It’s been almost a year of six-feet separation, nasal swabs, and take-out date nights. That also means we’ve spent nearly 12 months learning everything we can about hosting engaging virtual events that meet our goals.
Raise your hand if that last sentence either made you roll your eyes or let out a huge sigh of disappointment. You’re not alone. The past year has been nothing short of draining.
But no matter how exhausted we are from running virtual events, we have to learn to embrace them. For many of us, they’re not going away. In fact, a recent survey we conducted showed that only 21% of event professionals plan to host only in-person events once those return. This means the vast majority of us think virtual will play some role in our events long-term.
So do a few jumping jacks, grab a double espresso, or take a 10-minute power nap — whatever you need to muster up the energy to get back in the virtual-events game. We’re diving into seven virtual events you can run right now.
The best part: These can all be easy to build and market, and quick to see results. For current Splash users, we'll even recommend a Branded Theme for each virtual event below that you have access to right now.
When we say field marketing events — even virtual ones — can take many forms, we mean it. You can teach a workshop, lead a roundtable discussion, organize a locally sourced tasting, or even host an escape room. But although each field event can look different, they all have one very important thing in common: They help you (and your sales reps) connect with your buyers.
One of the biggest mistakes we’ve seen with virtual field marketing events is going too big for any and all events. Yes, one of the benefits of virtual events is the ability to reach more people. But with virtual field events, the need to keep them intimate and personalized becomes more amplified.
Find out what your audience likes to do and cater your event to those preferences. What’s more, ditch the presentations and make it just about the experience. People are craving human connection — and if you can give that to them, they’ll remember you for it.
In Splash, use Connect to run your virtual field marketing event with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage.
This theme features a key topics content block, beautiful imagery and an inline registration form, host information, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Connect — or click here to hop straight into the product with Connect pre-selected.
Connect is a Branded Theme. All themes in Splash automatically apply your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
When you have a new product, one of the most effective ways to let the world know is through a launch event. And while this kind of event should (rightfully) place your new product at center stage, remember it’s also about your attendees and their experiences. (After all, you don’t see big industry giants like Apple hosting unengaging events, right?)
It can be difficult to recreate virtually the interactivity and hype of in-person launch events, but it’s not impossible. In fact, there’s one simple secret to ensuring your event is just as exciting from behind a computer screen: having the right hosts.
Recruiting the right hosts to emcee your virtual launch event can make or break it. Leave your event in the hands of one quiet, monotone host, and you’re in for a disaster. But let two engaging, expressive co-hosts take the mics, and you’re giving your attendees an exciting, authentic virtual event experience.
In Splash, use Stream to run your virtual product launch with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage.
This theme points out key takeaways guests will get at your product launch, provide detailed information about hosts, highlight beautiful imagery, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Stream — or click here to hop straight into the product with Connect pre-selected.
Stream is a Branded Theme. All themes in Splash automatically apply your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
When it comes to marketing, managing, and measuring in-person events, event marketers know their stuff. But up until recently, they haven’t been as closely involved in virtual events — especially traditional webinars.
Even though webinars may seem foreign, they’re really not. Think about them as an extension of your event strategy. The topics you’d address at your in-person events are the same topics you’d address on webinars. Pre-pandemic, if you had plans to bring together a panel of experts to discuss an industry trend, you can still do that via a webinar.
To make hosting webinars as easy as possible (while still offering an engaging experience), there’s one thing you must know: Traditional webinar platforms don’t double as event marketing platforms. Most of them don’t capture your visual brand (adding your logo doesn’t count), integrate with all of your other business systems, or help scale your event programs. So make technology a priority.
In Splash, use the Zoom Branded Theme to turn your traditional webinar into a beautiful, immersive experience with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage.
This theme includes ample room for an event description, blocks for imagery and video, speaker and host information, a schedule, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Zoom Branded Theme — or click here to hop straight into the product with this theme pre-selected.
All branded themes in Splash automatically apply your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
First impressions are everything, especially when you’re dealing with VIPs. All events aim to make their attendees feel special, but VIP events take this to another level. And guess what? When you’re trying to shower them with love virtually, you do have to think outside the box. But it doesn’t have to be hard.
Hosting VIP events means going beyond simply knowing what your attendees want. It means understanding what makes them tick, what keeps them up at night, and what drives them every day. It means knowing exactly what it takes for them to step foot (or a finger click) into your event.
Think about how you can recreate a specific in-person experience virtually. For example, if you had planned on inviting your top prospects or partners to a baseball game suite, you might think that’s hard to beat. (And let’s be real: it is.) But you could invite those prospects to a virtual meet-and-greet and Q&A with the team’s general manager. Send a collector’s item as part of the invitation and send personalized follow-up communications after the event.
Struggling to think of other virtual VIP event ideas? Here are some more to get you started:
In Splash, use Promote to run your virtual VIP event with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage.
This theme is highly visual, including alternating images, room to tease your exclusive event, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Promote — or click here to hop straight into the product with this theme pre-selected.
Promote is a Branded Theme. These themes in Splash automatically apply your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
Joining a fitness center, volunteering at a local organization, and even attending the neighborhood block party. No matter what your interests, people crave community. This is no different in our work lives, which is why we seek events like user groups.
User groups are usually structured by location. And while you might still continue with this structure even during virtual-only times, there are other opportunities in front of you. Talk to your user group leaders to find out what’s important to them today, and choose topics based on their challenges and successes.
But don’t stop there. Encourage your leaders to push the envelope and try new things, like:
Virtual settings give leaders and their groups the ability to define unique personalities that may not be applicable in live settings.
In Splash, use The Minimal NYC to run your virtual user group with an event hub that includes magical event pages that update from registration to gated live stream to post-event state automatically.
This theme includes large image blocks, an event calendar to list multiple programs, easy and customizable filtering, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select The Minimal NYC — or click here to hop straight into the product with this theme pre-selected.
The Minimal NYC is a Splash Branded Theme, which automatically applies your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
Companies spend thousands, if not millions, of dollars each year on events to reach their external audiences. But what about their internal audiences? When you find talented employees, you do everything in your power to invest in their happiness and potential.
When all of your employees are joining an event from behind a computer screen, it can be easy for everyone to disengage quickly. Enabling a chat feature, requiring video to be on, and keeping presentations short are easy ways to support internal engagement.
But there are not-so-obvious ways to maintain engagement too:
In Splash, use Pride to run your virtual internal event with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage automatically.
This theme includes an image-first cover block, room for details and an agenda, a countdown, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Pride — or click here to hop straight into the product with this theme pre-selected.
Pride is a Splash Branded Theme, which automatically applies your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
The smartest leaders know there’s nothing more important than having an incredible bench of employees ready to knock their work out of the park. Great recruiting events can differentiate your employer brand and engage your talent pipeline in ways no other channel can.
Even if your recruiting event venue is a virtual meeting room, candidates still want what they’d get from an in-person recruiting event: to learn about the people, what the company stands for, and what it would be like on the inside. That’s why you need to immerse your candidates as deeply as possible into your brand when hosting virtual events.
A few quick tips:
In Splash, use Hero to run your virtual recruiting event with an event page that magically updates from registration hub to gated live stream to post-event stage automatically.
This theme includes minimal design to make way for event details, job descriptions, contact information, and more.
Just click Create from your Event Dashboard, choose Branded, and then select Hero — or click here to hop straight into the product with this theme pre-selected.
Hero is a Splash Branded Theme, which automatically applies your fonts, colors, and logo to your event page, live stream, share card, registration form, on-screen confirmation, and email sequences.
