5 Benefits of Virtual Events for Publishers
- by GlobalMeet Blog Team
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What is a Webcast?
As in-person interactions have historically dominated the publishing industry, the last few years have sparked an opportunity for engaging in virtual events. From book signings to meet and greets to launch parties, publishing has many exciting opportunities for book lovers to interact with their favorite authors.
In-person publishing events come with limitations around travel logistics, budget, and time; authors can only be in one place at a time, and nationwide book tours are not an option for many publishing houses. Publishing events are relegated to big cities, forcing smaller communities to miss out on events that bring their favorite stories to life. Plus, in-person events are expensive.
Virtual events have the opportunity to be more cost-effective and accessible for book fans, publishing partners, and anyone else involved in the publication of literary works.
1. Reach a Wider Audience
With a few clicks, authors can broadcast in front of readers all over the globe. No matter the time zone or language, book fans can quickly tune in to a book launch or Q+A session. Authors have the opportunity to expand their fan base in cities and regions they might never have been able to visit. Attendees don’t need to invest in travel, and publishing houses can grow their reach without costly investments.
2. Generate Buzz and Excitement Around New Launches
Similar to the hype of an in-person event where an author announces a new novel or series, virtual events can recreate this excitement. Teasing the event beforehand on social media can drum up excitement, and paid ads can boost the event to an even larger audience. When publishers save tons of money by hosting a virtual event, they can spend that extra money on advertising and webcast promotion.
3. Reduce Costs
The publishing industry often works with tight margins, so every dollar spent on promotion and launch counts. With virtual events being 75% less expensive than in-person ones, publishers can do more with less and spend that valuable money elsewhere. Virtual events save money on more than just the venue; add in service costs, food and beverage, entertainment, gift bags, printed materials, signage, and even extras like valet parking or check-in staff.
4. Experiment with Dynamic Experiences
With high price tags and a lot at stake, it’s hard to experiment with in-person events. If an idea or activity flops, it’s not only disappointing but a major time and money loss. With a lower barrier to entry, virtual events allow for more testing and experimentation in new formats. Want to try a more back-and-forth style Q+A? Bring in adjacent authors from similar series as surprise guest speakers? Want to run polls on the newest book cover? GlobalMeet Webcast gives you all the tools and features you need to seamlessly experiment with new ideas.
5. Easily Measure Success
It’s difficult to gauge the success of an in-person event. Behind tracking in-person book sales or attendee sentiment on a survey as they’re walking out the door, it’s difficult to grasp the full picture of success. With virtual events, it’s incredibly easy to measure the number of attendees and engagement analytics and then seamlessly follow up with more information after the event is over. Robust analytics and tracking help you see how engaging individual sessions or activities were and how many people registered versus attended. Plus, with GlobalMeet Webcast, you can connect attendee data to a sales CRM and see how many people previously purchased something or how much sales increased afterward.
Use GlobalMeet Webcast for Engaging Publishing Events
Virtual events are ripe for opportunity with publishers. From expanding fan bases to saving money to measuring success, publishers can use virtual events throughout the entire publishing lifecycle. GlobalMeet Webcast offers publishing houses an easy way to kickstart virtual events and scale them in response to demand. With crystal-clear audio and video, live event translations, audience engagement tools, and an expansive suite of integrations, GlobalMeet Webcast is the platform of choice for innovative publishers. Contact us today to learn more.