Since our user conference was cancelled, I want to craft some kind of virtual event to connect with our customers. But I need more ammunition to convince upper management to move ahead with it once we're all back at work. What are some key benefits of virtual events?

For many live-event proponents, mere mention of the term "virtual" is like saying the name Voldemort out loud. This is because many event marketers fear that virtual conferences and meetings will ultimately eliminate live events and, with that, their job security.

In truth, virtual events and live events are two different animals. Since one revolves around face-to-face interaction – and the other has no face-to-face components aside from video chats – live and virtual events don't compete. Yes, they might be targeting the same attendees, but both components are meant to complement each other, not battle for the same ground.

Thus, virtual events are a great value as standalone experiences, and they might even be something to continue in conjunction with your user conference once it comes on line again. Granted, in the latter case, you'll need to ensure that your virtual experience doesn't detract from the live one and that a large portion of your live-event attendees don't defect to the virtual experience. But if you implement an effective strategy, both live and virtual events can easily coexist. And a virtual event is a great way to strengthen customer bonds until the crisis is over. To help sell your management on the virtual events, here are some of the biggest benefits.

Expanded Attendee Base. By creating a virtual event, your potential audience expands dramatically. Even prior to the crisis, many members of your target audience might have been unable to attend your live event simply due to travel costs. A virtual conference offers the consumer a cost-effective alternative to an in-person event that carries myriad budgetary, time, and travel constraints.

Accordingly, you're likely to draw more international attendees to your virtual event. Aside from expensive travel costs, international visitors must also invest considerably more time simply to get to a live event. Compared to an airplane, it's much easier for them to hop aboard the toll-free, virtual highway to your online event.

What's more, virtual events deliver information through various media – computers, iPads, smartphones, etc. – enabling participants to access content in the manner with which they are most comfortable. Plus, if your virtual experience allows attendees to pop into and out of it at will, and to access content on their own time and from locations of their choosing, you're likely to gain more attendees. This way, attendees can continue their daily tasks and work your conference into their schedules as their time permits. Whereas with a live event, attendees need to put aside their typical job responsibilities, or try to complete them while they're at your event, making the time commitment for a live event much greater.

What's more, the ability for attendees to stay at home while still obtaining much of the same content and experiences of a user conference is a huge plus in these turbulent times. Your online event will spread your branding and messaging to a whole new audience it would not have otherwise touched.

Additional Revenue. Companies need to begin thinking of their events and conferences as year-round revenue streams. If your experience offers something of exceptional value – be it educational content, access to industry leaders, a sense of community – your target audience will want access to it, and these people are likely willing to pay for it. So depending on the value of your content, registration for your virtual event can be a new revenue stream for your company.

Where you really start to accelerate revenue generation, however, is via captured content from previous events. Of course, you don't want to just regurgitate old news. But you may have canned content from educational sessions, keynote speakers, etc. that you can monetize. Also consider bundling and repurposing content you've captured at other events and for other purposes. For example, you could combine videos of three educational sessions related to cost-saving tactics and make the content available on your website for a small fee.

Increased Awareness and Thought-Leadership Perception. When a live event rolls around, attendees (and perhaps even the entire industry) are focused on your company and its products. But when the show ends, the hype tends to vaporize. A virtual event – or a series of virtual experiences – can generate long-term momentum.

Companies need to stop thinking of themselves as an intermittent content source. When you allow your virtual event to exist as a stand-alone experience, and bundle and repurpose its content, your company can become an invaluable source of information that customers and prospects will reference 365 days a year.

What's more, by offering valuable information to the industry, your company can establish or further cement its position as an industry thought leader. Rather than having, for example, a weeklong educational event, your virtual event becomes an ongoing source of education, and your company is now the expert.

Along these same lines, once your company becomes a go-to place for industry and product education, it can also evolve into the place where people go to connect with each other. In effect, your virtual experience (along with any social-media avenues your company pursues) can help create and foster a sense of community among attendees, customers, and prospects. And that sense of community, which also offers its members a feeling of belonging, can often increase member loyalty to your company and brand.

These are just a few of the many ways in which virtual events can positively impact your company. To take advantage of these benefits, create an effective virtual-event strategy and engage your customers and prospects year round to determine what they really value and how they typically consume virtual content. With a little research and some careful planning, virtual events can be a new revenue and awareness generator for your company.