What Is A Virtual Event Marketplace & How To Use Them In Your Events

The virtual event landscape is constantly evolving, offering exciting opportunities to engage audiences and foster connections. But how can you go beyond standard presentations and truly spotlight the expertise and offerings of your event's speakers and sponsors? Enter the virtual event marketplace, a game-changer that adds an extra dimension to your virtual summit.

What is a virtual event marketplace?

Imagine a vibrant online storefront seamlessly integrated into your virtual summit.

This is the essence of a virtual event marketplace - a dedicated web page showcasing the products and services of your event's valued speakers and sponsors. By creating this space, you empower attendees to conveniently explore and discover resources relevant to their interests, significantly enriching their overall event experience.

Virtual Event Marketplace Benefits:

• Enhanced Attendee Value: Attendees gain access to a one-stop shop for discovering valuable products and services aligned with their needs and interests, aside from the freebies you're probably including in your swag bag and bonus bundle. This personalized approach fosters a deeper connection with the event content and speakers.
• Elevated Speaker & Sponsor Visibility: The marketplace provides speakers and sponsors with prominent real estate to showcase their brand and offerings beyond the confines of their presentations. This increased exposure broadens their reach, allowing them to connect with a wider audience.
• Streamlined Submissions: A standardized marketplace submission form simplifies the process of collecting and displaying relevant resources. This ensures consistency and quality within your marketplace while minimizing administrative burdens for both you and your partners. (We have a marketplace form, conveniently located in our Ultimate Event Organizer!)
• Potential for Increased Revenue: The marketplace acts as a facilitator for potential sales and lead generation for speakers and sponsors beyond the freebies. Many attendees will want to learn more about what your speakers and sponsors can help them with, and this is the perfect place to list those options.

Setting Up Your Virtual Event Marketplace

Creating your own virtual event marketplace requires a few key steps:

• Page Layout Selection: Choose a marketplace layout that fits with the current theme of your summit website. This ensures a smooth user experience for attendees as they navigate between presentations and the marketplace. 
• Crafting the Submission Form: Use our template in the Ultimate Event Organizer or create your own! Design a user-friendly form specifically tailored for speakers and sponsors to easily submit information about their products or services. This form should capture essential details such as:
  • Speaker/Sponsor Name & Contact Information
  • Compelling Product/Service Description & Benefits
  • Clear Call to Action (CTA): Website link, discount code, or other relevant action prompt
  • High-Quality Image/Logo
• Assembling Your Marketplace: Once submissions are received, review and curate the information to ensure consistency and maintain a high-quality standard within your marketplace. Choose to separate the offers by category or by contributor. 
• Strategic Promotion: Actively promote the marketplace to attendees through pre-event emails, social media campaigns, and announcements during the event itself. This ensures that everyone is aware of this valuable resource and encouraged to explore it.

Utilizing A Virtual Event Marketplace

Implementing a virtual event marketplace isn't just about offering an additional resource for attendees. It's about creating a win-win scenario for all parties involved.

By empowering your speakers and sponsors while enriching the attendee experience, you pave the way for a more successful and impactful virtual summit. Embrace this innovative approach and watch your event shine brighter than ever before!