Virtual Event Production

It’s no secret that one of the biggest benefits of hosting a conference online is saving on expenses such as room and board, travel, and venue rental fees. However, that doesn’t mean that digital hosting comes without its costs.The most expensive part of hosting a virtual conference is the planning stage. You may have to pay a digital designer to provide elements such as branding and logos, content themes, transition effects, and more. Post-editing can also be expensive if you want a high level of production quality.For just a single-day conference with limited attendees, you may end up paying anywhere between $4,000 and $20,000 for professional-grade services. For a larger two-day event, you may end up expecting to pay anywhere between $20,000 and $75,000. A multi-day event can cost upwards of $80,000, depending on speakers, exhibits, and equipment costs.

Anyone who’s been to a live conference knows that they can be an all-day affair. From free coffee and donuts for breakfast to late afternoon keynote speakers, it’s not unusual for an in-person conference to last a full eight-hour business day or longer.With a virtual conference, you cut out most of the downtime people need during in-person events to move, eat, and rest between speakers. It can take much less time to get through an entire day's worth of speakers.As such, virtual conferences generally last a shorter duration than their live counterparts. Most online events only last a few hours, at most. Attendees have a limited attention span, especially without breaks for snacks and stretching. It’s best to cut content back to 15 or 20 minutes, at most. If necessary, you can include breaks between speakers for attendees to rest and reset.Despite the fact they take less time, VR conferences can still be multi-day affairs. However, organizers should keep in mind that their audiences have limited stamina. Each day should be broken up into easily digestible segments.Instead of opting for eight-hour sessions, you may want to plan for no more than around two to four hours per day of content. If necessary, you can spread information out over several days or even weeks. However, it's vital to ensure that you distribute content evenly so that each session offers equal value to your audience.

A virtual conference can be an affordable and convenient way to communicate with attendees, but many professionals worry about how effective an online event is at engaging an audience. It can be harder to connect with a person from behind a screen, even when meeting face-to-face.That being said, the benefits often outweigh the drawbacks when hosting a VR conference. While engagement can be a challenge, attendance is easier than ever for people from all walks of life. There’s less of a paywall for attendees who can’t afford airfare or lodging for an in-person event, opening your conference up to a larger and more diverse audience.A virtual conference also makes it easier for attendees to ask questions and give feedback. Instead of forming a line and asking on a first-come, first-serve basis, attendees can engage in a real-time discussion via chat while the conference is taking place. It’s easy for the speaker or moderator to open up conversations without disrupting the event.