The Pros and Cons of Hosting Virtual Events in 2021
Pros
- Cost-Efficient
One of the biggest advantages of virtual events over in-person events is that they can be attended from the comfort of one’s home and thus, save money by avoiding traveling expenditure. Not only that, but it also saves a lot of time spent on traveling.
2. Larger Audience
The other big advantage of virtual events is the breadth of their reach. Physical events have their limitations in terms of the number of people that can attend the event at a time. There is no such problem when it comes to virtual events. Millions of people can attend the same event at the same time from anywhere in the world.
3. Closed captioning
Closed captioning basically refers to subtitling which includes displaying text on a screen to provide interpretive information. Most of the time during physical events, one often misses what the presenter is speaking. However, with closed captioning, there is no such chance as you will be getting subtitles on your screen. This is especially helpful for those with hearing impairments.
4. Great for people with mobility challenges
As we already discussed, the best thing about virtual events is that they can be attended from the comfort of one’s home. Hence, it does not pose a hurdle for people with physical challenges.
5. No scheduling issues
Another great advantage of virtual events is that there are no scheduling issues with other hosts. One can pre-record the session and play during the event. This also allows one to book people with busy schedules as panelists.
Cons
- Limited interaction
The biggest limitation of virtual events is that there is no face-to-face interaction. The interaction is limited to only moderated chats.
2. Harder to hold attendees’ attention
When people are attending a virtual event from their homes, their minds will be occupied with a whole lot of different things. That is why the attention span of attendees during virtual events is low. The host has a lesser modicum of control over the participants.
3. No after-hours networking opportunities
Most of the physical events have after hour social events for networking. However, no such luxury is available for virtual events.
4. Connectivity issues
This is one of the biggest problems with virtual events. Those who have attended their fair share of virtual events will be familiar with this problem. A number of times, the wi-fi stops working or there are issues with the audio or video, etc. Such problems do not arise during physical events.
Nexthuddle provides multiple options for active interaction amongst participants. You can choose speed networking, one-on-one networking, breakout rooms, etc amongst many options to connect with other attendees.
These features are also helpful to hold the attention of attendees for longer. Hence, all the major cons of virtual events are sidelined when you use an all-in-one platform like Nexthuddle.