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For B2B marketers, virtual events are no longer a “nice-to-have”—they’ve become an essential part of the marketing mix. From webinars to virtual conferences, events are the perfect way to increase your reach and engage and nurture prospects in real time.
And the numbers back this up: The global virtual events market, valued at $1.57 billion in 2020, is projected to skyrocket to $4.44 billion by 2025. 🚀
What’s more, virtual events offer B2B marketers an unparalleled opportunity to engage buyers at scale.
According to BrightTALK, 96% of B2B buyers consume webinar or video content at least once per month.
And if you ask B2B professionals, 91% say webinars are their preferred learning format.
That explains why, according to our 2024 end-of-year survey, the majority of B2B marketers said webinars and virtual events were their most valuable marketing channel.
Of course, creating and hosting webinars is easier said than done.
That’s where virtual event tools can help.
In this blog, we’ll highlight how virtual event tools can solve your biggest pain points in virtual event hosting, best practices for leveraging them to their fullest potential, and what to look for in the best virtual event tools.
Common hurdles of hosting virtual events
While virtual events are a goldmine for engagement and lead generation, they come with their own set of challenges:
- Time and cost: Virtual events can be expensive and time-consuming. From content creation and platform selection to promotion and follow-ups, a lot goes into running a successful event. And hosting webinars can cost $3,000–$5,000 depending on those factors. The last thing you want is for it to eat up your entire budget and team’s resources without seeing the results you expect. 💸
- Technical issues: Whether it’s a glitch with the platform, connectivity issues, or a lack of familiarity with the tools, technical problems can disrupt your event and leave a bad impression on your attendees.
- Keeping attendees engaged: Keeping your audience engaged and invested in the content can be tricky, especially when there are multiple distractions on the other side of the screen.
- Lead quality and conversion: Collecting leads from virtual events is great, but how do you ensure those leads convert into real opportunities? It can be tough to track attendee behavior and follow up in a way that nurtures them through the sales funnel.
That’s where the right virtual event tools come into play.
How virtual event tools help solve these problems
A solid virtual event tool can help you manage your event seamlessly and optimize your outcomes. So, what should you look for in virtual event tools to maximize ROI?
- Targeted lead generation: Look for tools that do more than just capture contacts—they should help you target your ideal customers so you can more easily nurture those leads through the funnel.
- Event analytics: Good virtual event tools provide deep insights into attendee behavior, from how long they stayed in each session to what content they interacted with most. This data helps you optimize future events and marketing efforts, making your next virtual event even more successful.
- Custom branding and personalization: Customization is key to ensuring that your virtual event aligns with your brand identity. Whether it’s branded registration pages or personalized event content, your tool should let you create an experience that feels uniquely yours.
- Engagement tools: Features like live Q&A, polls, and interactive chat rooms can really boost engagement during your event. Look for a platform that makes it easy for attendees to participate and interact with speakers, other attendees, and your content.
- Real-time data insights: Real-time data is a game changer. The right virtual event tool should allow you to track engagement and audience behavior during the event so you can adjust your approach on the fly if necessary.
Tips to maximize the impact of your virtual event tool
Now that you know what to look for in a virtual event tool, here are some tips to help you make the most of it:
- Plan ahead: Don’t wait until the last minute to get started. Use your tool’s features to set up your event well in advance—from creating personalized registration pages to scheduling automated emails.
- Engage throughout: It’s not just about the content; it’s about interaction. Use your tool’s engagement features, like live Q&A and polls, to make the event interactive and keep attendees interested.
- Leverage post-event data: Don’t let that data go to waste. Use the insights from your event to follow up with leads, refine your strategies, and improve your future events. Your virtual event tool should help you track metrics and take action based on them.
How ViB Webinars stands out
If all of that still sounds like too much work, you can let ViB Webinars handle your entire event for you. Here’s what we offer:
- End-to-end orchestration: ViB Webinars provides full-service event management, from pre-event promotion to hosting to post-event data insights.
- Targeted audience guarantee: By leveraging our community of tech professionals, we can target your ideal audience to ensure you’re attracting a highly qualified audience that is more likely to convert into leads. 🎯 (Plus, we offer an attendance guarantee!)
- Qualified leads & valuable insights: ViB Webinars captures high-quality leads and delivers them to you within 48 hours after your event. We also provide a complete data package on attendee behavior. This data is invaluable for your lead-nurturing efforts and sales outreach.
- Reusable recording: ViB Webinars lets you repurpose your content, turning one event into a long-lasting resource that keeps delivering value. 📹
Here’s how ViB Webinars helped Donoma, a leading B2B tech company, turn its virtual events into powerful lead generation tools:
Case study: How ViB Webinars helped this software company fill its pipeline
In 2020, Donoma Software launched a new product it had planned to promote at several major industry events throughout the year. Then the pandemic hit. Parker Pearson, VP of Marketing and Business Development, knew she had to pivot.
So, she turned to ViB Webinars to run a virtual event to coincide with the product launch.
The results were impressive: About 140 people registered to attend the event, priming her to reach the year’s goal of 500 net-new opportunities.
You can read the full case study here!
Expand your brand with ViB Webinars
If you’re ready to take your virtual events to the next level, ViB Webinars is here to help from beginning to end.
Schedule a demo today and see for yourself how ViB Webinars delivers impactful virtual events that drive results!
