Virtual events provide an excellent platform to connect with industry experts, like-minded individuals, and explore new skills in a comfortable and accessible setting. For businesses, they open doors to learning about the latest trends, discovering potential partners and customers, and generating vital B2B leads.
While it may be tempting to join every virtual event available, it’s crucial to select those that align best with your specific business goals. Choosing the right events, such as a virtual conference, virtual meeting, or virtual class, can lead to significant business success and positively impact your bottom line.
Our comprehensive guide on virtual events offers insights into various types of events, from in-person event adaptations to online classes. We provide examples of popular virtual event examples, strategies to maximize ROI using attendee data, and marketing tips to enhance your brand’s presence.
This guide will also delve into the nuances of planning virtual events, helping event planners to navigate the challenges of a virtual setting, from leveraging video conferencing platforms to creating engaging virtual activities. Whether you’re hosting a sales meeting, a virtual job fair, or a social event, understanding how to effectively engage virtual attendees, involve people interacting through breakout rooms or live streams, and ensure all the materials are prepared for a seamless experience is key.
Additionally, we explore how virtual options can complement physical events, offering a hybrid model that caters to both in-person and remote teams fostering more attendee engagement.
Our guide aims to equip businesses and organizers with the knowledge and tools to successfully measure success, create memorable experiences, and harness the power of virtual events to grow and develop in an increasingly digital world.
Types of Virtual Events
In the realm of virtual events, understanding the different formats is key to selecting the right type for your goals. From webinars to virtual trade shows, each type of event offers unique opportunities for engagement and interaction. Here’s a breakdown of various virtual event types and online event ideas:
Webinars
Webinars are primarily one-way presentations, ideal for sharing knowledge through lectures and demonstrations. As a staple among virtual event ideas, they are effective in lead generation and enabling attendees to engage with your brand in a virtual setting.
Online Meetups
These smaller-scale online events offer an intimate platform for discussing topics, networking, and idea exchange among like-minded individuals. They are a growing trend in the virtual events space, fostering deeper connections.
Virtual Conferences
Virtual conferences, spanning multiple days, provide a comprehensive online experience. Attendees can learn from industry leaders through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, all in a virtual format.
Summits
Similar to virtual conferences but with a more intimate focus, summits facilitate in-depth conversations and interactive participation, making them increasingly important for specific industry discussions.
Networking Events
In the virtual world, networking events are crucial for building meaningful connections. They often feature innovative engagement tools, like virtual happy hours or breakout sessions, to encourage attendee interaction.
Virtual Trade Shows
These events replicate the experience of physical trade shows in a virtual space. They provide a platform for showcasing products and services and connecting with potential partners and customers, utilizing event technology to simulate a physical event atmosphere.
Preparing for these events involves understanding the nuances of virtual event organizers, utilizing video conferencing platforms, and considering post-event follow-up strategies. Whether it’s an online course, virtual social event, or a live event turned virtual, each type offers unique ways to engage attendees and encourage active participation.
With the rise of remote work, the distinction between an in-person events and virtual ones has become increasingly blurred, leading to the emergence of hybrid events. Virtual events, therefore, offer diverse and flexible options for event organizers and attendees alike, from virtual meetings to online socials, making them an essential part of modern event planning.
Virtual Events Marketing Strategy
Event marketing can be a powerful tool to build your brand and reach new customers. To get the most out of virtual events, it’s important to focus on a data-driven approach and leverage technology to engage with attendees. With this approach, you can minimize potential risks and maximize your return on investment (ROI).
Do thorough research before deciding which virtual event to attend. Ask yourself what your goals are, who your target audience is, and how you can use the event to reach them. Ensure the virtual event aligns with your business objectives and you make the most of each event; otherwise, you just waste resources and time.
Once you have a list of events that meet your requirements, event intelligence can help gain insights into attendees’ demographics and interests. This data will help you select the event that most effectively supports your B2B marketing strategy.
You can utilize attendee data to maximize the reach of your event. Event analytics can provide valuable insights into who attended, what they were interested in, and how they interacted with your brand. These insights can help personalize your message and increase engagement with potential customers.
To make the most of virtual events:
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Focus on building relationships with attendees and creating an engaging experience.
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Use technology to deliver personalized messages, offer interactive content, and measure engagement.
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Invest in event marketing tools that can help you automate processes and improve communication.
Virtual Event Attendee Data
Attendee data provides valuable insights into the success of virtual events. It helps you measure your event’s effectiveness and understand attendees’ behavior, interests, and preferences.
Event intelligence platforms, like Vendelux, leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to capture data from virtual events and provide insights into attendee behavior. It provides detailed information such as the number of attendees, how long they spent at the event, and what topics or sessions were most popular. You can use this data to create a tailored marketing strategy and optimize future virtual events.
By utilizing real-data monitoring, AI, and historical data, Vendelux can make precise predictions about event attendees, which can help eliminate worries regarding meeting objectives. With this B2B data, marketers can formulate their virtual event strategy and ensure their message resonates with their target audience.
Empower your marketing teams with insights based on data, which enables them to maximize the benefits of virtual events. For example, use the data to craft personalized campaigns and target sponsors with similar audiences. This way, you can build lasting relationships with sponsors that can help you reach new customers and drive business growth.
Best Virtual Events
2024 is set to be a big year for virtual events, with many interesting opportunities and options. From immersive virtual conferences and summits to engaging networking events, there are plenty of virtual events to choose from.
As an event marketer, staying up-to-date with the latest trends is essential to stay ahead of the competition. You can learn about innovative virtual experiences, upcoming events, and the latest technologies being used in event marketing.
Keep an eye out for new virtual experiences and use the data to create a tailor-made marketing strategy to maximize the impact of your virtual events.
2024 is sure to be a year full of opportunities for event marketers, and with the right data-driven approach, you can ensure your virtual events are an outstanding success. We’ve put together some of the best virtual events to give you an idea of what’s out there.
Here are a list of the best upcoming virtual events:
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Enablement Summit | January 23-25, 2024 | Trust Enablement Summit is a sales enablement event offering a global enablement workshop series. In addition to the workshops, the event will also feature sessions and roundtables about real challenges and solutions. The event features interactive capability, global and time-zone-friendly structures, affordability, diversity, and inclusivity. Presently, the sessions and details speakers are coming soon. The 2023 event covered topics like performance under pressure, partner enablement, supporting more than 1,000 sellers, customer success enablement, and fixing content credibility and revenue impact. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Virtual MarTech Summit APAC | February 21, 2024 | The Virtual MarTech Summit gathers the best minds in modern marketing technology to illustrate unique company pain points, breakthroughs, and triumphs. The event anticipates over 800 attendees, 20 speakers, and 6 sessions. There will be fireside chats, panel discussions, and expert talks. Discussion topics include community marketing, gamification, social media and influencer marketing, CX, personalization, UGC, and digital acceleration. Guest speakers work in a cross-section of industries. | NA |
| HR Tech Conference & Exposition | February 27-29, 2024, online | HR Tech Conference & Exposition unites thousands of forward-thinking HR leaders to discuss current trends and best practices for using technology. The event will have keynotes from leading HR experts, data and tactic-rich case studies, fast-moving talks, networking, and more. The online event is free to qualified HR professionals. The virtual platform will also include an exhibition of HR solution providers. There will also be free recertification credits and AI-powered peer-to-peer matchmaking. | View event attendee data |
| Developer Week | February 27-29, 2024 | Developer Week stands as the foremost conference for developers and engineers, offering a dual-track summit tailored for executives and managers. This event is centered on learning technical leadership best practices and engaging in peer-to-peer education and thought leadership on technology management. The 2023 edition featured keynotes, workshops, open discussions, networking sessions, and more. It covered a range of topics, such as the full software development lifecycle, managing technical debt, data storage and processing, security for ASP.NET developers, and quantum computing. | view event attendee data |
| Social Media Strategies Summit | February 27-29, 2024 | Master the essentials of a successful social media strategy to elevate your brand, regardless of your resources. Learn from diverse case studies, evaluate your current social media effectiveness, and understand how to better engage your audience. Gain valuable insights and ideas from expert speakers to enhance your online presence. Equip yourself with a wealth of tools, resources, and connections to keep your social media tactics current and impactful. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Forum's Annual Conference | March 6-7, 2024 | The 20th Annual Conference to upskill, network, and share knowledge with international educators from across the globe. Attendees will discuss emerging trends and hot topics and network with peers. There will be over 90 sessions. The sessions focus on 10 topics, including global online learning, research and data collection, student learning and development, and professional development and training. In-person attendees will have access to workshops. | NA |
| Tech Lead Conf | June 15-19, 2024 | Tech Lead Conf anticipates having over 5,000 lead engineers and techs gather to discuss career growth, leadership, and seniority in tech. There will be 2 tracks and 20 engineers, managers, and HR representatives from leading companies to talk on related topics about careers and soft skills. Attendees will learn how to rise in senior levels and get more influence in the company. Some covered topics include mastering interviews, full-stack growth, and team/tech leadership. There will be discussions, Q&As, and networking opportunities. | NA |
| World Education Summit | March 18-21, 2024 | World Education Summit unites over 85,000 educators from over 87 countries to learn from over 400 sessions and 400 speakers. The event offers high-impact, cost-effective professional learning and content access post-event for a whole year. There will be seven themes that include leadership, assessment & curriculum, human potential, and future of learning. Some discussion topics include the future classroom, school environment and leadership, successful inclusion of gifted learners, and leading transformational change. There will be 12 virtual stages, including paradigm shifters, brave leaders, legacy, training, passionate practitioners, and research bites. | NA |
| MarTech Conference Spring | March 19-20, 2024 | MarTech Conference Spring strives to help over 60,000 marketers drive sales, improve lead quality, and boost conversions with privacy-first personalization. There will be keynotes, live Q&As, expert-led sessions, data-rich case studies, and dozens of marketing technologies that streamline operations and boost profits. Some discussion topics include data management solutions, automated execution, AI, satisfying privacy requirements, and delivering highly personalized experiences. The event is free, online, and offers instant on-demand access. | NA |
| SAP Concur Fusion | March 21, 2024 (Americas, EMEA, APAC) | SAP Concur Fusion invites investors and those interested in investing in SAP Concur to learn more about solutions and empowerment to influence organizational change. Attendees can access educational and training opportunities, engage with and expand their community, and get inspired for the future. There will be keynote sessions, Q&As, networking, breakout sessions, a reporting hub, and more. The virtual agenda includes mitigating risk, controlling travel spend, AP automation, and more. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTCx7 Global | April 3-4, 2024 | DTCx7 is the largest virtual eCommerce event, inviting attendees to discuss and learn efficiency and how to do more with less. The event emphasizes that most success is leveraging tools that help with the customer experience and logistics to streamline processes and decrease costs. Focus areas in the event include omnichannel, robust strategies, innovative technologies and trends, and industry peer networking. Discussion topics include the power of storytelling, inventory management, customer loyalty techniques, and AI influence. Attendees include eCommerce founders, senior leadership, experts, technologists, marketers, managers, customer support specialists, and more. | NA |
| Social Media Strategies Summit - First Responders 2024 | April 10-11, 2024 | Social Media Strategies Summit - First Responders 2024 is a premier social media event for public safety professionals and first responders. Attendees will learn from a mix of industry leaders who will share the proven social media strategies they use to grow their agency's online communities. The event will offer peer networking, experience sharing, strategy learning, live chats, Q&As, and more. Attendees include first responders, command staff, and professionals who manage social media, such as individuals in community affairs, media relations, communications, administrative support, digital engagement, and more. | NA |
| OnCon Executive Leadership Virtual Summit 2024 | April 22-23, 2024 | OnCon Executive Leadership Virtual Summit 2024 is for top executives to participate in 12 tracks that accommodate 100 participants in an intimate environment tailored for c-level and executive leadership individuals. Some tracks include CMO, CHRO, CFO, COO, CIO/CTO, data and analytics, and general counsel. Track discussion topics include leadership mindset in the new normal, brand refreshes, recruitment initiatives, data ethics, and maximizing ROI on a budget. Awards will be given to recognize the top executives voted by peers. | NA |
| DigiMarCon Canada West | April 25-26, 2024 | DigiMarCon Canada West is western Canada's premier digital marketing, media, and advertising conference and exhibition. The event covers topics like the best digital marketing practices, the latest trends, practical solutions, strategy and networking, and the next generation of technology and innovation (Internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech, and SaaS tech). There will be over 30 featured topics, including omnichannel marketing, social commerce, data science, web analytics, growth hacking, conversion rate optimization, and UI/UX design. Attendees will enjoy keynotes, expert panels, networking opportunities, and more. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B Summit North America | May 5-8, 2024 | B2B Summit North America is a B2B event helping companies navigate the B2B landscape with purpose and skill. Ensuring that sales, marketing, and product all work together towards shared goals and objectives. The event will consist of over 100 role-based sessions, case studies, keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, networking opportunities, and more. Attendees include marketing, sales, product leaders, and other B2B professionals. Event content themes include lifecycle revenue marketing, B2B digital marketing, buyer experience research, and revenue engine alignment. Key topics include account-based marketing, content strategy, marketing operations, sales enablement, and customer advocacy. | View event attendee data |
| Developer Week Management 2024 | May TBA, 2024 | Developer Week Management joins over 2,000 developers, architects, and executives for a fully immersive education and innovative experience. Attendees include engineering managers, dev team leads, and technical executives (VP, director, CTO, CXO). The event will have over 6 tracks, 40 speakers, and 7 technical keynotes. There will also be a virtual expo with over 15 technologies and tools, product demos, and 1:1 topic-focused networking. Attendees will learn and gain insights from top engineering leaders about team management, best practices, developer tools, and technology decision-making. | NA |
| The Change Leadership Conference | May 29, 2024 | The Change Leadership Conference is committed to helping professionals and organizations lead and respond to change. The event is Canada's premier learning and networking event on leading change. The event's topic discussions include diversity and inclusion, the future of change, sustainability, mental health and wellness, and workplace disruption. The event anticipates over 300 attendees, 18 speakers, and 25 organizations. Attendees include leaders, managers, change practitioners, professionals, and change leaders. There will also be virtual exhibition areas. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moz Con | June 3-4, 2024 | Moz Con gathers a lineup of extraordinary speakers who are ready to share their top tips to help attendees navigate the obstacles challenging marketers today. The content covers next-level tactics, from ranking higher in today's search landscape to making data-driven marketing decisions. Attendees include SEO professionals, marketers, executives, business leaders and owners, and others associated with the marketing industry. There will be expert discussions, networking opportunities, and live-stream access. Some discussion topics include ChatGPT, the latest ranking factors, and algorithm updates. | NA |
| Developer Week Europe | June, 2024 | Developer Week Europe is Europe's largest developer and engineering conference. The 2-track summit is for executives and managers to discover technical leadership best practices and peer-to-peer education and thought management on technological management. The 2023 event included keynotes, workshops, open talks, networking opportunities, and more. Previous discussion topics include full software development lifecycle, technical debt, storing and processing data, security for ASP.NET developers, and quantum computing. | NA |
| Platform Con 2024 | June 10-14, 2024 | Platform Con 2024 celebrates its community of over 15,000 platform engineers. There will be 169 talks, over 40 hours of recordings, and 22,000 attendees. The talks include platform stories, design, tech, and culture. Event discussion topics include the platform journey, key design considerations, product management, and c-level perspectives. Attendees will join thousands of platform engineers, discuss new trends and tooling with over thousands of platform practitioners, and engage with more than 200 speakers in dedicated channels or direct DMs. | NA |
| SMX Advanced - Online | June 11-12, 2024 | SMX Advanced - Online provides expert-level search marketing that is advanced, actionable, and free. It is a part of the largest, most effective digital marketing channel, helping marketers attract new customers, outperform competitors, and grow businesses. The event will explore critical issues like customer expectations, user experience, AI, machine learning, passage rank, and more. Attendees can expect to learn sophisticated, brand-safe, actionable tactics to deliver more qualified traffic, drive revenue, and stay above the competition. There will be tactic-rich sessions, live Q&As, keynotes, and more. | NA |
| Social Media Strategies Summit | June 11-14, 2024 | Master a successful social media strategy to elevate your brand, utilizing cross-industry insights and comprehensive audits of your current efforts. Understand how to identify and engage your audience effectively, enhancing your online presence. Gain inspiration and practical tools from leading experts, leaving with actionable ideas and a network of resources to refresh and sustain your brand's social media initiatives. | NA |
| DigiMarCon Latin America 2024 | June 20-21, 2024 | DigiMarCon Latin America 2024 is Latin America's premier digital marketing, media, and advertising conference and exhibition. The event aims to inspire, challenge, and transform attendees and their businesses. There will be keynotes, presentations, networking, workshops, interactive breakout sessions, hands-on product demos, and more. Discussion topics include user-generated content, web analytics, omnichannel, personalization and privacy, and various marketing strategies. Attendees include anyone operating in the digital community: executives, professionals, web and mobile strategists, web project managers, entrepreneurs, senior marketers and branders, and more. | NA |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| DigiMarCon America 2024 | July 1-2, 2024 | DigiMarCon America 2024 is the premier digital marketing, media, and advertising conference and exhibition in America. Attendees gather to hear from thought provoking speakers, gain insight in emerging strategies and technology, and network with leaders and peers. Featured topics include social commerce, mobile marketing, behavioral and neuromarketing, web analytics, visual and voice search, UI/UX design, SEO, predictive analytics, and CRO. Attendees include innovators, senior marketers and branders, entrepreneurs, digital executives and professionals, web and mobile strategists, web project managers, business leadders, agency executives and teams, and anyone else who operates in the digital community. There will be keynote presentations, breakout sessions, workshops, hands-on product demonstrations, and more. | NA |
| DigiMarCon Hawaii | July 18-19, 2024 | DigiMarCon Hawaii is a premier digital marketing, media, and advertising conference in Hawaii. The event aims to discuss and teach the best practices in digital marketing, the latest trends, practical solutions, strategy, and networking. Additionally, attendees can check out the next generation of technology and innovation like internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech, and SaaS technology. There will be keynotes, case studies, strategy sessions, networking, and more. Some featured topics include content marketing, UI/UX design, user-generated content, programmatic advertising, smarketing and customer experience, and big data. Attendees include entrepreneurs, digital executives, web and mobile strategists, senior marketers, innovators, business developers, and anyone who operates in the digital community. | NA |
| #Product Con Online | July 2024 | #Product Con is a cutting-edge virtual event covering the hottest topics in product management and highlighting product leaders from diverse backgrounds. Guest speakers include inspirational heads of products, VPs, and CPOs from tech giants like Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify. There will be presentations, accessible slides, interactive features, networking, and virtual booths. Discussion topics include scaling beyond accommodation at speed, automated product management, and product innovation. Event attendees include product managers, directors, senior leaders, heads, VPs, and CPOs. | NA |
come back soon for more events.
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| HighEdWeb 2024 Annual Conference | September 22-25, 2024 | HighEdWeb 2024 Annual Conference is an event for higher ed professionals across all departments and divisions who want to explore the web and digital roles in their organization. There will be over 100 sessions consisting of programming, marketing, content, design, social, and development information. Attendees will also enjoy networking opportunities and an expo hall to discover products and services to help advance learning institutions. The event will also consist of keynotes and group discussions. | NA |
| MarTech Conference Fall | September 24-25, 2024 | MarTech Conference Fall is an event to discover market-defining solutions with the tools, technologies, and tactics needed to organize critical marketing. The free event offers tactics-rich sessions led by real-world marketers and successful brands. Attendees can expect to discover cutting-edge marketing technologies that save time, streamline operations, and boost profits. Some discussion topics include B2B marketing, digital transformation, GA4, marketing automation, identity resolution, and customer data platform (CDP). Attendees include marketing specialists, professionals, executives, managers, directors, c-level and presidential staff, and more. | NA |
| Mining Summit | September 26-27, 2024 | The 5th FT Mining Summit brings together top miners, investors, financiers, and policymakers for a series of insightful keynotes and engaging debates. Facilitated by FT moderators, the summit will explore crucial industry issues such as managing supply and demand, dealing with geopolitical challenges, restructuring portfolios, and more, setting the stage for the upcoming LME week. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| GURU Conference 2024 | October 2024 | GURU Conference 2024 is the world's largest virtual email marketing conference that is free and anticipates gathering over 20,000 marketers. The conference is designed to help attendees exceed current strategies with actionable advice that can be deployed same day, supported by a deep pool of real-time user data. Additionally, attendees will share the latest digital trends, email best practices, and emerging tools to enhance marketing performance. The event tracks include email deliverability, design trends, B2B, avoiding pitfalls, quick tips, B2C, emerging tools, and platforms. | NA |
| Energy Transition Summit | October 22-24, 2024 | Energy Transition Summit is an event to focus on accelerating the transition to clean, secure, and affordable energy. The event anticipates over 25 sessions, 75 speakers, 370 attendees, and 55 represented countries. Attendees include senior energy, finance, government figures, and business leaders navigating the transition to clean, secure, and affordable energy. | View event attendee data |
| 2024 ANA Masters of Marketing Conference | October 22-25, 2024 | The 2024 ANA Masters of Marketing Conference is a marketing event focused on helping attendees and exhibitors connect with peers from businesses, large and small, to expand personal networks and spheres of influence. Attendees can also advance marketing knowledge to drive sustained growth for brands and companies. The virtual event allows for remote participation that is AI-powered for a matchmaking service using natural language processing, advanced algorithms, and deep neural networks to learn about personal goals and interests. There will also be sessions and awards. Attendees include marketing specialists, professionals, senior executives, and others associated with the marketing industry. | View event attendee data |
| Event Name | Event Date | Event Summary | Event Attendee Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeveloperWeek CloudX | November 12-14, 2024 | DeveloperWeek CloudX 2024 stands as the leading global conference on cloud computing, specifically designed for developers, engineers, and technical leaders. The event includes more than 50 exhibiting partners and 2,500 virtual attendees. | NA |
| SMX Next | November 13-14, 2024 | SMX Next is an expert-led search marking training event. The event is for search marketing experts, professionals, leads, executives, entrepreneurs, and more. The event discusses topics like algorithm updates, SERP feature changes, automation, the death of third-party cookies, and Google analytics 4. The program includes keynotes, tactic-rich sessions, and live Q&As. Event themes include future-forward strategies, deliver ROI, drive SEO, and PPC success. Guest speakers include Ashley Fletcher, VP of marketing of Adthena, and Owen Ray, the director of content marketing for Invoca. | NA |
Come back soon for more events.
