Don’t Cancel Your Events: Create Virtual Events With QR Codes Instead

Considering canceling your in-person event due to coronavirus? Why not go online instead! Virtual events are a great way to keep your event on schedule, continue generating the essential revenue your company needs, and not let down your attendees. Plus, users love the flexibility of online events, and are cheaper and easier to plan! So, here’s how you can take your event online with QR Codes!

Why are so many brands moving their events online during coronavirus?

In order to adhere to the rules of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, many events across the globe have unfortunately been canceled or rescheduled for a later date. However, there is a third option that many companies have recognized: Going virtual. With everyone at home and focusing on how they can continue business processes, using online platforms is the best possible way to do so. So, in order to lessen the financial losses that a company would incur for canceling an event, they are switching to virtual events instead. If Microsoft can shift their biggest event of the year to online, then your business can, too. 

What are the advantages of virtual events?

More and more businesses are using virtual events as part of a large push towards digitalization—a topic that extends far beyond the coronavirus crisis. With target audiences no longer limited to one time and place and a readily available combination of supporting tools, there are basically no limits to what companies can do with them.

More flexible for attendees and hosts

Digitalization and digital transformation have been relevant for quite some time now. So, this is a huge opportunity that businesses can use to their advantage, not just for attendees, but also for anyone hosting and managing events. People like flexibility, they like the idea of being able to access information without having to be in person — however and whenever they want. Instead of having to travel somewhere and organize all your plans around a physical event, you can simply hop online and get the same or even more value from virtual events. 

Continued revenue stream during a crisis like coronavirus

The coronavirus has truly shown how valuable online access can be. When a crisis like this happens, companies need to be creative with how to continue marketing and selling products online in order to maintain crucial revenue streams. Due to the fact that many of us are stuck at home, this is an advantage for companies that already had a strong online strategy in place, because they will most certainly come out the strongest after the coronavirus pandemic is over. So, rather than cancel your physical event, consider how you can turn it into a virtual event so that you can still gain those valuable connections, improve digital brand awareness, and encourage online purchases.

Lower costs and less logistical management than physical events

Online events simply cost less and require less logistical management than physical events. You don’t need to print anything for the event, you don’t need to find a location for the event, you don’t need to buy catering and any event set up materials, the list goes on and on. So instead of spending more on physical events, you can spend less to set up online events and then increase the marketing or what you offer during the event so the ROI (return on investment) is higher.

Technology makes a difference

Who doesn’t enjoy an event that you don’t need to put on pants for? Furthermore, you can also combine event marketing technology to make marketing the event easier (keyword QR Codes as confirmed by Eventbrite, but we’ll talk more about this later on). When you combine the two aspects together, it’s a clear win-win situation. Here are a few stats that highlight the benefits of online events and incorporating supporting technology:

• 73% of B2B marketers say a webinar is the best way to generate high-quality leads. (GoToWebinar)
• 20% to 40% of webinar attendees turn into qualified leads (Zoom)
• Providing compelling live feed like discussion sessions, webinars, virtual product launches, and tutorials will take center stage in 2020 (vFAIRS)
• 96% of event creators planned to live stream in 2019 (Eventbrite)
• Using event technology increases attendance by 20% and decreases costs by up to 30% (Socialtables)

Works for many types of virtual events

When we think of an online event, you might first consider webinars, because they’re one of the most common formats. But there is so much more you can do, including:

• Concerts
• Conferences
• Summits
• Panel discussions
• Tutorials
• Virtual tours
• Interviews
• Workshops
• Festivals

All of these virtual events can be used to generate valuable leads, enable partnerships, generate revenue, and improve brand awareness in the times of corona and long into the digital future.

How QR Codes help with hosting virtual events

Now that you’ve got the motivation to host a virtual event, you just need the supporting technology to do so. Here is precisely where QR Codes come into play. QR Code technology not only perfectly complements event marketing processes, but they can also be used during a virtual event, and afterward for attendee follow up. Let’s take a look at how this works.

Automated ticketing and registration

There is a QR Code specifically designed for events known as the Event QR Code. After a user scans the QR Code, they are taken to a display page that includes all relevant information about the event, including a customizable CTA (call to action) button that directs users to a ticketing page. This means that through QR Codes, users can automatically purchase their tickets (if necessary) and register for an event. They’ve also got the option to add the event directly to the calendar later on.

Works for print and digital marketing platforms

The major benefit of using QR Codes for online event marketing is that you can use them for marketing on both print and digital platforms in a super convenient manner. QR Codes load content based on a short URL, which also speeds up the scanning and loading times. While the QR Code itself can be scanned from print mediums (like in the below image for a billboard ad), the short URL connects users with the same content on digital mediums. This means that you can easily integrate multi-channel marketing and ensure that you reach users across a wide variety of channels with methods that are convenient for them to use no matter whether desktop, mobile, or print.

Event app promotion

Many events have begun to integrate apps into event strategies to enhance user experience. There are many advantages to doing this: it makes it easier for attendees to navigate the event schedule, it provides further marketing opportunities (think in-app purchases and social media coverage), it delivers a more personal experience, it makes analytics for the event easier for marketers to understand, and it increases ROI.

To make sure that your event runs smoothly, it’s a good idea to make sure attendees have access to this app in advance, or you may even directly market your event in combination with this app. QR Codes come in handy here as well with App Store QR Codes. These QR Codes directly link users to the relevant app stores so they can automatically download the app, which ensures that no user struggles to find the correct app in time for the event.

Combine with virtual reality during the event

Virtuality reality is becoming another popular aspect of events, and online events are no exception. To give a great example of how this works with QR Codes, the Ocean Lovers Festival in Bondi, Australia was originally scheduled to take place during the coronavirus and was meant to display children’s artwork created entirely from ocean trash. Due to potential health risks, the festival was canceled. However, after some consideration, the founder, Anita Kolni, decided the festival could still take place through QR Codes and virtual reality. By creating an interactive exhibit known as Out of Sight Out of Mind, users could scan QR Codes to get 360-degree views and the artwork. It doesn’t get more clever than that!

Get feedback afterward

Especially for business-related events, following up afterward is extremely important. You also want to make sure that the attendees had the best possible experience because that’s what’ll keep them coming back in the future. It’s super easy to collect feedback with QR Codes as well. With a Feedback QR Code, you can create a customizable feedback form that automatically sends email updates whenever someone fills it out.

When there are so many possibilities to move an event online, why cancel it? All you need is QR Codes!