Planning a Cost-Efficient Virtual Event

Planning for a virtual event is much different than planning for an in-person event. One major differentiator? Price. 

In-person events often come with a hefty price tag. They usually require travel, booth and venue rental, and a host of other factors that can break the bank. Virtual event costs can vary depending on a number of factors, but without the need for a physical booth, it’s usually much more cost-efficient. 

Below you will find some tips on how to maximize your budget for virtual events. This will ensure that you’ll use your budget wisely and create an experience that is both impactful for your attendees as well as cost-efficient. 

Create an air-tight plan

Virtual events are typically multi-session online events that often feature webinars, live interactions, meetings, and the ability to be one or more days. There are a lot of different ways to host a virtual event, so it’s important to plan for the big picture so you get a sense of what you want to accomplish before you dive into the minutiae of the event.

Before you think about your ROI, new leads, and all the other metrics that matter to you, it’s important to think from the perspective of a viewer/attendee. The only way to attract new leads to your virtual event is to prioritise aspects that would be important to an attendee.

This includes your speakers, events, platform, and why an attendee would want to show up for your virtual event. 

Plan your budget 

All virtual events will often come with the same associated fees. These include event platform cost, marketing and promotion, speaker fees, and others. Making a spreadsheet of the initial costs is important when you're planning for a multi-day or even just a single day virtual event.

If you want to make some of that money back off the bat, you can create things like ticketing packages, sponsorship opportunities, exhibitor fees, and other things that can offset the price. Additionally, making the event free to attendees and collecting leads may be a more effective strategy for your event. Again, this all depends on what type of event you want to host and what outcomes are most important to you. 

Expect the unexpected

While your budget should be a realistic expectation of what you should be paying for a virtual event, it’s always important to consider additional costs. A variety of reasons could cause an uptick in your virtual event budget include last-minute changes of your guest speakers, adding additional entertainment or events, or an increase of marketing budget to drive signups. 

Just as you would plan for  a ‘rainy-day fund’ for in-person events, it’s never a bad idea to do the same for virtual events. 

Choose the right platform

As we transition into the “next normal”, virtual events will still be a large part of the event landscape. So if you’re thinking of hosting your own virtual event or fair, make sure to consider a virtual event platform that best fits your needs. 

VisitDays is a budget-friendly, all-in-one virtual event platform. Click here to schedule a demo or sign up for a free trial! Additionally, you can click here to see some of the many use-cases and customer stories from all of our amazing customers. 

Bring your team onboard 

The best way to off-set costs is to bring your whole team onboard to help you run your virtual event. VisitDays allows you to invite as many exhibitors on to our platform as possible so you can feature as many exhibitor booths as you want. 

You can also ask your team members to step in as guest speakers or share the event with their networks to help market the event. This is extremely beneficial if you don’t want to outsource.  

Conclusion

Virtual fairs are great for a lot of reasons. They are cost efficient, can offer a wider reach for attendees, and are tech-forward. They are also helpful in leading your prospects into your in-person events. 

If you have any questions on how to run your own budget-friendly virtual event, schedule a demo with a member of our team!