How Can A Virtual Exhibition’s Return On Investment (RoI) And Rate Of Engagement Be Increased?

There has been an explosion in the popularity of virtual exhibition’s a verticle of virtual events and in the last 24 months and it has been primarily driven by the pandemic. However, as time continues to pass by, marketers are beginning to notice other sizeable benefits of going virtual. 

It comes as no surprise that 72% of marketers want to host virtual events in the future and of these, 50% like the idea of hybrid events. 

When we asked our customers what they find the most challenging about hosting virtual events, especially virtual exhibitions, we discovered that it was Return on Investment (RoI). 

We’d like to bust the myth once and for all here. Virtual exhibitions offer far more opportunities to increase your return on investment. What marketers require is the knowledge to utilize the tools at their disposal. That’s where they need the support of a team like Virtex. 

How Can A Virtual Exhibition’s Return On Investment (RoI) And Rate Of Engagement Be Increased?

We have put together a list of quick tips to help increase the RoI and rate of engagement of your virtual exhibition. 

Good Content Is King

We have said this before and we will say it again. You cannot expect to drive engagement with your attendees based on just a few games and polls. The content you deliver needs to be top-notch. 

For this to happen, if you need to personally look into each exhibitor’s content, do it. The collective feedback will affect your brand’s image too. Look at banners- are they engaging? Do they provide information? Are they eye-catching?

Similarly, if you have a few speakers up for presentations, then do a thorough check. Look for infographics, videos, and other visually appealing forms of content. If there aren’t any, don’t be afraid to suggest them. Your sponsors and other speakers need to assume ownership of this event and do everything that they can to deliver high value. 

Everybody is drawn to good content and it has the power to improve brand awareness, change perspective, and influence purchasing decisions. So, keep that in mind when you check the content. 

A Larger Audience Can Help 

Unlike traditional exhibitions, virtual expos needn’t be an expensive affair. An effective method to increase your RoI and your rate of engagement is to include more attendees. You are not restricted by geography or space, so the world is your audience. 

While it may pay off to follow this strategy, the implementation of it will depend on the virtual exhibition platform that you choose. It must be able to support a large audience and give you enough to encourage their participation. 

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Essentially, through a virtual exhibition you can reach exponentially larger audiences for a fraction of the cost. That translates to better RoI any day! 

Flexible Engagement Strategy 

It isn’t enough to just drive up attendance. The quality of participation and engagement matters more. Remember, your attendees will need to look at exhibitor booths from behind a screen. So, you need to be all the more devoted to making them attractive. 

We spoke about content earlier and that is a key factor in promoting audience engagement. In addition, you need to intersperse your sessions with live interactions. These could be engaging chats, Q&A sessions, fun games, scavenger hunts, and so on. 

You also require a moderator or two who can monitor the audience and check their engagement levels to determine when to make things more interactive. Too many distractions in the middle might end up bothering your audience. 

Tickets, Tickets, Tickets

For long, companies have had to charge a hefty fee for their exhibitions to cover their costs. With virtual exhibitions, we recommend that you still have a ticketing system. Move it online. You can also introduce offers where attendees could redeem their tickets through a meal or by winning a game and so on. This also keeps the attendees engaged. 

Sponsorships Work 

One of the emerging trends shaping the future of event technology is great sponsorship revenue. This is because many businesses are crafting wonderful sponsorship packages and providing a win-win situation for their sponsors and for themselves.

After all, higher sponsorship levels means a better flow of revenue and eventually higher RoI.

Keep Your Attendees Busy 

Virtual exhibitor booths are a great way for businesses to pass instructions and push calls to action. Utilize them well. For instance, you can ask for attendees to subscribe to your upcoming newsletter full of useful information. Or you could ask them to sample a few of your products and add on a couple of discounts for future purchases. 

Create A Marketing Platform 

A really cool advantage of virtual events is that they can be recorded and uploaded on the cloud. So, you can use snippets of your present event and showcase it on your website to promote other services or even upcoming events. On one hand, it will generate buzz and on the other, it can drive up registrations for your next event. Now, that is a cost-effective way to boost RoI.