The events industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and businesses are starting to take notice. In fact, a study by EventMB found that 72 percent of event professionals believe that virtual and hybrid events will become the norm beyond 2022. And it’s easy to see why. Virtual and hybrid events offer many benefits over traditional events, including cost savings, scalability, and flexibility.
Additionally, with new technologies becoming mainstream, the organizers create more immersive experiences and connect with a wider audience. As a result, companies and organizations will be able to generate more leads and sales opportunities through events that are more interactive and engaging. In addition, future customers will be more likely to invest in products or services if they can see how those offerings fit into their overall lifestyle. Consequently, virtual and hybrid events are poised for explosive growth in the coming years.
Introduction: The growth and monetization opportunities with events
In 2022, virtual and hybrid events will offer awesome monetization opportunities. According to industry experts, this was due to the increase in internet speeds, the popularity of social media, and the rise of live streaming. In fact, a study by Event Manager Today found that 77% of event professionals believed that virtual and hybrid events would play a major role in their business growth over the next five years.
Why were virtual and hybrid events so popular? First and foremost, they allowed people to connect with each other in ways that were never before possible. Thanks to social media, people could share their experiences with others in real-time, creating a sense of community that was impossible to achieve at traditional events. Additionally, virtual and hybrid events were more cost-effective than traditional events. They allowed people to save on travel costs, hotel costs, and food costs.
How should you monetize your virtual and hybrid events?
The events industry is booming, with new events being created every day. However, many event planners are not taking advantage of one of the most valuable opportunities available to them: monetizing their events. Monetizing your event means that you are able to generate revenue from it, which can help cover costs and make a profit.
It will help you to better understand your attendees and what they want. This information can then be used to create a more effective marketing strategy and develop brainstorming session ideas for those who attend events. It can also help you to improve the overall quality of your event for attendee engagement and give the attendees an amazing event experience.
Benefits of hybrid events
It seems that almost every industry is finding new and innovative ways to generate revenue in the digital age we live in. The event industry is no exception, with a growing trend of monetizing virtual and hybrid events in order to generate revenue. While there are many benefits to monetizing virtual and hybrid events, here are just a few:
1. Generate Revenue – One of the biggest benefits of virtual and hybrid events is that it can generate revenue. By hosting an event online, you can open up your event to a larger audience, which can lead to more registrations and higher profits.
2. Greater Reach – Another benefit of virtual and hybrid events is the greater reach they offer. With an online event, you can tap into audiences all over the world who may not have been able to attend your event in person.
3. More Control – Another benefit of virtual and hybrid events is the fact that you have more control over the event. With an offline event, there are many things you will not be able to control, including weather, traffic, etc.
4. Flexibility – With virtual and hybrid events, you can adjust your event to your needs and may even be able to change the day of the week or time of day that is most beneficial for your participants.
5. Lower Costs – While the number of attendees at virtual and hybrid events is low, you can still make money from them since they tend to cost less than real-life events.
6. Efficiency – The biggest benefit to monetizing virtual and hybrid events is the efficiency they provide. By hosting your event online, you can cut down on costs associated with travel and lodging for attendees.
Factors to consider for monetizing an event
Before monetizing virtual events or hybrid events, there are a variety of factors to take into account by the event organizers. The first step is to determine what type of event it is – virtual events or hybrid events. Virtual event hosting refers to the online event format, where the events do not require attendees to travel to a physical location. A hybrid event is one that has both physical events and online event formats.
The next step is to determine the target audience for the event platform. Once this is known, it’s much easier to decide which monetization methods will work best. For example, if the target audience is businesses, then sponsorships and advertising would be good options for the event organizers. If the target audience is consumers, then ticketing and merchandising would be more suitable methods of monetization with a big advantage.
It’s also important to consider the cost of producing the event and whether or not there will be any revenue shortfall.
How to monetize your hybrid events
Virtual and Hybrid events also allow the organizer to connect to sponsors, partners, and exhibitors. It also allows the forming of valuable connections with attendees. This article aims to change any preconceived notions about monetizing virtual and hybrid events.
To understand how to monetize these events, we first need to understand the current business model, there are four types of participants in the event:
– Exhibitors
Exhibitors are a very important part of any event. They provide the products and services that make the event possible. Without exhibitors, there would be no event. Exhibitors come from all over the world to participate in events. They have a variety of products and services to offer attendees.
– Attendees
Event attendees can be anyone from the general public to people who work for the company hosting the event. They might be volunteers or people who are being paid to attend. Event participants can include the people who plan and organize the event, as well as the vendors who provide goods and services.
– Speakers
Events vary in size and purpose but often include weddings, corporate events, award ceremonies, and other milestone celebrations. The role of an event speaker is to entertain and engage the audience, delivering a memorable speech that will be remembered long after the event has ended.
– Sponsors
Sponsors may be individuals, groups, or businesses. Sponsorship of events has become a common way for organizations to promote their products or services, create brand awareness, and convert leads. In return for their support, sponsors may receive advertising and marketing opportunities, such as product placement or logo displays. They may also be given the opportunity to meet and network with potential customers and convert leads.
People generally attend events for three reasons
– Learning something new
– Gaining new business leads
– Networking
A crucial thing to note about the monetization strategy is that the sponsorship plan and exhibitors must be given prime importance, integrating familiar features of event technology to showcase the sponsors and exhibitors adds more value to the sponsorship.
Several faults can be found with this business model, for instance, the organizers are not selling the outcome, they are capitalizing on the process. They should instead focus on the qualified leads that the exhibitors take home because then the exhibitors will know if the cost of lead acquisition is worth it.
Another important thing to note for monetization is to increase the number of participants. One of the easiest ways is updating the content of the live events and coming up with new prospects so that more attendees can join the event, using social media effectively, monetizing the channel marketing efforts, and making sure the attendees get to engage all the time for enhanced event experience, understanding attendee patterns and setting goals accordingly, acquiring leads online for the attendees.
Monetizing techniques of hybrid events
1. Sponsoring Profiles and Groups
Having company profiles will allow the attendees to have a comprehensive understanding of the event, the sponsors, the exhibitors, and the partners. The attendees can also learn about the company in detail. Including important details in your sponsorship kit such as contact details also allows for networking and they can contact the exhibitors after the event.
Organizing these profiles into sections or categories can help distinguish the relevance of the individuals to the attendees. Other things that can be displayed as a part of your sponsorship kit can include sponsorship tiers and exhibitor listings.
2. Sponsor Banner Ads
This captures the attention of the attendees and should be ideally included in sections that receive traffic on your website or other virtual spaces. This is an opportunity to promote the brand and can also help sponsors measure their ROI.
In order to find sponsors, you’ll need to create a sponsorship plan with a package that outlines the benefits of sponsoring your event. The package should highlight the reach of the event, as well as the demographics of your audience.
3. Sponsor Widgets
Another way to capture the attention of the attendees is by employing home screen widgets. The attendees can conveniently access the event information and peruse the company profiles as well as the virtual exhibitor booths.
4. Connections
Connecting on virtual platforms might seem inconvenient but in reality, there are more attendees for virtual events than those for in-person events as there are no geographical limitations. The company profiles will allow the attendees to receive contact information and they can network with each other at their convenience.
5. Virtual Exhibitor Booths
This attempts to create the same experience that exhibitors and sponsors try to achieve in physical events. This will require the creation of profiles that provide the necessary information about the company to the attendees.
The exhibitors will also be presenting either through live broadcasts or through pre-recorded content. The attendees can be guided to the demonstrations and sponsored sessions through links.
6. Gamification
Integrating gamification is one of the easiest ways for the attendees to network with particular sponsors or exhibitors at the event. Gamification includes challenges that reward the attendees, this acts as an incentive to visit more profiles, attend a demo, meeting a company representative. Prize packages can also be included to increase participation and motivation amongst the attendees.
There are many ways to increase monetization, the prime objective here being to showcase the sponsors, partners, and exhibitors at the events. Introducing gamification elements, virtual exhibitor booths, and integrating robust company profiles is a guarantee for success.
7. Merchandize sales
Merchandise sales can be a great way to monetize your virtual events and hybrid events. By selling branded products, you can not only generate revenue but also create excitement and buzz around your event. In order to maximize profits, it’s important to choose the right merchandise and market it effectively. Make sure you have event management software in place for taking orders and processing payments. This can be done online or offline, depending on your preferences and also the features of the event management software.
8. Event Registration
A good monetization strategy in the hybrid model live events is to offer event registration options that include attendance at both in-person and virtual events. This allows participants to access events and to get the most out of their investment since they can attend the sessions that are most relevant to them while still having the opportunity to network with other attendees face-to-face or through the virtual events hosting platform.
What are the challenges of monetizing a hybrid event?
Though hybrid conferences and events offer many benefits, they also present unique challenges faced by the event organizers when it comes to monetization. In order to be successful, event planners must carefully consider a number of factors, including the target audience, the type of event, and the available technology.
Here are just a few of the challenges involved in monetizing virtual and hybrid events.
1. Right audience: One of the biggest challenges is reaching the right audience. Just because an event is online or has a hybrid component doesn’t mean that everyone will want to participate. Event planners need to carefully target their audience and make sure that the event is relevant to them.
2. Hybrid event attendee: Another challenge is getting people to actually attend the hybrid event platform. In order for an event to be successful, it needs a good turnout. Many people are not at home when events start or do not want to pay for a service they may not use such as the event app platform.
3. Stakeholders: There are multiple stakeholders involved in the process, each with their own interests and so event success becomes a challenge. These stakeholders may include the event producer coming to produce for the event’s success, the technology provider, the registration and admission system provider, the event app platform provider, the live stream production provider, and the sponsors coming with the motive of brand awareness in the hybrid conference.
4. Expensive: The hybrid event format can be quite expensive to produce and require significant investment in technology. In order to be profitable, it is important to have a clear understanding of all the costs associated with producing and delivering the event, as well as an estimation of how many attendees will participate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, by following the steps listed above, you can successfully monetize your hybrid event. By doing so, you will be able to offset some of the costs associated with putting on the event and make a profit. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!
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