No matter, if you are hosting an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event, building a community has always been an important reason. As the growth of virtual events is increasing rapidly, it has made it much easier for the organizers to make a sense of community. Virtual event platforms have made it possible and convenient for them to host events in an enhanced way. These platforms have gained immense popularity in recent times because they can provide a seamless, interactive, and engaging experience. And the first thing to move ahead and build a community is to deploy a virtual meeting platform that is fit for your purpose. 

In this blog, we will talk about how a virtual event platform can help in gauging the interest of the audience and build a community. 

What Is the Purpose of Building a Community Through a Virtual Event Platform?

A virtual event platform is a modern software technology that allows you to host virtual events over the internet and in real-time. It works in the same way as any other event, registration, ticketing, branding, sponsorship, etc. along with interactive features. And there are more benefits of using these platforms that help in building a community.

  • The engagement can be continuous with a dedicated space beyond the event's time and space confines.
  • Virtual meeting platforms eliminate geographical restrictions, which helps in the wider reach of the audience and forming a community.
  • Leverage a dedicated virtual conference platform that allows you to repurpose and share the content by reinforcing learning and education.
  • Virtual event platforms help in building your own brand by staying on top of the mind of the audience with an event that include your mission and purpose.
  • These platforms are cost-effective and flexible, with these events a virtual community can keep the continuity during any pandemic or disruption.

What Does It Take To Build a Community With Virtual Meeting Platforms?

When it comes to building a community, hosting a virtual event can play a significant role. Because it doesn't have any geographical restrictions, these virtual event platforms can make it easier for the audience to come and join the event from any location. And when it comes to building a virtual community, there are certain things to consider.

The Goal and Purpose Should Be Clear

There are multiple options for the audience to choose from including social media groups, professional associations, networking groups, and more. So you need to establish a clear vision for your community and decide the purpose of your overall event. With the help of virtual meeting platforms, you can set expectations and frequency around too. Define what's in for them, and how often there will be participation opportunities. Tell them about the content availability and find ways to engage them.

Identify the Potential Members of the Community

Before using the virtual platform, you need to identify the potential audience to build the community. For example, if you are using a virtual town hall meeting platform, you need to find an audience with the same interest as the event. For this to happen, you can follow the tips that are mentioned below;

  • Your existing database can be of great help as you will already have all the past attendee information. Or your prospects, members, sponsors, or exhibitors.
  • Your social media followers can also be members of your community. As you can promote your event to find out and there are chances that they may overlap with the database.

Build a Community Home

Your community will need a central digital place, and this is where a virtual meeting platform can be an advantage. They will be able to learn, network, engage, and connect with each other and you. They might already have the learning curve and experience to use exciting technology that can increase their community participation. As these platforms will also be providing interactive features and elements, finding a community home can be an effective way to boost your community.

Develop Your Engagement Plan

Community building is a marathon, just because you have a framework set, it doesn't mean that the members will get attracted. It takes a long-term plan of content, engagement, and encouragement to establish and grow your group. Using a virtual event platform continuously for asking questions, sharing content, feedback, networking opportunities, and more. As most of the engaging features are already available in the platform, they can be used to integrate engagement in different ways;

  • Hosting Q&A and polling sessions
  • Host contests and quizzes
  • Conduct fun games or trivia contests
  • Networking groups organized around the industry topics, etc.

Conclusion

Virtual event platforms can be used to host any kind of event, from conferences to town hall meetings, etc. There is a significant benefit of using these platforms, such as they work without any geographical restrictions. Which helps in building a community from all around the world for your event. But in order to leverage these platforms, you need to consider what it takes to host and use virtual meeting platforms in order to build a community.