Often times we’ve discussed the growing importance of Virtual Events and the undeniable fact that they’re quickly replacing offline meetings as a more economical and environmentally friendly option. But how do you choose the right Virtual Venue for your big event?

Just as you would investigate conference rooms, hotels or restaurants before booking an offline meeting, it’s important to investigate different types of Virtual Venues so that you can choose the one that’s most appropriate for the type of event you’re hosting.

One of our VAClassroom graduates, Carlana Charles, recently published a blog post entitled “Virtual Events – Why They are Hit” and featured a video that explains the different options that are available:

Let’s look more closely at the four options discussed here and see which types of events are best suited to them:

•    Webinars –Since these are typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with little audience interaction, they work best for online teaching sessions or workshops. We’ve used Yugma or GoToWebinar in the past, which also offer the option of connecting participants via a phone line, VoIP or an online chat box.

•    Internet Live TV – This venue works great for presenting dynamic talk shows, presentations or interviews, the types of shows you would normally broadcast on television. In this case, Ustream or Livestream is used, and the presenter has a webcam on themselves and a camera on other presenters.

•   Internet Live Radio – This is a good option for events that require or invite audience participation, as people can call in live and interact with the presenter via a tool like Blog Talk Radio. Another advantage is that they are syndicated and can be listened to and subscribed to long after the event has taken place.

•    Teleseminars – Since these involve mainly audio, they work best for conference calls or group coaching sessions. Usually there is a certain period of time devoted to a presentation, followed by a question and answer session. Often online handouts will be given out for participants to refer to during the presentation. In this case, tools like GoToMeeting or Skype can be used to facilitate the event.

So there you have it – four popular Virtual Event venues to choose from! There are many factors to consider, but as the tools become more streamlined, the choices are becoming easier to make, and the emergence of Virtual Event Specialists has provided business owners with a valuable resource to draw on when planning their big events.

What Virtual Venues have worked for you or your clients in the past? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

Have you heard of PitchEngine yet? I came across this cool site recently and though you might find it interesting!

The traditional Press Release has now evolved into the Social Media Release (“SMR”), which you can now share for free. The evolution of all things Web 2.0 has provided a new platform for Press Releases to integrate your social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and easily embed video and audio, along with the usual text.  No technical skills are needed, and you can create as many company brand accounts that you want for free.

PitchEngine is the new one-stop answer for larger PR firms, small businesses or anyone on a budget with their public relations campaign wanting to cast a wide net with their message.  As a social platform, it provides the means of virally spreading your SMR to the social media sites and networks, journalists, bloggers, and your SMR is also picked up by Google News.

A quick overview:

• Your easy-to-share SMR package can be edited even after it's been made live;

• Your release is hosted free for 30 days and then expires, with the option to purchase a subscription for a more permanent social media newsroom;

• Provides an ideal solution for journalists and media, allowing search filters for stories they’re looking for;

• After your SMR is saved, PitchEngine provides sharing capabilities to your Facebook profile and your Twitter followers with an option to personalize your message to suit your relevant audience;

• Not only aimed for the media, PitchEngine has made press release more social and suitable for both consumers and your friends and followers;

• They provide a video tutorial, blog, lots of instructions, and an easy to use application for any business wanting to integrate their Press Release with the dynamic world of Social Media!

PitchEngine is yet another powerful tool ready to be leveraged to get your message out virally. Another Web 2.0 Marketing tool to add to your arsenal!