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Giovanbattista Cimmino is the founder of CimminoMedia, a social media agency that helps clients grow their business.

We are all familiar with events, conferences, trade shows and exhibitions. We’ve been using them for centuries to market and sell our products and services. Virtual business events are the digital adaptation of these in-person conferences and events. With increasing business globalization and now a pandemic crisis, the internet can be a strategic resource that can help your business pivot and adapt. So let’s discover how you can use online events in your digital marketing campaign and profit from them.

The main benefits of online events are the ability to reach a global audience, save money and keep track of your performance. Just think about the expenses you can avoid for transportation, hotel accommodation, food, clothes, gadgets and so on. In addition, being digital by nature, a virtual event typically offers data analytics features, something that physical events cannot provide easily. In fact, your online dashboard may show engagement reports such as clicks, views, comments, impressions, etc.

In a virtual event, you can find recorded or real-time content available in different formats. Some events are also hybrid and have both an online and a physical venue.

Here are a few ways you can engage in virtual events as a way to improve your digital marketing efforts.

You can organize your own event and engage your customer base, stakeholders, shareholders and potential customers. Here are some ideas of what you can offer:

• Webinars to educate the audience or do a quick presentation.

• Online conferences and summits with several sessions the attendees can choose and watch during the day.

• On-demand content available as the user purchases a ticket.

• Online content with different levels of access (and price), as well as free access.

• Games; live entertainment, such as music performances; competitions; giveaways or other interactive activities between the sponsor and attendees, which can act as an icebreaker and allow for some networking.

• Live drawings to grab the attention with real-time creative illustrations.

• Web pages enhanced with 3D and virtual reality to look more similar to a physical venue and create a more immersive experience.

• Live video streaming, like on YouTube and Facebook.

Let’s move to the next step and see what you can use to start a real online business event. Here are some of the tools and platforms I recommend:

• As a visitor (online user): In an online event or conference, everything is at your fingertip and you can “open the doors” with just the click of a button. Therefore, you can attend as many online sessions as you want. The results depend on your proactivity and how you use the digital features you have at your disposal (e.g., you can watch and listen passively or interact with the others).

• As an online speaker: You (or your company representative) can be invited online to talk to the audience and inform the world about a specific topic you are an expert in. You may apply to pitch opportunities, too. This is a great occasion to present your project or startup to investors, potential buyers or your customer base. As a speaker, you can also start a Q&A session where you can interact with the audience during or after the presentation.

• As a digital sponsor: Sponsorship is a good way to promote your brand worldwide without spending millions of dollars. You can benefit from a global presence in multiple ways. Your business can appear on several spots during the various moments of the event. Some examples are banners, overlayed logos, company video presentations during breaks, intro and closing moments, ads in the chat board and dashboard, announcements in any other type of communication used, such as the event website, social media pages, apps, radio, TV. In addition, as a sponsor, you may also be able to participate in VIP sessions offering added-value content.

In every case, I recommend you use all the features available to maximize networking opportunities and build your followers, leads and, eventually, clients and partners.

If you have decided to participate in a virtual event and you think this is the right move for your digital marketing campaign, here’s how to find them. The first thing you can do is conduct research on Google. But if you would like to make the process faster, you can use an online event finder. Two examples are Eventbrite and TechEvents.online.

You might be surprised by how many virtual events already exist. Here are some examples of what happened in the past and what the future has to offer you. Some virtual events from the past few months include:

If you missed the past events, you still have a lot of opportunities coming soon, from gaming to finance to technology. Here are some upcoming events on my radar:

Technology and the internet disrupted the way we live, work and market. Now, events and conferences joined the club and went online. Use this as a unique opportunity to capitalize on all the features and opportunities the World Wide Web can offer to boost your digital marketing efforts.

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Giovanbattista Cimmino is the founder of CimminoMedia, a social media agency that helps clients grow their business. Read Giovanbattista Cimmino’s full executive profile…Giovanbattista Cimmino is the founder of CimminoMedia, a social media agency that helps clients grow their business. Read Giovanbattista Cimmino’s full executive profile here.