Why look at virtual event partners? Because numbers don’t lie. The global virtual events market was estimated to be worth $77.98 billion in 2019, and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.2% from 2020 to 2027. This reflects an increased appreciation for the benefits of virtual events, especially since the pandemic effectively hit pause on physical events across the world. Safe to say, leveraging the opportunities of virtual events involve a variety of skills and if you are looking to improve how you’re organizing events online, here are five key skills you should look at in your virtual event partners. 

• Video Production Mindset- Video is the king in your virtual event. Hence, keeping in mind the complexity of virtual events, video production expertise is the need of the hour. To provide a unique experience & the right messaging to the attendees, the quality of video and sound needs to be sharp and crisp. It helps to have an experienced team streamline the behind-the-scenes operations to ensure you have a glitch-free event. Therefore, having a good video production team will help you to solely focus on your message, the rest of everything will be handled by them.
• Knowledge of Infrastructure- Virtual events are built to be user-friendly. Therefore, the virtual event partner should have a good knowledge of hardware and software infrastructure. The infrastructure expertise will help the organizer conduct the virtual event with ease. This is since the experts will have covered all the major grounds of the event. Including investigating the event compatibility, access to all the devices, quick loading time of the page, click to action response time and a smooth registration process. They will also ensure quick response to any troubleshooting, continue security of the platform along with many more additional advantages.
• Know When to Gamify- In virtual events, event fatigue is a threat that distracts the attendees from the actual event. To keep them engaged, gamification elements can be deployed through the course of the medium. The advantages of doing so are- it helps the audience pay more attention which leads to maximized learning & communication, promotes networking, increases audience satisfaction, elevates attendees’ emotional experience and more. There are different ways of gamifying based on the event objectives. For example- for real estate expo one can opt for Guess the prize game. For education it could be a general knowledge quiz, for employee engagement one could conduct a treasure hunt and for pure engagement one could conduct a car game, cricket game & an escape room. Engaging skills play a very important role in virtual events.
• Design Skills- An eye for design helps to have the ability to visualize how the event space can be optimized aesthetically, or even customized at various points of the event. Done well, this could work in favor of all parties involved: from speakers and attendees, even to sponsors. Design is an important aspect to enhance customer experience with the event interface. With forward thinking virtual events technology, the event partners could opt to deploy virtual venues, with 360 degree views, customized design of historic monuments, design of the office space (lobby, auditorium etc.) and customized structure based on the event objectives.
• Past Experience- As with every other type of occasion, it is impossible to have a 100% incident-proof event. Whether it is a speaker or attendee slip-up, a network issue or the backup doesn’t have backup, there does exist the possibility of your event being disrupted by unforeseen circumstances. Here is where this skill comes into play. The ability to think fast and immediately distract audiences from the problem is key, giving the rest of the team time to quickly address the issue. These skills will not just help save your event from further problems as they happen, but they can also leave your audience reassured of the reliability of your brand and the people representing it. 

To summarize, virtual events can be best optimized when virtual event partners choose to don many hats. COACT’s Virtual Event Platform can help you make the most of your virtual events. We make tech accessible, allowing businesses to skip the line and connect with their intended audiences. Using our next-gen solutions, we ensure that all the technical aspects — software, design, and video — of virtual events are handled by us. That leaves you to focus all your efforts on delivering your message to the viewers.