Here we are three quarters of the way through 2020, and many of us have not attended a single in-person tradeshow. Yet we have come a long way since March, when flights and hotels were booked for tradeshows only to be canceled before the event. If you are anything like me, you are still missing that face-to-face interactions with the people at these events that you look forward to attending each year.
But just like working from home or juggling the responsibilities of parenting during a pandemic, we have learned to adapt. Enter the virtual tradeshow. I’ll admit, I was skeptical about what attending a virtual tradeshow would be like. Would it be easy to navigate? Would others also engage and participate to make it worthwhile? And of course, is it worth the money?
So, what is the verdict on virtual tradeshows? I say, if you have been hesitant to try one, just go for it! My experiences this year with two virtual tradeshows I attended were both very positive. Although both shows were very different, they both had a user-friendly and easy to navigate online platform that allowed for interactions with other attendees. Of course, networking online is a little bit different than a face-to-face interaction, it is still much better than nothing at all.
I’ve seen some online marketing blogs suggest that virtual tradeshows will replace in-person events in the future, but I’m not sold on that idea. Yes, there are some advantages to going virtual. Without travel costs, banners and booths, there is definitely a cost savings. But no online substitution can bring the same kind of energy and excitement of a real event. And of course the ease of networking at face-to-face event is still superior to the online version. But no one is certain how long the COVID pandemic will last, so virtual tradeshows may stick around for a while. While it’s definitely not the same as we are used to, virtual tradeshows certainly have value and I think its better to participate than to sit on the sidelines.