Despite loosening restrictions on gathering and travel, it may not be the time to resume a totally in-person event schedule. Your virtual events and presentations still have some use yet.
Now that the pandemic’s most restrictive limits on how many people can convene under one roof are gone, seemingly nothing is holding your team back from hosting in-person meetings, earnings calls, and pitches again.
However, the capital markets experts at IR Magazine reveal few investors are looking forward to seeing you in the flesh. According to their COVID-19 Update 2022 report, most people prefer virtual engagements whenever possible.
Their reasoning? Investors believe a return to normal will mean they’ll get cut off from corporate access professionals. They think they won’t be able to engage the C-suite team as easily or as consistently as they did online.
With this perspective driving many investors’ decisions, a wholly in-person event may be a far-off reality. In the meantime, virtual engagements will continue to dominate your calendar.
What Are the Benefits of a Virtual Presentation?
Investors aren’t the only ones to benefit from virtual presentations. Connecting with your shareholders digitally has its advantages for your team as well.
1. Increase Outreach
You can reach a bigger audience when you offer virtual events, as you’ll tap into people who wouldn’t (or couldn’t) ordinarily attend an in-person event. Viewers can tune in from wherever they might be in the world at the time of your event, even if they’re in a totally different time zone.
A traditional, in-person event, on the other hand, tethers you to one place. Only those clients and prospective shareholders who live in a nearby radius will be able to attend.
2. Reduce Overhead Costs
Another major benefit of a virtual presentation is how you’ll save money. You can eliminate many of the overhead costs of the typical in-person event, such as:
- Travel and accommodation costs for your team and guest speakers
- Conference space rentals
- Catering
- A/V rentals
By losing these typical overheads, you can reinvest that money into other areas of your presentation. You can upgrade your webcasting and analytics tools. Or, you may choose to work with a pre-eminent presentation company to help you design a tailor-made template for your event.
Partnering with a presentation agency is useful if you’re repurposing old business PowerPoint Presentation templates from in-person engagements. A presentation specialist can custom design a new template for your special event.
Why does this matter? Remember, your audience will be tuning in from their desks using a laptop, desktop computer, or smartphone. They’ll be able to see every detail of your PowerPoint with this kind of access to your event.
A presentation specialist can help you pivot for a virtual experience, making sure your PowerPoint looks crisp from any device.
3. Save Time
Hosting an event in the real world takes a lot of time. You have to travel to the venue, set up your A/V equipment, and wait for hundreds of guests to find their seats.
A virtual event, by comparison, is a streamlined experience. While you’ll still need to run through your webcasting equipment and prepare tailor-made business PowerPoint presentation templates, you’ll avoid the hassle of in-person responsibilities, like travelling and preparing your space.
Virtual conferences also save time for your audience. It’s a lot easier for investors to squeeze in your event between lunch and another meeting when they don’t have to travel to a conference centre.
How to Make Your Next Virtual Presentation a Success
In many ways, organizing a virtual event is easier than its in-person counterpart. But that doesn’t mean it’s without its own challenges. Here are some tips to help you host your next virtual event like a pro:
- Start planning early to develop your event goals and strategy
- Upgrade your webcasting technology, making sure it has the functionality you require — look for interactive features such as polls, Q&As, and breakout rooms
- Focus on cybersecurity to ensure your event meets privacy and SEC compliance at every step
- Give your speakers time to explore your new webcasting tech to ensure a smooth experience on the big day
- Have a presentation specialist design a tailor-made corporate presentation template for each segment of your event
- Speak with your presentation specialist about content consulting to help you create an effective, fully branded visual narrative for your digital event
- Assign a moderator to oversee your conference and keep things flowing
- Have IT personnel available during the big day to help any visitor navigate your webcast
The Takeaway:
Most of your investors would rather attend a virtual event over an in-person gathering. But they aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit from meeting digitally. With greater outreach, reduced overheads, and time savings, a virtual experience works in your team’s favour, too.
Remember this as more companies gather under one roof. Hosting a virtual conference can help you impress your investors for less effort.