Metaverse Events: Ultimate Guide [2023]

These new tools allow you to transition your events into a metaverse reality easily. You can meet with employees, host a board meeting, give a lecture, or create a webinar for planning your marketing strategy online without leaving home. Let’s go through some of the most critical components with the ultimate guide to the metaverse in 2032 that will guarantee your next party is a hit.

What is a metaverse virtual event?

A metaverse virtual event is an interactive meeting that takes place within a special online platform. Unlike in-person events, events in metaverse are not limited to one location. Participants can join from anywhere worldwide as long as they have internet access.

Modern metaverse events provide a number of features that help to create a highly immersive atmosphere. There are a variety of online spaces available to “host” an online gathering, attendants are present there in the form of their avatars, and there are different options for activities during a party.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, the metaverse and hybrid gatherings experiences have been received extremely positively. A 2021 study found that 91% of respondents were highly satisfied with online events. And according to Grand View Research, the global virtual events market will grow to more than $500 billion by 2028.

Types of virtual events in the metaverse

Virtual events in metaverse are a distinct type of gathering that delivers the novelty of technology to what’s currently available. Almost any traditional occasion can be turned into a virtual celebration.

Virtual conferences

Like traditional conferences, virtual conferences are built around a popular agenda, speakers with reports – and, let’s not forget the important thing – coffee breaks. Participants view performances in real-time and build their own programs based on the content of interest and interacting with other participants.

Virtual conferences consist of multi-session content and may include community engagement tools.

Webcasts, webinars, and training meetings

A webcast is a meeting that a host broadcasts using streaming technology. Webcasting is often used to spread important messages in cases where it is not possible to hold an gathering with the direct presence of participants. Broadcasts can be embedded in other sites or broadcast live through social networks, for example, Facebook Live. The standard length of webinars is from 30 to 80 minutes.

Webinars usually use video conferencing tools that allow you to see the speaker and ask questions. This is not necessarily a “live broadcast,” as you can also put a pre-recorded video on the air. By the way, in any type of virtual meeting, it is usually better to record media. Once concluded, the recording can be offered to users upon request, maintaining interactions even after the meeting.

Podcasts and online radio

If you can’t create visual content or want to make your on-air gathering available in more formats, consider podcasts or internet radio.

Podcasts have maintained their popularity due to format flexibility. Podcasts are easily listened to by people on the way to work, even in places with a weak network signal. Unlike a podcast, real-time internet radio cannot be stopped and played at will, but it expands the audience of the broadcast compared to video content.

Ceremonies

The lockdown has taken away many opportunities to celebrate important events, such as graduations, awards, new product launches, etc.

Metaverse parties allow you to return to the celebration mood right from home. Using avatars, participants can interact with each other just like in real life, having a small tête-à-tête or giving a high five. In addition, the ceremony master can give the floor for any attendees, like during a traditional offline ceremony, and provide video, audio, and other content in just a couple of clicks.

Metaverse performances

Virtual concerts, exhibitions, and excursions generally are similar to offline leisure. Moreover, since online parties do not have a physical location, attendees can visit them from anywhere.

However, no matter how many people come, there will still not be a suffocating crowd. Such parties only need limited community engagement tools. For example, metaverse enables participants to clap and laugh online.

Trade Show

Using 3D modeling, trade show participants can take their business to the online level. Online platform tools will help visitors to consider the offer in detail and become prospects. Moreover, an online trade show can speed up sales, as exhibitors can implement an online store in their virtual booth.

Hybrid events

Not all virtual alternatives can replace the environment and experiences created by physical events. But if it is impossible to gather a large audience in one place, then part of the celebration can be virtualized. For example, if an international company wants to communicate with teams in other countries, co-broadcasting offices in the form of an interactive webinar between them are suitable.

What is the difference between metaverse events vs hybrid events?

• Both a hybrid and metaverse party provides attendees with a virtual experience. But a hybrid one offers an in-person component in addition to online. In such a scenario, some people can attend a gathering personally while others can join virtually.

• Hybrid events are a bit more challenging to organize than traditional or completely virtual ones.

• With hybrid events, organizers have to coordinate two different agendas to provide a seamless experience. While in-person guests attend a networking session, virtual attendees will need to engage in other activities. However, with the right virtual party management platform, organizing a hybrid party isn’t such a headache.

Why host a metaverse event?

• There are many ways metaverse events deliver value. First, they allow the individuals or companies hosting them to reach a wider audience. For example, if you were to host your party in New York City, not everyone in your audience would be able to attend due to the cost of travel. With a metaverse travel party, it’s no problem.

• Metaverse events are also much cheaper. Organizers don’t have to book gigantic seats or hire a group of temporary staff. These savings can be passed on to each metaverse member in the form of lower ticket prices.

• Events in the metaverse are extremely measurable. Companies can easily find out which sessions were the most popular, how many people attended, where those attendees live, how they paid for tickets, and more. A detailed specification of the invited guests will also be available: you will know their geography, tastes, and much more, especially if you choose a hosting platform that is compatible with your corporate CRM. Further, this information is structured, analyzed, and used in building an organization’s strategy.

The benefits of metaverse party

A virtual event’s priority and obvious value are reaching a wider audience. Here are some other impactful benefits of metaverse events in detail.

• Accessibility

Expand the scope of your brand without having to travel. Virtual events in the metaverse can not only connect you with a global audience in real-time but through the recording of events, your party content can be accessed on-demand.

This gives people more opportunities to consume your content at times that best suit their schedules. What’s more, all attendees and speakers need is a computer, laptop, or mobile device and a reliable internet connection.

• Engagement

Personal events are unmatched in their ability to engage and facilitate real human connections through creative interaction. For this reason, you may be concerned that virtual events fail to attract an audience.

While there is no avoiding the fact that there are limitations compared to face-to-face meetings, there are plenty of opportunities to mix rich content with live polls, Q&As, and dashboards to keep engagement levels high throughout lengthy sessions.

Social media can also be used as a great engagement tool — use party hashtags, encourage attendees to post images of their highlights from the celebration, and get creative with other ways to build a sense of community through social channels.

• Cost-effective solution

As mentioned, an online party is cheaper, eliminating the need for temporary employees and additional intermediaries. Besides that, the virtual party is beneficial for the organizers, it will also help save money for the attendees.

After all, they do not need to buy flight tickets, rent an apartment and make other expenses. Therefore, attending online meetings is becoming an increasingly popular movement.

• Experience with multiple or single contents

As with physical events, virtual events can run various content streams simultaneously. This allows different speakers to host sessions simultaneously and attendees to choose which sessions they want to watch. If this is not required for your meeting, then working with multiple materials is best.

• Network interaction

While there is no avoiding the fact that in-person events are the most appropriate way to network and make meaningful business connections, networking can still be incorporated into a virtual event’s agenda.

Allow attendees to schedule one-on-one meetings or get together in group meetings where they can connect with each other, your team, sponsors, or speakers over the internet. A range of tools can be used to help participants get the most out of their interactions.

Insight: metrics and insights into the data generated from virtual online platforms can help measure ROI and success against predefined KPIs. The information obtained can be used to determine whether your gathering was successful and influence future decision-making.

What are the cons of metaverse events?

Of course, it would be naive to believe that a virtual party is a complete benefit without flaws. Most problems appear because of online platforms’ inconsistent and incomplete feature sets. Here are some of the cons of metaverse events:

1. Difficulties in engaging

1.1 The problem

The engagement has become one of the most sensitive issues for online events. The vast majority of participants in online events often or always solve extraneous tasks while watching and listening to the content. It is also much easier to disconnect from a broadcast than to get up and leave the first row of the hall.

The online format highlights all the shortcomings of speeches — the monotony of speech, inaccuracies, inconsistency in speakers’ reports, and lack of quality content.

1.2 How to solve it

The conclusion naturally arises that, in order to keep the attention of participants, it is necessary to increase the value of the content, give out information in a more concentrated way. Famous moderator partner Grigory Airiev also advises online meeting speakers to pay more attention to preparation and work on their speech delivery.

There is a misconception that, unlike regular events, the online format basically involves only passive viewing of content. But this can only be the case if it is intended only to view certain content, without participating in the discussion. Various game mechanics can also help organizers with involvement.

Quizzes and ratings, challenges, and giveaways at the end of the party provide viewers with the opportunity to participate directly in the celebration, express their reactions, and become more deeply involved in it. It is better to combine all these tools during a broadcast so that the interest of participants does not fall.

Traditional surveys, feedback forms, chat discussions, specifically organized focus groups, and video exchanges within communities or personalized video calls can help. Firstly, all this allows you to fine-tune events to the interests of your target audience quickly. Secondly, this type of work shifts the focus from speakers and presenters to participants, allowing the latter to be significant, see the reality of their presence, and influence what is happening.

Margarita Ushakova, a psychologist

2. Awkward networking

2.1 The problem

Thus far, there are still few tools for convenient networking at online events. During group calls, all participants are present, but only one speaks. In the general chat, each remark looks like it was voiced into an “open microphone”. You can’t leave private chats “for coffee” and disappear without an unwanted conversation.

2.2 How to solve it

That is why we analyzed these complexities and implemented them in Party.Space Metaverse: you can speak using spatial audio in 3D space, or you can sit down at the table and talk with each other via video camera the way you would communicate in a live presence.

2.3 Quick tip

Some organizers will send attendees a contact list of other attendees after the gathering, but this can lead to backlash and spam complaints. In addition, a database can fall into the wrong hands. If you plan to send participants’ data to each other, advise them to create a separate email for receiving “virtual business cards” — partner letters and invitations to communicate with other guests of the online party. The participant will be able to use this box in the future and at other events.

3. Online events are tedious

3.1 The problem

What do most online reports look like? A disembodied voice speaking over changing slides, or talking heads of presenters (we bet you don’t often participate in events in your life, standing directly in front of the speaker and looking into their eyes for 30 minutes in a row). Video conferencing tires people far more than live interactions. This not only happens because of sitting in front of a monitor for lengthy periods but also from a lack of non-verbal signals humans crave.

Lack of information makes people concentrate harder to get the most out of the audio and video channels, therefore making them tired faster.

Daria Kuss, a cyberpsychologist at Nottingham Trent University (NTU)

A lot of distractions, an unusual format, lack of allocated space, and possible interference with communication are exhausting, make it difficult to concentrate, and reduce the overall satisfaction derived from an event.

Plus, online events require some time to get used to the platform. Even the most intuitive ones, like Party.Space, require a few minutes for a person to understand the navigation and communication opportunities, which may sound problematic for not tech-savvy people.

3.2 How to solve it

Experts advise organizers to reduce the duration of a session, provide attendees with a live handout, and allow them to turn off the camera from time to time (this also applies to speakers).

3.3 Quick tip

Metaverse parties require good promotional campaigns even in the case of the internal company event, to show people that it is not another boring Zoom meeting but an engagement party in a 3D environment where you can communicate and have fun indeed.

How to plan an event in the metaverse

Whether you have experience running events and it’s time to expand your audience, or you’re just starting a marketing campaign and want to attract new customers, launching a virtual event is a great way to build an audience.

• Choose a comprehensive platform

Various services will help you arrange an online event for you. For example, if you are aiming to create a large virtual conference, then you should first check the platform limit on the number of seats. Depending on the tools available, you can develop a strategy and an unconventional format that will attract visitors.

• Create the proper context

It’s relatively easy to gather different speakers, spread out a webinar broadcast over a couple of days, and call it a virtual conference. The problem with this approach is these types of sessions are loosely coupled. The user will select one or two performances with little or no interaction.

To bring real value and coverage, an event needs curation. Your task is akin to putting together a museum and gallery exhibition: each work exhibited in the selected exhibition begins to play with different colors, increasing the effect of the entire collection and creating a holistic impression.

• Provide simple marketing opportunities for partners

The best virtual conference promoters are the people who are interested in it. These can be presenters, sponsors, participants, and visitors. Make sure everyone is able to advertise their participation easily.

Prepare banners, email templates, speaker photo frames, and hashtags for social networks. Thanks to this, speakers and vendors wishing to talk about their participation in the initiative will be able to use and spread their ready-made identities.

• Emphasize interaction

Virtual events are often criticized for poor networking. Indeed, personal interaction has qualities that are difficult to “digitize”. But the level and quality of an interaction that can be created online are quite high if it is built out separately.

By registering on a virtual platform, users can immerse themselves in the 3D space that is customized according to their company’s and the event’s needs, with different rooms and activities in each of them. With such possibilities, an online party appears to be very similar to an offline one.

• Provide powerful customer support

Providing clear, competent support is one of the main measurements of an event’s level of professionalism.

The widespread use of technology does not mean that all visitors to webinars and any other metaverse party have mastered these technologies. Technology itself does not work without errors. You need to make sure that every user understands the logistics of the gathering, such as what sessions there are, when and where they take place, or when attendees can expect a recording of a meeting.

Embedding a button leading to chat support is a good idea. Make sure your support team responds as quickly as possible so that every user will not be distracted from the party for a long time. Test the support button and chats and prepare some templates for responses.

• Take full advantage of the platform you use

User expectations are such that despite the virtual environment, the party must conform to familiar analog formats. By creating it from basic elements, such as presentations, discussions, and coffee breaks, you make the party recognizable to visitors.

Party.Space provides features that will help you make sure that your metaverse occasion won’t look or feel like your daily morning meetings in Zoom. By revolutionizing the world of virtual events, Party.Space brings the feelings of the good old days back while staying remote. It’s a convenient virtual space where you can interact with any guest, sip cocktails during your virtual mixology party, and listen to DJ sets.

With Party.Space, you get all the tools you need for your next virtual or hybrid celebration in one place — like ticketing and registration, limitless virtual rooms, an expo hall, chat, networking, and more.

Check companies that use metaverse and leverage it for their events.

Metaverse virtual events trends in 2023

With metaverse virtual events as an expected component of modern corporate life, we have prepared some trends for 2023 to keep your eye on.

1. More interactivity

In the last two years, metaverse technology has come a long way. Since the pandemic’s start, many people have attended many different online events, from daily meetings to corporate parties. That’s why attendee expectations have grown.

People will expect more and more interactive virtual party elements, and organizers have to ensure they’re able to deliver immersive experiences that come close to equaling traditional in-person experiences. Mixology classes, quests, 3D products, etc., are indispensable components of a modern metaverse party.

2. All-in-one solution

The modern world of business requires scalable solutions that can address several challenges at once. The same is true for online platforms. A metaverse virtual events solution needs to provide all the tools for organizing an event. This way, organizations can overcome the inefficiencies and challenges of relying on many third-party solutions.

3. Gathering data

As we said earlier, virtual platform technology makes collecting detailed data about your virtual gathering much easier. Data collection processes will continue to improve, focusing more on providing features that enable organizers to gain critical information. Organizers can use this information to improve future events and use what they learn about their customers to add value and make each virtual gathering better than the previous one.

4. Deep personalization

Personalization is a trend in almost every software designed around interacting with others. Businesses turn to it because it helps to attract users’ attention and encourages them to stay for a long time. Virtual events need personalization as well.

One example of it is session tracks which allow you to tailor content topics to the interests of each visitor. This ensures a higher level of engagement for every participant and helps attendees get the most out of the party.

How to host a metaverse event

Metaverse events will only increase in popularity as they’re the most cost-effective, efficient, and scalable way for businesses to connect with customers, partners, and employees. Still, organizing and hosting a metaverse gathering can be overwhelming.

• Set the bar

Before hosting an online meeting, find out why you need it at least. Virtual events are suitable for a range of purposes, but not all at once. Depending on your goals, you can choose the KPI for the party.

For example, if your main goal is to increase brand awareness, then it is in your interest to attract as many people as possible to the gathering. At the same time, if you are launching a new product and looking for buyers, then in addition to the number of visitors, you need to think about conversions and lead generation.

• Choose the platform

A lot depends on the platform. Even if your party content is engaging and attractive, a platform that is difficult to understand can negatively impact attendance.

Be sure to ask the service team to conduct a demo tour of the platform before deciding. Please note that in addition to technologically savvy people, guests who are poorly versed in online solutions may come to your meeting too, so the online solution must be user-friendly.

• Create a strategy

Like an offline gathering, a virtual one should be thought out for the smallest details. Timings, speakers, and activities are just the tip of the iceberg. To properly create a strategy, review what goals you have set and what needs to be done to achieve them.

• Prepare your visitors

Your visitors should be prepared in advance. So give them all the necessary information to help them and, at the same time, stir up interest in the party. Perhaps this is their first virtual gathering, and it would not be superfluous to prepare instructions and rules on how to use the platform.

• Analyze the results

Once the fun is over, you can move on to more practical matters. By analyzing your audience, their tastes, age, and interests, you will understand what the next celebration should be like. Using convenient tools, you can find out about the most popular sessions, get insights from them and use this information to work towards the overall company’s goal.

Make the right choice with an all-in-one metaverse event platform that provides you with all the necessary tools and features to create a truly immersive and exciting virtual experience. Try Party.Space to experience all the benefits of a modern metaverse party.