Memorable virtual events need a great gift. Get 8 awesome gift ideas for online events to increase your attendance and make for an unforgettable experience.
Online events, also referred to as virtual events, deliver an opulent networking experience without compromising on the richness of an in-person event. While 2020 may have forced the hands of event organizers to host an occasion virtually, in 2023 – these types of events are still popular. Some may even say, event organizers prefer it. And why wouldn’t they? Online events offer a myriad of benefits you wouldn’t necessarily experience if the event was in-person. If you’re one of these people who find the advantages of online events greatly outweigh physical ones and you’re in search of ways to boost your event’s attendance rates while adding an extra flair to the experience; we’ve got just what you need.. 8 amazing gift ideas for online events!
What Are Online Events?
Online events, although they may be easy to define, can go far beyond a simple Google Meet or Zoom meeting. These events fall into the same category of a webinar or a webcast; yet there are other types of events that can be classified as such; each offering a varied range of capabilities and formats you can leverage. Some of these are virtual demo days, virtual summits, virtual trade shows, virtual conferences .. need I go on?
The acclaim for online events is exploding and with good reason. Businesses are identifying these events as a way to target new markets and drive growth. A few advantages of virtual events include:
- Better scalability and reach to attendees
- Fewer logistics and expenses
- More flexibility and choice
- Improved accessibility (for attendees)
And to top it off, you get to be an environmental hero! Did you know that according to a University of Michigan report; an Airminers online event produced 66 times less CO2 gas emissions than a physical meeting held in San Francisco? If that’s not reason enough to favor online events, nothing is.
Why Use Gifts for Online Events?
Not many things remain the same in today’s world as everywhere you look there is constant change. One that does stay the same though: everyone loves a good gift. If you’re hosting a virtual event, you shouldn’t neglect the opportunity to leverage gift ideas for online events to showcase the value of your occasion. Here’s why:
- Leveraging great gift ideas for online events will help boost your attendance. It’s not rocket science, it’s just logic: if a person feels they’re being incentivised to attend an event, they’re going to do just that. Plus, an event gift will also humanize the experience of your participants. A computer screen can sometimes make the event feel artificial, but a gift will provide the human connection that often gets lost in transit when hosting these occasions.
- A branded event gift can get you tremendous exposure. You can ask your attendees to “share” the event on social media – earning you some great publicity because you get your brand “out there”. And with people bragging about, acknowledging and recalling your business; future events will no longer be a concern.
- By using gifts that form a part of the event experience, for example a meal kit to use while attending an online cooking class, you can add that extra special touch.
Amazing Gift Ideas to Incentivize Your Event Attendees
Whether it’s a goodie bag to save as memorabilia to a virtual/ physical gift that will add purpose to one’s life and everyday tasks; presenting online gifts to event attendees is a social etiquette widely accepted and practiced. Some great gift ideas for online events to consider are:
1. A DIY Cocktail Gift
How perfect would it be to enjoy a delightful cocktail while enjoying the experience of a great online event. That will be one way you can get your attendees to celebrate with you and simply enjoy themselves during your event.
Message: Have a drink on us while enjoying our event!
2. A Custom SWAG Box
SWAG (Stuff We All Get) Boxes make for a great gift when encouraging people to attend your virtual event. To make this gift even better, add products that will be both purposeful and functional, to ensure your audience is reminded of your business whenever they use it.
Message: Here’s a little of our SWAG so you can trend too.
3. A Food Voucher
A great way to treat your attendees to a meal would be to give them a food voucher. This way they can purchase a meal to enjoy during your event.
Message: Come explore all the pasta-bilities our event has to offer.
4. Customized Stickers and Patches
Not all gifts have to be flashy and big. There are some that are equally as good and fun; like a customized sticker or patch that your attendees can use on their laptops, laptop bags and so on.
Message: We hope you stick around after the event because we’d love to meet you.
5. Custom Branded Hoodie
Hoodies are always useful, and if you design your custom hoodie to tastefully reflect your brand, your attendees will be glad to showcase it for you.
Message: Now you can look as cool as our brand.
6. A Virtual Gift Card
If you’re not too familiar with the preferences of your event attendees, it may be best to let them pick their own gift. e-Gift cards are also a great way to relieve some of the pressure off you when choosing an appropriate gift.
Message: We thought we’d give you the ultimate gift – the gift of choice!
7. An iTunes/ Music Gift Card
An iTunes gift card is a delightful gift because it never expires, can be used by android users and they’re flexible. Your event audience can use these cards to purchase movies and music, should they not fancy streaming all that much.
Message: Nothing beats this gift.
8. A Custom Coffee Mug
A custom coffee mug is an affordable, personal and useful gift for your event attendees. They are excellent value and you can easily capture your audience’s attention with a smart, funny or quirky quote /saying printed on the gift.
Message: This gift is just to expresso how much it means to us that you attended our event!
Love Our Ideas? Let Us Help You Make Them a Reality
If you love some of the ideas you’ve read and you’re ready to make them a part of your special online event, get into gear and use the Giftsenda platform for simple, cost-efficient international gifting. Giftsenda sources all gifts locally, which means you cut out the cost of international shipping and customs fees; plus you’re reducing your carbon footprint while you’re at it.
Using the automated gifting features you can allow recipients to choose gifts and provide their delivery details. You can even create your own gift collection with a selection of gifts for recipients to choose from.
Tracking data on Giftsenda is also easy because you can use this information to analyze the success of your efforts, the preferences and interests of your event attendees and measure your ROI. Moreover, you can integrate your CRM with Giftsenda to lighten the workload of your gifting campaign and leverage the tons of information your CRM provides.
Our job is to make your online event memorable, which is why we don’t sell gift ideas for online events; we sell memories. Start your campaign today. There’s no subscription needed.