and exhibitors. Search for engagement tools like a real-time chat box, 1:1 text, audio and video chat can allow you to reduce the annoyance of long queues near booths, and at the same time, help your attendees with individual support towards their respective inquiries. You can also increase your conversion rates by answering FAQs in group chat rooms to aim at multiple online attendees at once.

 

Keep attendees informed through announcements

 

Similar to any physical or virtual event, you will have to keep your attendees informed with real-time updates during the event. Virtual trade shows lets you keep your attendees updated at all times using pop-up notifications.

 

Engagement features

 

Now that you have invited your audience for your virtual trade show, the next step includes keeping them involved throughout the event. A virtual event platform that provides several engagement tools and specialties solves all your concerns. Virtual event platforms are known to enhance the global reach of the audience. Live polls, quizzes, social wall, Q & A sessions, surveys, games like word games, spin the wheel, etc are some popular engagement features provided by an all-in-one virtual platform that lets you keep the attendees hooked throughout.

 

ROI and detailed analytics

 

Unlike physical trade shows, virtual trade shows maintain a complete record of participants straight from enrollments till the virtual event ends. Virtual trade shows platforms provide relevant and comprehensive attendee data that helps in gauging the progress of the event. It also helps the event planners to estimate the ROI for forthcoming events and strategize it respectively.

 

Benefits of Virtual Trade Shows

 

Globalization

 

The digital nature of your trade show can assist you to get leads from all over the world. All your audience needs is a gadget (such as a phone or laptop) to be a part of any virtual event and obtain a great experience.

 

Environment-friendly

 

Physical events ultimately boost the carbon footprint thus contributing to climatic variation. Virtual trade shows help in reducing the practice of pen and paper thus leading to a more eco-friendly environment. Hence, it’s a chance to make this world cleaner.

 

Cost-effective

 

The costs involved in conducting an on-site trade fair get minimized considerably with online trade shows for all the businesses involved. For a virtual trade show, the expenses of traveling, food & drinks, accommodation, renting a venue, etc automatically get eliminated.

 

Amplified Return on Investment (ROI)

 

As compared to on-site events, virtual trade shows deliver higher returns on investments. It helps sponsors to modify their event strategies for the next events accordingly and accomplish the most worthy leads.

 

 

How to market your virtual trade show?

 

To spread awareness regarding your virtual trade, you need to strategically market your event to potential attendees and sponsors to enhance the success of your event. Let’s check out some exciting ways on how to market your event:

 

Exciting Landing Page:

 

An exciting landing page is the most informative resource that will tell your attendees about your event. Your landing page should include all the necessary details like date, timing, etc. To attract the attendees, you can also name some of the sponsors or speakers who’ll be a part of the event.

 

Email Marketing:

 

This is an amazing approach to spread awareness about your events. You can use email marketing strategy in the following ways:

 

  • Write a short and compelling subject line along with the date that distinctly pronounces your virtual trade show is being held.
  • Add a little warmth to your email by including the receiver’s first name.
  • Add key information like the virtual trade show’s date and time.
  • Also, remember to add a link to the landing page or the registration form while sending the email.

 

Social Media:

 

With social media usage being constantly on the rise, make sure to utilize this channel efficiently. Keep posting videos and pictures regarding your upcoming event. Use hashtags or create stories for your event which would also contain the date and timing of your virtual trade show. Try to reply to maximum comments and interact with the interested participants.

 

 

A quick checklist before you conduct a virtual trade show

 

Do a thorough platform research

 

Before you start, choose a virtual event platform that can provide you a demo so you can check the technology yourself. Make sure that the platform you pick is user-friendly for both techies and newbies.

 

Know your security needs

 

The security advantages available for your virtual event are essential for its success. Make sure to ask your platform provider about the security functionalities that they employ. You need to ensure that the platform is free from duplicity, viruses, and malfunctioning servers on the main day of your event.

 

Strategize

 

Recognize your purposes, set clear aims for the team, and regulate expected outcomes to help you lead in the proposed direction. This can, further, help track and regulate the event to avoid any sort of discrepancies.

 

Formulate a marketing plan

 

Create an impactful marketing strategy that aims at various channels to assure maximum participation, engagement, and qualified lead conversion.

 

Prepare quality content for your attendees

 

Virtual trade shows allow you to conduct several types of content- it could be a document, presentation, or video. Make sure that you keep your attendees interested and involved in the event with any type of content you use.

 

Create an event schedule

 

To ensure maximum participation, choose the date and timings of your event wisely. Share the plan on your landing page too to make sure potential attendees and sponsors are aware and available for the particular event.

 

Monitor event with data analytics

 

One of the fundamental business points regarding a virtual event is that you can observe and assess your performance at any point in time.

 

Virtual fair are an excellent way of supporting businesses of all sizes, referring to different industries, to advertise their brand and display their services to a huge group of people. They present you with immense opportunities to produce qualified leads and enhance your profits.

 

Get in touch with Dreamcast today or book a demo today!




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