The increase of online events, virtual or hybrid events, has been increasingly growing in recent years but has taken off since the pandemic. 

It’s been observed that online events were evolving and expanding before the pandemic. Working remotely has been crucial to changing work dynamics. 

Let’s look into the difference between online events, why it’s important to invest, and your options for platforms.

That way, you can make the best decision for your organization, company, or university!

Let’s go!

What are the Differences Between Online Events?

It’s essential to dissect the difference between all versions of online events and what’s best for your organization or business.

Hybrid Events – Hybrid events are slowly becoming increasingly popular as the world evolves into ‘normalcy’ after a long period of lockdowns and isolation. As we get back into life as we know it, we transition into live events. While some people are still uncomfortable with that notion, we’re still adapting best practices to help attendees achieve safety and navigate how to execute online events to benefit an organization or company. 

Hybrid events are perfect if you want to expand your audience and do not feel comfortable or committed to an in-person event but want to create options for people. If people do not want to

Virtual Events – Virtual events are the same as online events – they are only held through virtual means, often used with Zoom or other platforms. Most of these platforms are becoming more sophisticated. “49% of businesses organize between 20-30 per year” (Markletic) exemplifying their increasing popularity.

In State of the Events statistics for 2021, they’ve found that the percentage of success of virtual events for their business, between “very successful” and “somewhat successful,” is a combined 91.2%. That’s an enormous positive turnout for how well online events are for businesses and their effectiveness. We can only imagine the growth with more advanced technology to support them.

How Do We Know Online Events Are Here to Stay?

Even before the pandemic, we knew that virtual events were expanding faster. In fact, from a global perspective, according to Grandview Research, “The global virtual events market size was valued at USD 94.04 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.7% from 2021 to 2028.” What this tells us is in 2020, the arena for online events was trending in a higher capacity, with increased investments.

They Are Cost-Effective – Virtual events are arguably cheaper than hosting in-person events. Not to say that hybrid or in-person events do not have positive qualities. They often force attendees to be more accountable, and the desire to physically attend an event can help boost enthusiasm and engagement. 

Without the additional costs of renting a space and all the extras, you can save lots of money by using virtual platforms.

Technology is Advancing – We all know about Zoom. We are familiar with traditional webinar platforms, but many impressive technology companies pop up with better features, advancements, and technology to improve conventional virtual events and enhance the attendee experience. 

“Furthermore, with the integration of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), online communication and collaborative activities are fulfilling all facets of a physical event. The trend amongst businesses to deploy digitally simulated platforms to manage time and resources effectively is driving the growth of the virtual events market.” (Grandview Research). With these technological advancements growing and advancing, we can only expect the trend to continue. Therefore, we can conclude virtual event platforms will only develop to improve and enhance the engagement features, connect to new social media, and provide exceptional analytics that can measure, track, and be used to enhance events as you have them.

Higher Engagement Possibilities– With the sophisticated software evolving with the growth of online events, companies can increase engagement within their company. For companies that want to improve employee morale or lower turnover rates, having an easier way to connect employees and teams is most accessible with sophisticated technological platforms.

Platforms that allow for social media integration, chat rooms/capabilities, and content creation helps boost engagement within an organization. 

Higher Turnout – Now that companies have transitioned more into the online platforms for general work and work functions, it’s made organizations and businesses realize that there’s great potential to connect more easily with their company. If people can tune into an online event by just using a computer or device, the chances of a higher attendee turnout are expected to grow.

This expansion can only improve employee morale, lower turnover rates, and increased ROI for quality virtual events.

It also allows organizations to view their future from a higher global perspective. If anyone in the world can attend your event, it’s only bound to increase the opportunities for networking, brand awareness, and broad reach. For all these reasons, the increase of online events will only benefit organizations, educational systems, and businesses and their potential.

What Are My Virtual Event Platform Options?

What’s fantastic is you don’t have to stick to one platform to serve your online event needs. There are plenty of virtual event options to find what best suits your needs.

For some, engagement is crucial, and others might need astounding picture quality for real-time events. 

Here are some of the optimal options on the market.

Hoppin – Hoppin is a well-known virtual event platform. It offers every option from hybrid events to virtual. It allows all the benefits from attending a live event but translates through engaging features and communication abilities. 

Educational institutions and tech companies often use it. This comes in handy if you need a virtual backstage where organizers and speakers can connect before the event.

Hoppin is an all-in-one virtual platform that gives a replicated experience as being live at an event.

Airmeet – Airmeet is solely a virtual event platform, perfect for event organizers needing extensive sponsorship and sophisticated networking features to ensure the in-person quality of live events.

Airmeet offers speed networking and other elaborate features to transform your meet and greets or opportunities to mingle as if you were in person. It makes it perfect for an array of industries that rely on networking for scaling. 

In Event – Some fear of online events is you lose the customizable element of hosting in-person. You don’t have to worry about this platform option. 

Out of all the platforms, it’s the most accessible and inclusive. It offers outstanding features for translation and helps hard to hear individuals. It allows for a globally-minded platform to gather reach.

All the benefits you’d receive during an in-person event can be used on this platform. Whether it’s marketing, engagement, organization- In Event can do it all.

Zoom – Zoom is probably one of the most used words in the pandemic. We had to add it to the list since it’s been a staple part of the webinar world and perfect for smaller companies on a tight budget.

Zoom allows for webinars to a cap of 500 people if they’re dynamic in use if you need a simple, easy-to-use platform. Zoom is perfect for anyone to access quickly and easily. Plus, the cost allows for excessive opportunities for small businesses to expand their marketing or connect with teams.

Nunify – If you require an innovative platform that walks you through the event lifecycle as if you were there, Nunify is the best option. Nunify transforms the potential for networking opportunities online. You can experience speed networking, book a conference room, mingle at your convenience 

It’s all available in one app. It allows you to do everything within one forum, from ticketing to check-in to live events to networking opportunities. Plus, Nunify can accommodate both virtual and in-person events.

Nunify collects all the data to help boost ROI, increase engagement, and lead to better organizational decisions.

Lastly, Nunify has been perfecting its visual capabilities for seven years and learning what works to improve the quality. They know how imperative high-quality video live streaming is crucial to your virtual events. 

Investing in Online Event Technology 

You want to get above the curve before the rest. That’s why Nunify makes an ideal platform to execute your online or in-person events flawlessly.

Try our free product demo now!