Best Practices to Host a Successful Virtual Product Launch
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the events industry drastically. Hosting industry events like trade shows, conventions, conferences, exhibitions, etc., had become a troublesome task until the concept of virtual events came to its rescue. The event industry experts successfully combated all the challenges by coming up with the innovation of event technology. However, this shift has brought both challenges and advantages to organizations. New Product Launch events have especially suffered in terms of hosting events as with the lack of attendance and resources; it became impossible to execute successful product launches. The virtual product launch platform has given the much-needed way out to the organizations. And, these organizations are not only hosting the events now but also ensuring their progress.
Let’s get a better insight into the virtual product launch event before exploring some of the best practices to host it.
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What is a Virtual Product Launch?
A virtual product launch event is the introduction of a new product to the target audience and market. These events aim to create a buzz about the product and its features to impress the audience. Loyal customers, famous bloggers, social media personalities, industry experts, investors, etc., are invited to these product launch events with the objective to maximize the event’s reach as well as the product. Everything remains the same in a virtual product launch except that it is held over a virtual venue and not a physical one.
An excellent virtual product launch platform is well-resourced with advanced tools that assure you the best quality content, networking opportunities, communication, user experience, and many more elements necessary to execute a successful virtual product launch.
Best Practices to Host an Effective Virtual Product Launch
#1 Have a Pre-planned Agenda
To ensure the smooth flow of your product launch, having a pre-planned agenda is very significant. A solid plan will provide a defined structure to your virtual event. You can also share this agenda with your attendees before the product launch event so they’ll be aware of all the session schedules.
#2 Leverage the Right Technology
Choose the virtual event platform that is best suited for your product launch events based on the objectives and requirements. With a beneficial virtual venue like Dreamcast, you can create a completely customized and branded online product launch for all your participants.
#3 Make it Interactive and Entertaining
The more interactive your event is, the more your attendees feel engaged. And, engagement is one of the key elements that will determine the success of your product launch. Try to incorporate more and more entertaining components like live performances and games into your launch event. Tools like live polling, contests, breakout rooms, sponsored games, etc., will efficiently elevate the attendee engagement at your virtual product launch.
Another excellent way to increase engagement at your virtual product launch is to organize elements like branded social walls, virtual photo booths, and signature walls. A social wall can curate all the posts shared by your participants over their social media and present them over a common wall. Similarly, a branded photo booth can entice your attendees to capture moments and directly share them to their social media handles with the help of embedded links. These tools are popular in the virtual event industry for maximizing the engagement and reach of any virtual event.
#4 Schedule the Event Strategically
Be clever while scheduling your virtual product launch event. Make sure that there are no big events lined up for the same target audience so that the participation is not divided. It is also recommended to host the product launch event before releasing it in the market to create anticipation. But, ensure that the gap is not more than two weeks, else there is a possibility that your attendees might lose their interest.
While strategizing the schedule, understand the importance of keeping the sessions short. The audience attending your event from remote locations usually has a shorter attention span. Therefore, instead of planning long and tedious sessions, make sure to provide your virtual event attendees with enough breaks.
#5 Collaborate with Famous Faces
While hosting your product launch event, you can collaborate with famous personalities that have a good number of followers to increase the reach and awareness of your event.
#6 Create the Appropriate Content
Creating suitable content for your virtual event is another essential element to host a successful virtual event. Know that if the content you present over a screen is not engaging enough, your attendees are just a click away from leaving your virtual product launch. Also, don’t forget to ensure that the quality of all the content you put up on the virtual venue is suited for your remote attendees.
#7 Send Swag Bags
Sending swag bags to your virtual attendees always works like a charm in maintaining engagement at your virtual event. You can send them mini goodies, coupons, or discount cards along with attractive branded presents. This way, you can not only make your audience feel enticed to participate in the event but also fulfil your marketing goals.
#8 Gamify Your Product Launch
Adding advanced online games like virtual escape rooms & virtual scavenger hunts can further enhance the interactivity at your virtual launch event. Efficient virtual event platforms have developed innovative gamification tools that help you in executing your event with maximum participation. You can also get the virtual venue checkpoints calibrated and give points to your attendees for every impression they make while navigating through the platform.
#9 Ensure the Networking Opportunities
Providing great networking opportunities to your attendees at the virtual product launch will add to the value of your event. There are various innovative networking tools provided by online event platforms that have changed the way we perceive networking activities. Tools like AI matchmaking, B2B meeting schedulers, live audio & video chat, advanced search filters, virtual networking lounges, etc., can heighten the prospects of your virtual event’s success.
#10 Don’t Forget to Follow Up!
Finishing a virtual product launch event doesn’t mean the promotion of your product is over. Following up with all your participants post the event is an essential strategy to maintain their interest in your product. Prefer mailing all your attendees a delightful email thanking them. This way, your audience will know that their presence at your virtual product launch was valuable and is highly appreciated
Collaborate with Dreamcast to host a successful virtual product launch today!
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