There is no doubt that the event industry is transforming daily. One of the significant advancements during the pandemic was the ability to connect, bond, and laugh together while experiencing joy with each other via 100% virtual means. In its entire history, virtual events have never felt so normal.
There is crazily increasing competition in the world of virtual events. Therefore, it’s highly suggested that your next event step up its game to stand above the rest and keep the guests intrigued. In short, your virtual event will need to be more experiential, engaging, and entertaining.
We have brainstormed some virtual event ideas for you! But, of course, you can tweak these for any event you wish.
Virtual Event Ideas
If you are tired of the same old encounters at virtual events and still need help to seek fresh interactive ideas, this list of creative virtual event ideas will work. These ideas by vFairs are based on tried and tested event practices. Continue scrolling to see tangible results regardless of your budget or event size.
1. Virtual Concert
Bringing your event online doesn’t at all mean that you need to forget about entertainment. There is a long list of ideas for virtual events that can translate very well to your event. One of the most popular and entertaining options is musical performances.
Some of us love to let loose. So you can have a virtual DJ session. Invite a DJ to play. Get your attendees to dim the lights in their rooms and attach their devices to good speakers. This can be a follow-up to the virtual cocktail hour.
vFairs has integrated a long list of musical guests into several of our virtual events. This adds a fun element while keeping the audience engaged. People are missing concerts and many other in-person experiences. Take this as an advantage and incorporate performance to bring entertainment directly to the attendees. Like other parts of the industry, event entertainment companies are ready to assist you with getting different types of enjoyment to your virtual event.
2. Team Movie Night
One of the top virtual event ideas includes hosting a movie night. You can have people vote on a selection of movies and get everyone together for a movie night. Watching the film simultaneously, even if they’re not physically together, is one of the other creative virtual event ideas.
All you need to do is have everyone join a conference call from which you will stream the movie. Or you can also have everyone start at the same time by joining a group chat where they also discuss as they watch.
3. Virtual Hackathon
A hackathon is a gathering where teams brainstorm solutions to challenging issues in a limited amount of time. Hackathons typically range between 24 and 72 hours and take place over a single weekend, but shorter events called mini-hackathons are also possible. These activities resemble office competitions and team-building exercises and are frequent at virtual conferences and retreats.
Prizes are a significant motivator, even if some participants join a hackathon for the pure pleasure of creativity. In addition, providing enticing prizes for your competitors helps establish the legitimacy of your event.
4. Online Tours
Another top virtual event idea involves giving your audience a sense of traveling far away from their home/office. Your sponsors or speakers might work in some exciting places, but it depends on the sector you are currently working in. For example, you can offer 360-degree virtual visits to farms, factories, galleries, and other unique spots.
5. Fundraiser
One of the most authentic virtual event ideas is to show that all donations matter, regardless of size. In this virtual event, you can encourage participants to join you to give something up and donate that particular amount to your cause instead. For example, if a daily can of soda is $.50, your audience can give that money to your cause and later use a hashtag to challenge others.
It’s virtual and a challenge; hence it works. You can use the intuitive vFairs mobile app to encourage people to donate. Also, share all mentions of people doing so on your behalf.
6. Virtual Social Event
Another virtual social event idea is to bring attendees into a virtual space and use the auto-matchmaking tool to match people up. Alternatively, you could use Zoom breakout sessions to do this. Again, this virtual event idea eases people and gains some sense of familiarity.
Another tested idea is to assign a person to the live discussion of each of your sessions from the organizing team. This person will be responsible for making sure that the chat keeps going. In addition, the person will answer any platform or tech questions and remind the audience how to use the chat function.
It is a small detail that is free to implement, but it makes a big difference in the attendee experience.
7. Virtual Food Show
Any company, whether in the food industry or not, must adjust to the technological age in which we now live if they are to experience unstoppable growth. Due to their value, virtual food exhibitions are likely to see an increase in not just frequency but also engagement and attendance. They also have an increased reach and limitless options.
Food service suppliers, distributors, and buyers have a feature-rich platform to reach a wider audience thanks to virtual food exhibitions. As a result, they can increase branding and increase revenue. In a time when local food is essential, it also aids in connecting suppliers with customers.
Online platforms, such as vFairs, have assisted the food industry in realizing the many additional benefits of setting up a virtual event in place of a physical food exhibition. Suppliers, distributors, and restaurants have therefore been able to discover several hidden opportunities.
Virtual Event Features
8. Attract Star Talent
We all know content is king but do you know who we call queen? There are many virtual event ideas, especially for content-heavy events. This is because the delivery needs to be an 11 out of 10 in every possible manner.
To achieve this goal, you can bring star hosts, moderators, or even speakers capable of owning the virtual setting and must know how to encourage engagement throughout the virtual event. It is highly recommended to conduct your research to optimize who delivers your content and energizes the audience while creating an exciting atmosphere.
Moreover, you can host a virtual open mic night and ask attendees to bring any talent they wish to share with them! They can showcase their poems, songs, comedy acts, or anything under the sun! This would create a lighter mood for networking and help everyone get to know one another better.
9. Virtual Trivia Night
One of the quintessential game night options is Trivia. Also, it’s relatively easy when it comes to doing things online. Healthy competition is never dull; people love showing off or sharing their random knowledge. You can come up with a theme to set the event stage. Further, you can divide participants into teams to help build excitement around it ahead of time. This way, they will know who they’ll be playing with and who the opponent is.
If you’re new to the world of virtual events, vFairs organize online trivia games being experienced at hosting the game along with energizing your attendees.
10. Live Games and Competitions
One of the best working virtual event ideas includes featuring sponsors and exhibitors with the help of different kinds of competitions or live games. It is a creative way to provide engaging demos to your audience while getting their full involvement. Not only this, but such activities will have the audience checking back to the event’s social media pages just to see who won.
11. Health and Wellbeing Activities
Being in a virtual environment becomes exhausting. So why not have a guided virtual meditation provided within your event? In addition, due to this pandemic, most people have been struggling with physical and mental health. Keeping this in mind, incorporating activities relevant to health and well-being into your event is one of the top virtual event ideas to switch things up. It will also deliver incredible value to attendees.
For example, according to the format of your event, you can organize a short workout or even a meditation break in between sessions. Another option has a separate stream for these kinds of activities. Your attendees can tune into those streams throughout the event for a change of pace and enjoyment. This can help destress your attendees. This way, they can also feel fresh for another round of activities. Finally, have an announcement that pops up during the event for attendees to head over to relax!
12. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
In your 3D-designed environment, why not sprinkle some items in different event spaces? For example, gamify your event with a virtual scavenger hunt. When attendees log in on the day of the event, provide an announcement that shares the details for the game. As attendees ‘scavenge’ for and nab items, they gain points. The leaderboard displays all points. This is an excellent way for attendees to explore other parts of your event and to keep them engaged.
If you are launching a new product, create more engagement with it through a virtual scavenger hunt. The audience could either seek out parts of the new product. Or they could look for a certain number of items. As they find them, they gain points. The winner can take home the new product itself or a discount. This will create engagement and more excitement about your new product as well.
Key Takeaway
Virtual events are a great way to boost attendance and engagement. They offer the hosts to be as creative as they want. Moreover, these creative virtual events also work great for engaging attendees, so it’s a win for everyone. vFairs is a powerful virtual event platform that can help you bring your virtual event ideas to reality. So channel your creative abilities and make your virtual event one to remember!
