Physical and virtual events are increasingly intersecting in our lives. They can be experienced through things like augmented reality, virtual reality, and location-based services. This means that physical and virtual events can have a significant impact on our day-to-day lives. In fact, in-person and virtual events have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we have listed all the pros and cons of both physical and virtual events to help you make the best decisions for event planning.
Comparison between physical and virtual events
|
Physical event |
Virtual event |
|
|
Budget |
Venue, staff, costs associated with travel, food, hotels, and entertainment. |
Cost of setting up the virtual platform. Big speakers usually charge less. |
|
Demography |
Local |
International, boundaryless |
|
Content |
Content distribution is easier. Breakout sessions and multiple content options are held at the same time. |
Marketing Content to the segments that get the best response and decide how to provide content. |
|
Engagement |
Face-to-face communication, handshakes, eye contact, and happy hours. |
E-meet attendee online via video call, chatbox. |
|
Data collection |
Need manual work or outsourcing technical support |
Could be automatically collected through platform system; can check the onsite performance |
Different elements of both in-person and virtual events
1. Budget
a. Physical event
Organisers need to spend money on renting the venue and ordering food and other necessities for attendees. Besides, they may also need to hire different people to operate the whole event, such as event staff for onsite check-in, an event company to set up the venue or guest speakers who we need to pay travel expenses for.
b. Virtual event
Since event organisers can e-meet attendees online, venues and food are unnecessary. This minimises manual work and offsets the technical costs. It is also more cost-effective to host events online without time and space limitations. Event organisers can decide to host events whenever they want.
2. Demography
a. Physical event
Due to border restrictions and the different time zones, organisers can only target local people for physical events. Moreover, the event budget will affect the audience size. If organisers want more attendees to join, they need to pay more for a bigger venue. For organisers with a limited budget, the event scale will have to be smaller.
b. Virtual event
Online events are more feasible for international events because an online platform can support a large group of attendees and stay live 24/7 online. Virtual events are accessible by any electronic device, therefore no matter where the attendee comes from, they can also join the event conveniently.
3. Content
a. Physical event
Agenda planning for in-person events is easier. It takes people to a more focused environment with fewer distractions. As long as attendees are informed, entertained and fed, event hosts can keep them engaged for a very long time. Just to remember, no matter whether you are hosting in-person or virtual events, set your agenda as early as possible so your attendees will know what to expect.
b. Virtual event
When building your agenda, you need to consider the time zone difference of your audiences. Make sure to factor in enough breaks for people to eat, check in with work, kids catering etc. Studies show that 90 minutes is about the maximum amount of time someone can participate in a virtual event without a break. Another key factor to consider when building your virtual agenda is whether to live to stream all of your content and sessions. And to decide which content to pre-record, to play it either at a dedicated time with live Q&A in the chat room, or make it available strictly on-demand.
4. In-event Engagement
a. Physical event
Organisers meet attendees face to face. Attendees can talk to each other physically and get a real-time reaction and body language immediately. Organisers can have good ole handshakes and eye contact with attendees.
b. Virtual event
It is difficult to grab people’s attention in virtual events since we have more and more distractions at home now. To let attendees fully engage in virtual events, event organizers can interact with their attendees with multiple tools, such as video calls, chatbox, polling and Q&A section etc.
5. Data collection
a. Physical event
Most physical events will collect check-in data during the event and survey after the event. For a physical event, it is difficult to collect data without technical support. Event organisers may need the staff to collect data manually, and it will take a long time for the staff to enter data into the database.
b. Virtual event
With a virtual events platform system, organisers are able to track and collect attendees’ data and provide extremely useful data insights that help to nurture hot leads. It can help organisers to monitor the onsite check-in performance, booth visits time and duration, and even export the chat record or video recording after the event.
In a word, the event management strategies between the physical events and virtual ones are as different as chalk and cheese. We need to be meticulous when planning different types of events by taking multiple factors into account.
Q&A
Q: Why is a virtual event a good option for hosting an event?
A: A virtual event is a great option for hosting an event because it offers flexibility and cost-effective options. Virtual events allow organizers to create and manage their events from anywhere in the world, which makes them ideal for groups who want to hold their event but don’t have the space or resources to host a physical gathering. Additionally, virtual events don’t require any special infrastructure or preparation – all you need is a computer and internet connection. Finally, virtual events offer an engaging experience for attendees that can’t or won’t attend a physical gathering in person.
Q: Why is a physical event costly to host?
A: A physical event is costly to host for many reasons. Primarily, a physical event requires significant resources to put on (e.g., manpower, money, space), and often has high overhead costs (e.g., security, catering). Additionally, a physical event can be difficult to market and attract attendees due to the logistical challenges involved in hosting it.
Q: Why is event data important?
A: Event data is important because it helps you understand how your users are interacting with your site. By understanding how users are interacting, you can make changes to your site that will improve their experience. In addition, event data can be used to improve your website’s analytics. For example, you can use event data to understand which pages are attracting the most traffic and why.
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