Since last year, the event industry has experienced some major changes in the way of organizing events. They shifted their in-person events to a virtual platform as meeting in public was not an option. After the sudden outbreak of covid-19, people started realizing the importance of digital components as traditional events were forcefully terminated or canceled. In this article know about the Virtual Auto Show.

As organizations acknowledged the importance of virtual events, the automobile industry was no less in it. Like every other sector, the automobile sector was also drastically affected by the pandemic and since then even they shifted their virtual Exhibition platform. It helped the manufacturers stay in touch with the other clients while staying up-to-date about the latest trends emerging in the automobile market. 

On top of that, it also encouraged car lovers and enthusiasts to come together in one single frame and invest their time in learning more about automobiles. Hosting a virtual auto show comes with many advantages like- it enables attendees to gather critical insights about the latest cars and bikes, builds excitement which curate better engagement opportunities, great ROI, better relations with the manufacturer and participants and wherever else. Read on to find more about virtual auto shows and key pointers which will help you plan your very first virtual auto show. Time to begin!

Virtual auto shows- Why and How?

Why?

The virtual auto show, as the name suggests, is hosted for automobile brands, manufacturers, and enthusiasts to show off their brand new motor collections and gain valuable insights. The virtual platform allows the attendees and agents to interact in real-time and even provide listings or promotions. The exhibitors can develop a network with interested individuals and build healthy relationships with them with the help of live chat tools, such interaction brings attendees engagement.

Exhibitors can also provide detailed information of specific cars and can analyse the statistics in real-time such as; Registration number, attendees participation, area of interest, and attendees’ traffic. Keeping in mind these advantages of hosting a virtual auto show one may ask, how to host such an event? fear not, we got you covered. In the following segment, we are going to be talking about the same.

How?

Let us understand the mechanics of virtual auto show in a stepwise format-

Develop a definitive plan

Devise a plan with an enticing strategy for your virtual exhibition. Know the key aspects that you will be showcasing in your event. Keep your goals clear and formulate a plan to achieve the enlisted objectives. For curating the best virtual auto show, here’s a quick checklist you may need- know the background of automobiles, know your target audience, choose the right virtual event platform that complements your event, and basic requirements to achieve your promised goals.

Keep your goals realistic and welcome any progression towards it, leverage statistics and work with it to maximize engagement. The key aspect of the event is the audience, identify potential enthusiasts and try to develop a working relationship with them. Once you have a defined plan, set your milestones, and develop a way to keep track of the progress, this will help you in the latter part of the event.

Generate a landing page

Your potential attendees will be signing up for the event on the landing page, essentially your landing page will be the first place of traffic. It is significant to provide your attendees with necessary information related to the event, keep it short and to the point for attendees to understand your agenda and attain the information regarding what the event is all about. You may also identify potential leads from your registrations, so keep an eye out! Needless to say, your landing page must be appealing, use themes that go well with the type of event you are hosting, design custom banners/logos, and create easy-to-fill registration forms. An attractive page with elegant designs will develop a good first impression; you can never go wrong with that!

Engaging content

Content is the most essential factor in any event. Your audience will be witnessing the content you have to present to determine their engagement and eventually the success of your event. The true value of the event is based on its content such as; valuable information, top-notch presentation/objects, and audio/videos. Present your attendees with a decent welcome window that provides them a glance at the upcoming event (the type of event and its corresponding content). Provide them with the latest news that is circulating in the industry in form of audio, video, and/or text. You may also present your attendees with car reviews for their better understanding. Incorporating rich content like these will encourage your attendees to take participate in the event and eventually boost engagement.

Build a network

We understand that traditional shows have their own significance; however, you don’t necessarily have to compromise on interaction or engagement in your virtual auto show. The live chat rooms allow the attendees to interact with the host as well as other attendees, apart from living chat an information desk that provides active support to the attendees will also encourage them to participate in the event and engage with the same. You may also develop relationships/partnerships and fix meetings with businesses, like traditional events, 1 on 1.

Ensure accessibility and availability.

a key thing to keep in mind is that since you will be leveraging a virtual platform you will be reaching a wider audience, all around the globe, thus it is significant that your event is broadcasted even to remote places. Incorporate different languages and features that will help foreign attendees understand the event better. You may include graphic representation for the deaf community and rich audio delivery for the blind community. Focus on making your event diverse as you will welcome attendees from many countries and communities.

Over to you

The event industry has shifted its trend from traditional events to virtual events in this past year due to the global pandemic. Many auto shows were terminated or canceled due to social distancing guidelines that are when virtual events platforms stepped in. Many organizers have switched over to virtual auto shows without losing the level of interaction and engagement as that of traditional events. Though the shift is because of the pandemic there are several benefits of virtual auto shows. There are ways by which you can increase the probability of your auto show being a success. Understanding the platform and its benefits will help you in the long run and that’s what we have covered today.