5 Ways to Drive Leads at Virtual Events

Virtual events have been around for quite some while now and it is no surprise what made the event industry adapt to virtual events, the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual events essentially mean isolation and remote access to certain event content thus providing a wider reach at the expense of face-to-face interaction. It is natural to assume that virtual events compel the organizers to compromise on interactivity, however with certain tips and tricks you can engage your customers and transform the same into qualified leads. Virtual events are technology-based, virtual platforms, hence any progress in the technology will directly reflect the event, and based on that an approach can be developed which may help you attain leads at your virtual event. Fortunately, enough today we will be going through 5 ways that will help you drive leads at your virtual events. 

How to Drive Leads at Virtual Events?

The key aspect of any event is the attendees, strategies, and ways by which you can develop leads in your virtual event matters the most. The event industry has progressed into a technology-based platform that provides an opportunity to engage your attendees in a different manner. Essentially it also means that as an event organizer you may have to go an extra mile to generate qualified leads, remotely. Let us take a look at 5 ways to drive leads:

Targeted Ads

Advertisement will spread the word around regarding your event and its respective agenda. Leverage the social media platform and the tools provided by the same to make people aware of your event and attract potential attendees who have a similar approach to the agenda that you are representing. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have people that are looking for active events taking place, thus planning attendee-specific ads will help you attract potential leads. It is important to note that Facebook ads do not guarantee leads unless you put some effort into it. Advertisement is the first step which is followed by a proper plan and execution that leads the attendees to the virtual event from where you can devise a plan to generate leads.

Promote your Event

Promotion is one of the proven ways to attract customers. It is blatantly clear from the years of practice that promotion is undoubtedly a necessary thing to be incorporated for your event/product/service. Attendees and consumers are most probably not going to opt for any emails/promotion services which makes them prone to unawareness regarding your event/service/product. It is not necessary for them to opt for what you have to offer but it does compel them to subscribe to your newsletter/emails for future use. Gradually they may develop interest and opt for the same, the same interest could not have developed if proper promotion didn’t take place. 

Approach Influencers

Influencers invest a lot of time in engaging their audience for their content. Such audiences can be leveraged by developing a working relationship with the influencers. In return for their already gathered audience, you may provide them with monetary benefits or even targeted promotions. The audience which actively follows an influencer is likely to trust whatever the influencer has to offer, why not leverage this trust and cultivate qualified leads over time? It is also significant to not consider anyone under dignity! The beginners also possess some influence over a group of people, hence ask your influencers to mention your company name and promote the same in their videos, posts, etc.  

ABM, Account-Based Marketing

It is blatantly obvious that traditional means can no longer be implemented in the virtual world as they have their own set of limitations, since we are adapting to a new format of event it is necessary for the event organizers to adapt to a new set of marketing methods to attain potential leads. Develop working relationships with your attendees and interact with them, get on the same page and start the process of converting them in favor of your event by the showcase of the pros, and cons as well! Rather than the traditional approach of targeting a wide audience, focus on a group of audience and the overall success rate. Once you develop a working relationship, nurture the same and try to develop interest for the same. At the end of the process, you will be accompanied by a small group of loyal and high-value customers which is never a bad thing to have. Rinse repeats this process until you attain a respectable amount of audience and focus on providing the best. 

Incentivize Employees and Enable Referrals

Approach your employees to assist your campaign by bringing in potential audience/leads. Your employees understand the consequences of generating leads, in a positive way! They will be your biggest assistance because of the mutual benefit it brings to the table. Additionally, encourage them to do the same by awarding them exciting rewards, it does not necessarily have to be a monetary award- you may provide them with paid trips, vacations, shout-out/recognition, and even things that they may use in their day-to-day life. Small approaches like these will help you cultivate an audience that is not only diverse but brings high value to your event. 

Over to You

The past year experienced some changes in the event industry, which ultimately leads to mandatory changes in the methods to cultivate leads. Since the event industry is now emphasized on a technology-based platform, virtual event platform, it is important for the event organizers to develop and adapt to new means to drive leads for their event/product/service. There are certain ways that help the event planners and organizers cultivate leads by engaging the audience. Leveraging technology, social media platforms, influencers, and even gathered targeted audiences are some ways by which organizers can achieve their goals. Apart from the external aids one of the most loyal and effective means of promotion is by engaging your employees to develop and find leads for your organization. The above-mentioned 5 ways will help you realize, identify, and land the qualified leads by leveraging several means. Following these means will help you attain a high-value audience and you may focus on delivering quality content to the same.