Given how much the digital world has evolved, learning about the types of online events out there is a great move for organizers and attendees alike.
After all, these formats are already part of daily life for most professionals, researchers, and students.
In fact, at Even3, we counted 34,000 virtual events during the isolation period between 2020 and 2021.
Incredible, right?
The possibilities the internet brings us go far beyond entertainment, giving people the chance to learn from anywhere in the world, in real time. And that’s just one of the benefits of online events!
Want to know more? In this blog post, I’ll explain the types of virtual events and the benefits of investing in this area.
You’ll see:
- What is an online event?
- What are the benefits of online events?
- 5 types of online events;
- Tips for organizing a successful online event.
What Is an Online Event?
As we all know, an event is a gathering organized by specialists around a common goal, whether it’s studying, exchanging knowledge, networking, having fun, or all sorts of other situations.
The spread of internet access, along with the pandemic, made the technology market break down the barriers of in-person events even further and bring them onto your laptop or phone screen.
Combining convenience and accessibility, virtual events couldn’t help but take off, right?
Today, digital events platforms offer several features that support you throughout the entire development and creation process.
Time to get to know the benefits, shall we?
The Benefits of Online Events
Cost Savings
No more worrying about expensive venues to host your audience. That’s a thing of the past!
With online events, you can get great results with very little — all you need is the right platform and a good internet connection.
Just to clarify: the platform is the space where you’ll host your event’s information, with an environment for buying and selling tickets, whether free or paid, plus access to other features.
This way, instead of worrying about a venue, you can dedicate your time to more important factors, such as the presentation format, speakers, topics, and other details of the event.
By the way, it’s worth noting that, since it’s online, your event doesn’t have to be free. There are several ways to monetize it and land good sponsorships.
Lots of Tools, Ease, and Organization
As you research the topic, you’ll notice there are different types of events you can explore, but this point is about the features a platform offers organizers, regardless of the type of event chosen.
The platform you choose to publish your event on and make it available to attendees may include tools that automate tasks that used to be done manually, such as registration, contact with attendees and the organizer, website creation, and much more.
These features make organizing and running your event even easier.
This way, you get more flexibility, reach, communication, and presentation options, while managing your ticket sales more effectively.
Preserve the Moments Forever
Did you know many platforms allow events to be recorded for organizers and attendees?
This gives you content that lasts, which can even be used in your event’s marketing or for people who want to watch it later.
This way, on-demand video — content that can be watched whenever and wherever the user wants — is a great way to grab attendees’ attention, since buying a ticket gives them unlimited access to the material.
More Effective Communication
Speaking of marketing, investing in communication is essential to an event’s success.
After all, people need to know about it in order to attend, right?
When you organize your event virtually, you can invest in closer contact with attendees, whether through social media, email marketing, or even chat during the broadcast.
This exchange is extremely important.
Whether the broadcast is recorded or live, you’ll be able to answer questions and make relevant improvements based on user feedback.
That’s because the more you lean into interactivity, the more you can encourage attendees to come back with questions, polls, and more!
Wider Reach
I probably don’t need to say much about this one, right?
Having an online event allows people from all over the world to access it.
What’s more, it’s also easier to invite speakers from different parts of the planet to add knowledge and experience.
Now that you know the benefits, it’s time to learn about the main types of online events. Check out the next section!
5 Main Types of Online Events
Courses and Workshops
When it comes to learning, I’m sure courses and workshops are the first things that come to mind.
Both are educational gatherings, but with different goals. Let me explain!
A course focuses on a more theoretical, professionalizing approach, and can run for weeks, months, or even years.
A workshop, on the other hand, is shorter — lasting hours or days — and is focused on practice and reinforcing knowledge.
It’s more dynamic, but just like an online course, it usually has an expert moderator who presents the content developed throughout the digital event.
Conferences and Talks
Among the different types of events, we also have the online conference.
It’s characterized by a gathering to discuss one or more technical or scientific topics.
It can be packed with experts in the relevant fields, but it’s also suitable for people who simply want to deepen their knowledge, since it’s an environment with many experienced professionals.
This way, speakers can present case studies, results, research, and everything that adds to the discussion.
In addition, conferences can host different talks, which are content presentations delivered in a short amount of time, usually 60 to 120 minutes.
These are focused, highly informative sessions, which can also include time for broader discussion or questions from the audience.
Congresses
Of everything mentioned in this article, the congress is the largest type of event.
It’s held to discuss and address relevant topics in a given field, with high-level speakers.
To do this, it supports multiple speakers, courses, attractions, research presentations, and exhibits across simultaneous rooms, covering topics within the event’s subject area.
Because of its size, the scientific committee needs to carefully plan every stage, while also ensuring it’s a formal event, with its own set of rules and a defined schedule.
Webinar
This is the trend in the digital world, especially in academia!
A webinar is simply an online seminar.
In other words, it’s a gathering to raise topics around a specific subject and present expert opinions on it, encouraging the audience to reflect.
This type of event requires a moderator and works like a discussion aimed at fully exploring the topic.
In addition, a webinar is a great space for interacting with the audience, since the chat is usually kept open for discussion.
However, it’s not a very complex event and is usually small in scale, with a single topic and few speakers.
Meetups
If you’re already familiar with round tables, meetups are quite similar!
In them, discussions on a topic kick off, questions are asked to the experts present, and they’re encouraged to defend their points of view.
The difference is that meetups are much more relaxed, with the main goal of helping attendees network, and they’re held through video conferencing.
Tips for Organizing a Successful Online Event
Already decided what your event will be but don’t know how to start? Check out my tips!
To begin, choose the audience you want to reach and the topic you’ll cover.
Only then can you define the platform, the type of broadcast, the dates, and the possible speakers that fit the event’s concept.
Remember: an appealing program is everything!
For example, if the event is about marketing or advertising, how about holding it on Advertising Day?
This creates an even stronger connection with your attendees and adds value to the event.
Besides these decisions, it’s important to plan which materials you’ll need for your broadcast and talk with speakers about what they’ll need on the day, including a preview of the platform.
If your event is academic or scientific, make room for attendees to submit their papers during the event period.
Finally, talk with your team about a marketing and promotion schedule, whether through email marketing or social media.
Now that you know everything about the types of digital events and how to take the first step, how about some more in-depth content? Follow the steps to organize an extraordinary online event!
