Your choice of a virtual event platform can make or break your event. After all, the virtual event platform acts as your venue, content delivery model, exhibition booths, and primary communication channel. Much of the attendee experience hinges on choosing the right platform for the event. 

Marketing managers and experienced event planners will understand the need to invest in a feature-rich virtual event platform to make their events a success. But how do you sell other decision-makers on it?

Many event organizers and marketers dedicate the largest portion of their budget per virtual event to the virtual event hosting platform. If you’re not familiar with what the key differentiators are and how a virtual event platform can support your business goals, that may seem a little outrageous. However, it’s truly a worthy investment – if you pick the right platform.

Here’s why you need to invest in a great virtual event platform and how to gain buy-in from other internal decision-makers:

A woman smiling while using Social27 Virtual Event Platform

Want to see how Social27 can make your hybrid and virtual event ideas come to life? Click here to see how our platform can make your virtual event content shine.  

Demonstrate Added Value for Sponsors

65% of event organizers accept sponsorships for their events. Sponsors can be a great source of funding for events – so finance and leadership staff will understand how important it is to keep event sponsors happy

A virtual event platform should offer features targeted towards event sponsors, such as virtual exhibition booths. On Social27 Virtual Event Platform, sponsors can build their virtual event booth from the ground up. They can create content Playlists, designate booth representatives to engage with attendees, upload downloadable resources, and brand their virtual booths. There is also a Scan My Badge feature that lets attendees check-in at the booth to request follow-up information on the sponsor’s products or services

Showcase Data Reporting 

If you’re working to get buy-in from senior leadership or a more analytical department such as finance, showcasing the virtual platform’s data reporting features will be your best course of action.

Virtual events provide a wealth of useful data points. A virtual event platform should allow you to access data in real-time and in a final post-event report. You can capture data on attendance, exhibition booth visits, interactions between attendees, messages sent, the average viewing duration on sessions and videos, and more! All of this data can be used to fine-tune your content delivery, lead generation, attendee engagement, and branding strategies throughout the event and on future events

This data is also useful in evaluating the event against your KPIs and measuring your ROI for the event. Board members, shareholders, sponsors, and more love to see detailed reporting after major events, so this data can be very convincing and meaningful. 

Put Lead Generation Opportunities on Display 

Sales staff within your company as well as in sponsoring companies will want to know about lead generation features available within the virtual event platform. If one of the primary objectives of your event is to generate leads and sales, it’s best to choose a virtual event platform with easy-to-use lead generation features

Social27 Virtual Event Platform makes it easy to collect leads by offering lead generation forms at Exhibitor Booth Microsites. We also offer a Recommendation & Prediction Engine that directs attendees to the most relevant sponsors and sessions based on their interests, a variety of ways to connect with leads. You can also access real-time data insights that can help companies track who is interacting with their content so that they can reach out promptly to interested potential leads. 

Examine Available Security Features 

You want to keep your internal information as well as your customers’ data safe. This will be a large concern for IT, legal, and leadership personnel who want to ensure that proper data and event security is in place. Data leaks have led to a lot of bad press for companies – so we know you want to go the extra mile in keeping customer data and communications secure.  

Virtual events are also a great way to gather staff and shareholders for internal announcements, especially if you don’t want internal company announcements or information to be shared or accessed by unauthorized persons.

At Social27, we take your security as seriously as you do. Our platform offers a wide range of security features including: 

  • Access Control: Our platform utilizes two-factor and identity-based authentication. There is also a Least Privilege model to ensure that users only have access to the data they need to access and nothing more. 
  • Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit and at rest to ensure all communication with Social27 is secure and at rest data is protected using Customer keys or Amazon Web Services (AWS) keys stored in a secure location with identity-based access control and audit policies. 
  • Secure Systems: Our platform is run on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure whose robust controls secure the availability and security of their systems. Additionally, we at Social27 have our own security protocols that align with global industry standards such as GDPR. 
  • The Social27 Security Team: We have a security team of certified professionals with nearly half a century of collective experience to provide support and system monitoring. 
  • InfoSec Program: Our Information Security Program includes administrative, technical, and operational controls focused on the security and integrity of customer data and minimizing security risks through regular testing. 
  • Application Security: Our Quality Assurance team reviews and tests our code on a per-pod basis while our security team has all the tools and resources needed to remediate vulnerabilities. 

Find a Platform That Will Boost Attendee Engagement

Attendee engagement is a top concern for virtual event planners and marketers. Many people fear that attendees will not remain focused when participating virtually. A good virtual event platform will be able to help you hold their attention.

Look for a virtual event platform with features such as: 

  • Gamification: Gamification can be a great way to create excitement while also directing attendees to interact with sponsors, content, social media, and more. You can set up a leaderboard for attendees to track their progress as they complete actions to earn points towards prizes. It’s a fun way to help everyone get involved in the event and explore the platform. 
  • A Recommendation Tool: A recommendation tool is a great way to help attendees find the content that they want. Social27’s Recommendation & Prediction Engine provides attendees with personalized recommendations on sponsors, sessions, content, and other attendees to connect with based on their own unique interests. 
  • Networking Features: Networking is a great way to boost engagement, lead generation, and more. Look for a platform that offers different networking options to meet the preferences and communication styles of your attendees. Chats, video calls, user-generated content, and other networking options can turn your event into a more interactive, social experience. 

Pick the Right Platform for Your Event 

Your virtual event platform is a key component of your virtual event strategy, so invest some time into finding the one that will best meet your needs and objectives.  

Set up a demo today to learn more about what Social27 Virtual Event Platform has to offer.