Online meetings have been taking place even before the pandemic, and they have been a part of corporate culture for many years. However, with COVID 19, they have become how companies and organizations interact with their community – through various forms of virtual events. But rather than being a necessary alternative to in-person events, virtual meetings have a lot going for themselves.
In this article, we will give you 8 reasons to prove that digital meetings aren’t just a passing trend and that they may even have the potential to outclass in-person meetings.
1) Online Meetings Prevent On-Site Risks Post COVID 19
Because of the situation caused by the pandemic, in-person events have been put on hold. And to not endanger people’s health, the best alternative for companies and organizations was to go digital.
Even after the pandemic is over, people will be more considerate of the possibility of health hazards, on-site risks and will look to online events as a means of prevention.
Even though your event is taking place virtually, you can still show your appreciation for your team and bring them together. By adding a virtual magic show to your online meeting, your attendees will laugh and connect, boosting morale. Eric Jones has appeared on television in 19 countries spanning five continents with his mind-blowing magic. He has wowed dozens of A-List celebrities all over the globe and even fooled Penn & Teller with his Breathtaking close-up magic. Your group will be laughing in astonishment in this highly interactive entertainment.
2) Virtual Events are Cost-Effective
The costs associated with organizing an in-person event are significantly higher than the ones necessary for setting up a digital one post-Covid 19. And this is undoubtedly a reason why some companies are tempted to choose one over the other.
Think of the expenditures required for a teambuilding event, a team meetup, or a conference – you would have to rent a venue for the event, to set up props and other unforeseen costs associated with the administration of the event.
Online meetings, on the other hand, eliminate all these costs and only end up costing a fraction of what might have been spent for a brick and mortar event.
Why not add a teambuilding activity to your virtual event? This is a great way to bring everyone together and boost morale while working from home. Jeff Civillico is extremely high energy which is essential for digital events. He is comfortable on all major platforms including Zoom, ON24, Skype, WebEx, and Streamyard. Jeff understands that in addition to having the right skills and tools, this transition to virtual is as much about having the right mindset, attitude and energy.
3) Digital Meetings are Eco-friendly
Live events are expensive to organize and attend, not to mention the negative impact on the environment. In recent years there has been an increased desire for green meetings. Event planners have been reducing print collateral by creating apps for their event. They have been selecting buffet-style menus to keep the amount of food used as efficiently as possible. Getting people to events is the most significant reason in-person events are not environmentally friendly. Consider the number of trips made to attend a live meeting. Online meetings reduce the amount of waste by allowing attendees to access everything from their homes. Imagine the marketing possibilities of a genuinely green event.
4) Less Time Wasted
One of the most significant inconveniences of in-person events is that they require much time to be invested. On the organizational side, they take a significant amount of time to set up. On the attendees’ side, valuable time is spent traveling to and back from the event’s location. On this note, virtual events save more time both for the organizers and the attendees. Meetings are easy to set up, and the participants can tune in with just a few simple clicks.
5) Quantify Results and Measure Impact
One of the most challenging tasks for a meeting planner is measuring the results of in-person meetings. Live events create emotional connections and allow relationships to be built and enhanced. It can be difficult to track the ROI of face-to-face meetings. Virtual meetings are easier to quantify results. Since everything takes place online, data is easily trackable, making it easy to measure the impact of your investment. Also, you can get real-time feedback, which is crucial for virtual events to adjust future events.
6) Global Reach
Companies strive to increase the reach of their event to engage more people. Online meetings make this easy. Social media has made hosting a virtual event easy to promote to the global community. You can attract people from across the world without the cost of travel and time away from the office. Allowing meeting planners to grow their audience and increase engagement.
7) Easily Accessible
Virtual meetings have fewer requirements for people to show up than any kind of in-person meetings. A virtual lobby can be accessed from almost any personal computer or a mobile device. For the companies that have headquarters in multiple cities, online events come as a boon – given the fact that traveling is no longer required. To attend, people only need a device with an active internet connection, and they’re pretty much done.
8) Celebrity Surprises
When planning an in-person event, surprises have a way of causing stress and panic, because every detail has been designed in advance. One of the most frustrating things with live events is having only minutes to adjust something you have been working on for months. Often these changes are because of a celebrity and their security team. Virtual events eliminate these challenges.
Meetings can be tedious. Why not open your virtual meeting with a special celebrity guest like Will Ferrell. Your attendees will undoubtedly know Will Ferrell from big-screen comedies such as Step Brothers, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Elf, Daddy’s Home, and Saturday Night Live. How about having Traver Noah interview your company CEO or executive and take questions? Replace your buffet with a trip to Flavortown. Hire Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri and host of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives to provide Virtual Cooking Entertainment. This top Food Network Star will provide an experience your online audience will never forget. A list of ingredients will be provided so attendees can literally cook together.
What other Headline Celebrity can you hire for online meetings?
- Nicole Kidman is an Academy Award-winning actress, best known for her roles in Moulin Rouge! and The Hours. She most recently starred in as Queen Atlanna in DC Comic’s Aquaman
- Keith Urban is a Grammy-award winning country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Urban has won four Grammy Awards, ten Country Music Association Awards, eleven Academy of Country Music Awards, a People’s Choice, an American Music Award, a Golden Globe nomination, and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
- Will Smith is an actor, producer, and musician, two-time Academy Award nominee and Grammy Award Winner. Filmography includes transformative portrayals of true-life icons in Ali, The Pursuit of Happiness and Concussion. He starred in Hitch, I am Legend, I, Robot, Independence Day, and Men in Black I ,II, & III
- Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Co-owner of 2029 Entertainment, co-founder and Chairman of AXS TV. He stars on ABC’s Emmy-winning reality series “Shark Tank”
- James Corden is host of CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden, which has been nominated for 5 Emmy’s and won for Outstanding Interactive Program. Former host of the BAFTA Award-winning UK sports-themed comedy game show A League of Their Own. Starred in, produced, and wrote the BAFTA-nominated comedy thriller The Wrong Mans. Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People”Awarded the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for Comedy Writer of the Year, the South Bank Show Award for Comedy and the Royal Television Society Award for Comedy Writer of the Year for his work on The Wrong Mans
- Ambassador Susan Rice served as National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017. She served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was a member of President Obama’s Cabinet from 2009 to 2013. Her memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For, became an instant New York Times bestseller recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy
Virtual Events Are Here to Stay
Only time will tell if online meetups will become the norm, but for the time being post-Covid 19, it’s essential to consider the benefits which they can yield for your business or organization.
Online events aren’t just more convenient and a way to save money, but they can also be an exciting and unique experience. There are more benefits to virtual meetings than just being a back-up plan in case of the unexpected. They are cost-effective to attend, easy to track ROI and help save the environment. While there will always be a need to meet in-person, one of the hottest new trends in the event industry is virtual and hybrid event solutions.
At the Grable Group, we can offer you entertainment solutions for both in-person and online events. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at (615) 283-0039 and we will gladly assist you with all your entertainment needs for both in-person and virtual events.
