Is this your very first virtual motor show hosting experience? If it is, welcome to the latest and most wanted virtual auto show guide.
Well, we have already entered into another year of exploring the world via our screens. This is the biggest reason why nearly all in-person events have been canceled or delayed indefinitely. This also includes all the major international motor shows.
Usually, physical auto shows in different parts of the world are opportunities for brands to showcase their new ideas, products, launches, and innovations. Also, car enthusiasts get an opportunity to meet others who share their interests.
Unfortunately, for car lovers and more so for carmakers, physical motor shows are still just out of reach. The new world is focused on virtual motor shows now.
What to Expect from a Virtual Motor Show
A virtual motor show is the best way to reach a global audience. It also boosts engagement and monetizes participation. Agents are able to engage in real-time conversations along with uploading listings and promoting their offerings.
With the help of a virtual platform, exhibitors and attendees connect and network among themselves with the help of live chat tools. So, in short, even when the auto show shifts to virtual, the level of interactivity is what remains unhindered.
Also, how can we forget the unparalleled advantages of getting your hands on detailed information on the success of your virtual motor show? Some of the key statistics such as the attendees, footfall on parts of your virtual car show, number of registrations, etc.
Before heading towards the actual topic, let’s discuss some of the top benefits of hosting a virtual motor show.
Benefits of Hosting A Virtual Auto Show
Below are the top reasons why companies scattered across the globe are choosing virtual motor show solutions. And why are companies rejecting costly in-person auto shows and unengaging webinar series? Have a look below.
- In a virtual motor show, you are free to invite people from all around the world. You can easily gather attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. No matter where they are. This helps in saving the commute, paperwork, and effort.
- You can easily set up a hassle-free online show. No need to compromise sleep coordinating with multiple vendors. Our booth setup wizards and event managers will set up everything for you in no time.
- You can track anything ranging from logins, chats, and downloads, to video views, webinar attendance, and much more to understand your impact. In simple words, you can measure the delivered value.
- Grab the opportunity to keep events live for multiple days or months. You can even keep the event available on-demand for months afterward.
- Host as many attendees as you wish. No need to worry about any limits.
- Save the environment by reducing the carbon footprint. Take care of your guests as well as the planet.
- Keep things safe and secure. Enjoy secure login with encryption and 2-factor authentication. 100% social distancing guaranteed.
How to Start Planning Your First Virtual Motor Show?
Now that you know the benefits of a virtual motor show, where do you begin?
Willing to know how to kickstart your virtual auto show and make it a success? Below we have discussed the entire process of planning and executing a successful virtual car show for the first time.
When you start to define your virtual event plan, consider the following points:
- Goals: You need to consider what you hope to achieve. It is important to set objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) in order to measure your event’s success.
- Your Target Audience: Start by defining who you are talking to, the decision-makers, and the target groups you wish to reach.
- Event Strategy: Identify your sponsors, sponsorship packages/tiers, exhibit halls, and ticketing processes. Chart out your milestones.
- Virtual Events Platform: Thoroughly research for the best virtual event platform provider. Compare them to see which one suits your needs. The platform should be able to translate your requirements to a virtual event.
All these points will help you keep track of your goals, tasks, and deadlines. As a result, you will be able to deliver a successful virtual motor show on time.
Moving on, it’s time to learn some pro tips for your first virtual car show. Now that you have all the underlying details sorted.
6 Tips to Host a Successful Virtual Motor Show
Even if it is your first time, we bring you six pro tips to host a successful virtual motor show.
1. Try to Make Your Virtual Motor Show Easily Accessible
Car enthusiasts come in all makes and models. So, it is essential to make the platform accessible to all. Make sure to enable features that accommodate people with a disability. Those who speak a different language should also be considered. Doing so will help them easily participate in the virtual car show.
Some small additions that can allow everyone to feel welcome are navigating to color contrast, large font size to page narrations, captioned webinars, etc. Make your auto show accessible for the deaf and blind community.
Since a virtual motor show enjoys a global reach, attendees will be joining your online event from various countries. They might speak different languages. Thus, enabling your attendees to comfortably participate is of utmost priority.
2. Know the Value of Networking
Shifting your car show from a physical to a virtual space does not at all mean you have to compromise on the interactivity level. Your chat room allows exhibitors and attendees to connect and engage with each other. You can connect through text chat or audio/video call. Also, you can host group chatrooms dedicated to specific interests. So maybe people who own minivans could have their own group, people with convertibles. Even people who like road trips could have their own group chat.
The information desk is another important platform that offers all-day live support.
Another networking option is to set up meetings with potential buyers. A 1:1 interaction with the potential buyers can help you understand their needs better. In return, you can make provisions accordingly. Exhibitors or attendees can search for profiles based on who they’re looking to connect with. Additionally, they can use the auto-match feature to get instant recommendations of people who have identified the same interests.
So if someone identifies they’re interested in Italian sports cars and an exhibitor identifies they sell Italian sports cars they can be auto-matched. To understand this better, click here.
3. Promote Your Virtual Motor Show
Maximizing all your marketing and promotional efforts is the key when everything starts to come together. Use email marketing and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) to generate buzz around your virtual motor show.
Engaging influencers, as well as sponsors, will greatly help you in promoting your event. Even car brands can use their social media channels to spread the word. Obviously, they will be following a schedule to participate in your virtual car show.
Also, setting up an enticing landing page is also very important. If you get tons of reach with the help of social media, paid, and other promotions and don’t have a good landing page that encourages people to register, then your efforts aren’t worth it. Sharing your exhibitors/sponsors, benefits of attending, and clear calls to action are very important in the promo plan.
Another important promotion method is email. vFairs offer an email builder right from within the backend. People can send pre-event reminders to those who have registered, including 3-days prior, 1-day prior, and an email announcing ‘we’re live!’. Additionally, they can segment their audiences by those who have logged in and those who haven’t and set a reminder email to those who haven’t logged in to increase attendance rates.
4. Attract Sponsors and Exhibitors
Here are some of the benefits of sponsoring and exhibiting at a virtual car show:
- Brand Visibility – tons of opportunities to increase brand awareness from the event landing page, to social media placement to visibility right within the virtual venue.
- Interactive Exhibit Booths – Exhibit booths offer tons of customization options and interactive features built to help drive sales and leads.
- Networking Opportunities – Exhibitors can search for car enthusiasts who meet their criteria by searching user-profiles and filtering by interest. They can also use the auto-match feature to get recommended profiles and request meetings with attendees. Likewise, attendees can schedule meetings with booth representatives. They can meet right within the platform through text, audio, or video chat.
- Sales and Lead Development – Product order sheets, virtual business cards, and links to their own landing pages will help boost sales for exhibitors.
5. Invite Industry Professionals
Looking for a real crowd pull? It is your speaker session that will leave no stone unturned. You can invite industry professionals. They can easily talk about new features, models, updates, models, the future of the automotive industry, etc.
Plan out details like who you wish to invite. Later on, you can create a session schedule. Next, set those up in the virtual platform, and don’t forget about the reminders as they will facilitate your attendees.
These sessions can be of different types such as:
- Live Session: In this type, the speakers can host a dialogue with their audience.
- Semi-Live Session: In this session, you play a pre-recorded video but speakers are available via the chat function.
- Pre-Recorded Presentations: In this type, the audience is free to watch pre-recorded presentations and webinars on their own time.
6. Create Engaging Motor Show Content
The only missing piece in the puzzle that brings everything together is content. It provides tangible value to your customers along with keeping them intrigued. You can add interactive videos as well as informational documents to increase value for your prospects.
Consider the following ideas when devising your virtual show’s content strategy:
- Event Welcome Video: This will welcome the audience, outline your agenda, guide attendees, and set the stage for the rest of the show. A great start indeed.
- News: It can be any relevant information about newsworthy events in the car industry.
- Types of Auto Vehicles: You can add documents showcasing information about new cars, or even available used cars.
- Car Reviews: Also adding short videos on car reviews and various editions is a good idea.
- Videos: Consider adding some interactive videos on car features.
Either they are documents, or videos, whatever you opt to add value for your customers. Each case provides information that will help in serving the end goals of attending your virtual car show.
Takeaways
The virtual motor show is now one of the perfect platforms that bring together all car enthusiasts and industry professionals under one ‘virtual’ roof. As a result, not just they build strong networking together but also help stay up to date about trends and news.
You can design your auto show platform to ensure the attendees get what they came looking for. This will maximize the value they get out of your auto show. You are just a few steps away from hosting a thrilling motor show that your audience can’t wait to attend. It’s time to engage attendees, market your stunning vehicle lineup, and close more deals, much faster.
