With many of our clients, one major discussion point (and one that reigns true for many of our colleagues in the industry, for that matter) is: To use a platform, or not to use a platform — that is the question.
While familiarity, comfortability and low cost, are always among the pros of ‘just’ using Zoom, there are several reasons that the one-stop-shop solutions of virtual event platforms are gaining popularity.
While we will always oblige and accommodate the needs and requests of our clients, our recommendation often stands true that an event platform allows many advantages.
Here are our Top 10 pros to choosing a platform, over Zoom, alone.
- Self-Guided Navigation; allows attendees to explore activities of their choice, at their leisure, throughout the event.
- Individual or Group Participation; platform features often offer a variety of one-on-one or group participation options, where outside of private, text-based chat messages, Zoom is predominantly offered in a group setting.
- Virtual Social or Networking feed; virtual event platforms typically offer an event-specific internal communication feed where all attendees can correspond and interact with one another (often akin to a private, event-specific social media channel).
- Gamification; the option to incentivize attendee participation and highlight ‘top performers’ given specified tasks or level of engagement.
- Announcements and Reminders; scheduled or personalized event announcements and reminders that can be sent out and highlighted to catch the attention of attendees, through the platform.
- Centralized Group Chat and Discussions; among all different event activities or virtual ‘rooms’.
- Photo or document sharing; between attendees, speakers/panelists, and event organizers/hosts.
- Tech Support; available during the event should any participants require assistance.
- Virtual Venue; graphics, imagery and customization act as virtual decor to create a first impression that sets the theme, tone, or presence while housing all of the activity links and instructions.
- Event App Use; several platforms include options for building a custom event app (a variety of standardized or white-labelled, fully branded options exist) that help facilitate many of the benefits listed above while also allowing for the use of multiple devices to enhance the experience and view multiple activities at one time.
It’s important to note that finding the right platform is not a one size fits all approach (see our blog, Don’t Think ‘One Size Fits All’ Applies to Virtual Event Platforms). This list was also created for the particular needs of a recent event, in weighing the benefits of whether it was feasible to proceed with the Socio Event platform, based on our client needs and objectives.
If you’re looking to explore which platform is best suited to the needs of your event, check out our Virtual Event Resource!
Your final Top 10 list to wrap up this week, tomorrow. Stay tuned!
– Your Tycoons XO