The value of digital events for expanding and maintaining your network

B2B events are used by professionals as a means of communication. Announcing company news, launching a product, developing brand awareness, acquiring or maintaining a network... each situation requires a different type of event.
Long held in person, these key moments for companies have changed radically in recent years, thanks to/because of the health situation. Digital events have become established in companies and are now an essential form of communication.
Over the past few months, communication and event professionals have learned how to organize and deliver a "digital event" in the best possible way. New professional skills are required, but above all, participants' expectations have changed: innovation in these formats is essential! Indeed, it is no longer possible to simply hold a 30-minute/1-hour webinar on Zoom or Meet with a "push" and one-sided speech.
It is now necessary to create a useful event that is meaningful not only to you but also to your audience by:
• Promoting your brand/business by creating a communication platform that reflects your image.
• Integrating features that make sense to encourage participants to become active players in the event
Obtaining data that will be essential for the future.
How can you ensure that you create an event with a positive ROI for your company, and why should you implement such a format? Let's take a look back at the lessons learned over the past two years:

With AppCraft's CRM platform, bring all your tools together in one place and create a seamless event experience for your attendees, guests, and exhibitors. You can seamlessly manage registrations, attendees, and content management.

One of the reasons a company organizes a B2B event is to expand its network. Whether it’s attracting new customers, forming partnerships with suppliers, or creating synergies with other companies, expanding your network starts with events.
So why choose a digital format when the tradition has always been to hold these events in person?
More Cost-Effective: Duringa 100% online gathering, it’s easy to bring together diverse groups—clients, suppliers, stakeholders, employees, investors, and more. With today’s solutions for personalizing the experience for each of your target audiences, you can combine multiple sub-events into a single event. But different target audiences don’t mean the same content for everyone. AppCraft has addressed this by offering the ability to tailor content that’s available for download on your platform or mobile app. This means that each type of participant (prospects, customers, resellers, etc.) has access to different resources and materials. In a single event, you can communicate your 2021 strategy to your suppliers and your ambitions to your customers. This way, your costs are shared. Instead of organizing two or three separate events based on your participants, you can now hold a single event on a single date at a single location! You’ll also save on costs related to booking a physical venue, catering, and accommodations for your participants.
Increased visibility
A fully digital event offers the advantage of greater visibility across time and space. You can use an event management platform specifically designed for the occasion to communicate before, during, and after your event.
– Pre-event teasers in the form of videos or email campaigns → what are the benefits for your audience in joining
– Live streaming and networking during your event → encourage your target audience to engage using various interactive features
– Replays, document sharing, and content marketing after the event → don’t shut down your platform immediately after your event ends. Give your audience time to return and access the content and information they want
All of this will help extend the life of your event over a longer period while providing added value to your participants. It’s a great way to stand out and build a reputation for innovation!
Easier to set up
Some people may still be hesitant to embrace digital events. While misconceptions about this format are diminishing, they still persist: difficulty in setting up, cumbersome equipment, a more complicated return on investment, participant burnout…
A digital event can’t be improvised! It must be carefully planned: event objectives, channels, guests, messaging… Nothing should be left to chance—not even the tool you use. That’s why there are digital solutions that are quick and intuitive to use, designed specifically for non-tech experts. These tools help you address all your challenges so you can orchestrate your events in line with your goals.
This digital format also allows organizers to avoid logistical or customs barriers that can take up a significant amount of time and resources. There are no longer any constraints related to location (space) or geography (access).
Complete list of the benefits of the digital format for all your events:

It comes as no surprise to anyone: data is the lifeblood of business. This new black gold for your business will enable you to collect valuable information to help you grow.
So, when we talk about digital events, we're talking about collecting qualified data. Gone are the days of scanning QR codes from visitors to your physical stands, transferring this unstructured data to your CRM (when this is done) and having your sales teams structure it all. With a "digital booth," it is now possible to collect data easily: how many people visited your page, how many requested an appointment, which content/offers worked best, which keywords they used to find you, etc.
All this information can be found directly in your back office, with just one click. Calculating the ROI of your event will be a breeze! Provided you choose a digital tool that allows you to do so. It is therefore advisable to benchmark the various solutions available on the market.
• Is it important for you to know if your event was well attended? Look for a solution that tracks the number of sessions your audience attended and the total time spent on your platform.
• Would you like to get an idea of the topics that most interested your audience? Some solutions allow you to find out which workshops had the largest audience (in terms of number of visits and time spent).
• Interested in knowing what held your participants back during your event? By looking at the least opened content or the least viewed pages, you will have a good overview of your target audience's interests
• Who are your most engaged participants? Look in your solution's back office and then contact them again to set up one-on-one meetings.

The ability to easily use the data collected
Once collected, your event data should not be forgotten. Unfortunately, this is too often the case today.
Take advantage of your event to:
• Update your CRM: if you only allow access to your event upon registration (which we recommend), you will have the opportunity to choose the fields you need to fill in! Depending on your business, this could be their first and last name, email address, industry, job title, topics they would like information on, etc. In any case, remember to only ask for information that will be valuable to you and that you will use later.
• Follow up with customers or prospects who attended your webinar: If they came, it means they are interested in one or more of your services. So doing nothing with these hot leads would be a mistake for the development of your business. Plan an email/LinkedIn/calling campaign in the coming days (channels to be decided based on your targets). Depending on your tools, you can even create an automated campaign to follow up with your various participants.
• Push content based on individual downloads: Depending on the solution you use for your events, you will be able to find out exactly what attracts each of your participants. This is a great way to follow up with them in a relevant and personalized way! This normally generates a better ROI and less targeting effort on your part. It's a win-win situation.
Focus on creating a community
Lead/customer nurturing can help you create a real community. This is no small feat! If we look at various companies that are well known on the market today, such as Tinder and DropBox, we can see that their development is based on their community. Creating a sense of belonging and communicating your values and history allows consumers of your product/service to take ownership of and identify with your brand. This system can take time to set up, but it will have a huge impact on your business if it takes root. Your customers become a community that promotes your business for free. People who are reached by this communication will be all the more curious to discover you because the communication will come from an external person who has already tried your services. A guarantee of quality!
It is not uncommon to find official or unofficial brand "ambassadors" among the most engaged members of this community.
Events come in a variety of complementary formats, all of which are more or less interesting depending on your needs and the feedback you hope to receive. That's why it's important to choose the right format for your next event.
We have seen the various advantages of digital events, but that does not mean that physical events are outdated! The latter also has many advantages and disadvantages, such as:
Pros:
• The opportunity to make contacts "in person" and focus on the human aspect by developing your network
• The power of a live presentation, which some people find more engaging than a remote presentation
• The opportunities for informal exchanges between speakers and audiences
Cons:
• A crisis that is still somewhat unstable and could shift a physical format to a digital one
• Limiting your event to a specific geographical area, as not all guests will be able or willing to travel
• Higher costs (rental, travel, catering, etc.)
Combined, these two event formats can be highly effective in engaging an audience. The distinction between a virtual conference where a physical person speaks can have a positive impact on your audience ratings. Could this be the beginning of the advent of hybrid events? To be continued...

Our tool will enable you to organize each stage of your event in a simple and personalized way, thanks to our team who are available to set up your event. Theevent planning will be simplified.