One definite thing that we all have learned from 2020 is that the show has to go on. That is when virtual events and virtual event platforms jumped in. With the rising prevalence of online events, the event market underwent several advancements and developments to deliver realistic and bizarre experiences for the attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.
Just like other online events, virtual award shows are also a trendy investment of the event industry that has been gaining extreme popularity.
We have got you an ultimate guide that will help you plan exciting, engaging, and unique virtual award shows.
What are Virtual Award Shows?
A virtual award show or a virtual award ceremony is an online event where the employees, associates, and clients are recognized and appreciated for their efforts and endeavors. It calls for attendees visiting an event virtually from the comfort of their homes or desired location. It is the perfect opportunity to break the norms of a conventional award show and incorporate new features and tools to make your virtual award ceremony or show novel and extraordinary.
How to Host a Virtual Award Show?
Today, many businesses and industries are undergoing a lot of modifications. Therefore, it becomes more important than before to appreciate the accomplishments around us. Hosting a virtual award show is an excellent way to celebrate the wins.
Let us walk through some crucial steps that you should understand before hosting a virtual award show;
Set Clear Goals
It is the most basic but critical step that requires utmost attention while conducting a virtual event. Setting definite goals for your virtual award show will help you understand the intention behind the event and perceive the proposed outcomes that your attendees would expect from the online event.
Choose Your Virtual Venue Partner Wisely
A virtual platform plays a significant role in taking your award show online. Hence, this is why it is important to validate and confirm if your virtual event platform can facilitate the right engaging tools and features to make your event a successful affair.
Your platform should be able to organize interactive quizzes, surveys, live polls, and quizzes to keep the audience hooked and involved throughout.
Another notable point that you should confirm with your virtual event provider is if they are backed by 24/7 customer support. A virtual event platform that includes technical and customer support holds the capability to provide immediate technical assistance to any of the attendees at any point in time.
Live-Streaming Your Virtual Award Show
It is an effective way to increase your social presence and spread awareness about your event. You can use different social media channels like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to live-stream your award show.
Promote your virtual award show
It is vital to follow a strategic approach and make promising efforts to market your virtual event. You can use multiple social media handles or the company’s website to post relevant updates, pictures, and videos to let everyone know that the event is happening.
Another efficient way to promote your event is via SEO-optimized content or promotional emails to potential delegates to avoid missing out on their participation.
Include exciting games and other interesting features
Adding a fun element to your virtual award show never goes in vain. Games like crosswords, word games, shooting games, etc are interesting activities to help keep your audience engaged and involved.
Besides, you can insert features like virtual networking tables, DIY booth builder, live chat specialty to let the participants interact with each other in real-time.
Leverage the right event technology
To take your virtual award show in the right direction, it is essential to leverage accessible technology and digital tools for your event. Make sure that the platform you pick has brushed its skillset to make an interesting virtual atmosphere for the attendees. You can also ask your event provider to add compelling sound effects or clap sounds to make an awardee feel special when they are being appreciated. For example, Dreamcast, one of the leading virtual event solutions employs stunning 3D designs and immersive visuals to deliver authentic experiences.
Make way for sponsors
Bringing noteworthy sponsors for your virtual award show can help increase the ROI of your event. To lure more sponsors, you need to make them feel profited from your event. You can allot a separate space on the social wall or digital screens to display their content, products, and services. For added visibility, you can create a customizable interface with their brand colors and logo that will help them generate more qualified leads.
Perform a dry-run
After you are done with finalizing the features, interface, content, and other relevant sections of your virtual award show, make sure to perform a dry-run with all of these functionalities. It is performed to avoid any unforeseen technical errors or glitches on the main day.
How to Make your Virtual Award Show More Engaging?
Start with an icebreaker activity
Instead of directly jumping to awards or sessions, you can begin with an interactive question. For example “what is that one favorite activity that they want to do after things normalize?” or “what are the upcoming goals that your employees want to accomplish in the next 2 years?” It will help keep the attendees energized and excited right from the beginning.
Organize surveys and live polls
Live polls and surveys are an effective way to promote engagement at your virtual award show. You can conduct these polls related to the award categories or the names of the awardees. It will arouse a sense of suspense and excitement among the attendees, and hence they will dwell for a longer duration on the platform itself.
Virtual networking tables
The ability to interact and connect with other attendees in real-time is an excellent way to recreate the experiences of a physical event. Virtual networking tables like live chat, audio, and video features facilitate both 1:1 and group discussions to let you initiate meaningful interactions.
Customized games
Adding games to your event can reduce the monotony of attending long sessions. With people sitting at a place for long hours, we understand that it can get tiresome. Hence, this is why games like guess the award, spin the wheel, crosswords are efficient means to let the attendees enjoy the event.
AI-based recommendations
How cool it can be to interact and communicate with like-minded people sharing the same interests? Various event platforms employ AI matchmaking tools to help you with a list of attendees who share similar interests. This way, even with a virtual appearance you can seamlessly connect and interact with other participants during a virtual award show.
Keep exciting award categories and add people’s choice award
Award categories that will stimulate excitement among the attendees are a great way to make your virtual award show more interesting. Besides, you can keep the most favorite employee or associate award at the end of the event. Via online listings at your virtual award show, you can urge each participant to select one name from a panel of the most deserving employees. It will help the organization receive the name of the most-liked candidate.
Importance of Promoting Your Virtual Award Show
At any event, the prime motive is to invite and accommodate maximum participation. Rightly marketing your online award show makes way for enhanced global reach, better brand awareness, and increased ROI effects. Create a compelling landing page with the date, time, and registration link of your online event to evade missing out on any new joiner.
Send out invitation emails to your potential delegates to keep them acquainted about your event date and timing. Keep the official website and social media handles updated with the latest information to spread awareness among your followers or fan base. You can ask your sponsors or speakers to post about the virtual award show on their personal social media channels to maximize your reach and expect greater participation.
How to Gauge the Success of Your Virtual Award Show?
Measuring the prosperity of your virtual award show is based upon the attendee ratio (AR) that calculates the percent of individuals who visited the event versus those who enrolled.
You can also conduct simple polls to get the valuable feedback of your attendees. It will help you learn if you were able to adhere to the expectations of your attendees.
Besides, you can ask your virtual venue partner to help you with detailed analytics to track attendee navigation, the hotspots of the event, and many more insights. Through these meaningful data, you will be able to make significant enhancements for your upcoming virtual events.
Final Word
Celebrating the company or industry wins is important, but with the right event software and strategic approach, you can make recognition sessions or award shows even more lucrative. If you can engage your attendees, praise and compliment the winners while displaying the exhibitors’ content and letting individuals be a part of the live-stream session then no factor can stop you from conducting a successful virtual award show.
