Types of Virtual Events That Work

How can you bring people from around the world together for an event that is both engaging and accessible to all?

The answer: Virtual events.

You’ve probably attended a webinar or joined a virtual conference call before. Add additional features like live video sessions, interactive webinars, chatrooms, and gamified engagement to the same experience, and it starts looking like a virtual event.

From large conferences, tradeshows, and career fairs to small workshops, virtual events allow attendees to attend from the comfort of their homes. If you’re looking to organize one, here’s a list of the most common types of virtual events that work.

Key Takeaways

  • Virtual events use features like live video sessions, interactive webinars, chatrooms, and gamified engagement to deliver an engaging online event experience.
  • Over the years, the demand for virtual events has skyrocketed due to their accessibility and ability to reach wider audiences across the globe.
  • Some of the most effective virtual events include virtual conferences, summits, trade shows, job fairs, university fairs, and exhibitions.
  • Virtual entertainment events like wedding expos, music concerts, malls, and university fairs have found great success and continue to grow in popularity.

13 Types of Virtual Events That Work for Most Companies in 2026

1. Virtual Conferences & Summits

types of virtual events

Virtual conferences work well for organizations prioritizing accessibility and cost-efficiency. These could include non-profits with limited budgets, associations serving geographically dispersed members, and companies hosting internal summits that can deliver multi-session educational content without venue or travel expenses. They’re ideal when your primary goals are knowledge sharing, thought leadership, and reaching maximum attendees.

2. Online Trade Shows & Exhibitions

an image of a virtual exhibition

We all agree that the basic goal of any business is to enhance profit by maximizing leads. But are we really maximizing leads if we aren’t reaching a global audience? The good thingis that it’s never too late to get it right. Hosting a virtual trade show and expo can enable organizers to engage prospects across the globe. Then, they can use live chat tools, educate them about their offerings using live webinars, and convert warm leads with an in-event e-store.

3. Webinars

Webinars are one of the most commonly held virtual events. Last year, 52% B2B marketers used webinars for content distribution. 

Hosting a webinar is becoming the go-to choice for organizations looking to engage audiences online. Unlike large virtual events that can often feel overwhelming, webinars are more intimate. Typically ranging from 50-500 attendees, they create an environment where attendees can directly engage with presenters. 

You can use live polling and Q&A features in your webinar platform to create interactions where attendees get real-time responses from your team or speakers. It’s a great format that builds trust and engagement in ways that other formats find hard to match.

4. Virtual Product Launches

When you want to broadcast a product launch for the highest number of customers, a virtual product launch is the perfect way to reach people all over the world. It allows you to showcase your products and give interested buyers a way to buy them the moment they’re launched. An online platform also gives product owners tools to follow up with potential buyers, like product listings, lead capture, and real-time analytics.

5. Virtual Wedding Expo

Putting a wedding together can be a nightmare. From booking halls to finalizing caterers, there’s always a lot of searching websites and running after vendors involved. Wedding expos make it easier to avoid this chaos by offering all vendors under one roof for attendees to take their pick of the litter. This one-stop solution for weddings is going online to help make wedding planning even more convenient.

A virtual wedding expo lets attendees search for caterers, musicians, event planners, designers, photographers, and so on. The best part is, you can do it all with a simple click.

6. Online Music Concerts

Online music concerts will stick around in 2026. They’ve allowed global fans to experience their favorite international artists live, something only countries like the US, Canada, and the UK could experience previously. Several popular artists also virtually get together to perform for their audiences. They also hold these virtual concerts for good causes and solidarity. Initiatives such as One World: Together at Home have furthered their support with the help of virtual events.

7. Online Film Festivals

Virtual film or movie festivals blend the allure of traditional film festivals with the accessibility and flexibility that a virtual event format provides. 

It’s a great way for filmmakers to showcase their work to a global audience without being limited by geography and logistics. Virtual event features like polling and live Q&As help viewers directly engage with their favorite directors and producers, making the entire event experience a two-way conversation. 

Indie film festivals have seen the highest adoption for the virtual event format, while major film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival are also seeing growing viewership from online channels.

8. Virtual Career Fairs & Job Fairs

Top organizations around the world find their best employees by increasing their reach and virtually meeting their future employees.

Instead of canceling career fairs, taking them online can improve the quality of applicants. Thus, various 1:1 audio/video chat tools, job boards, and effective video assessment tools are quite useful. Not just that, but a virtual career fair allows employers to promote their brand to prospects around the globe.

9. Virtual Onboarding Fairs

Business owners generally agree that success rests heavily on new hires. So, companies need to set up powerful onboarding programs to ensure new hires fit in well. A Virtual Onboarding Fair can enable businesses to boost productivity for distributed hires. Plus, they can train them via rich interactive tools such as webinars and chats. The cherry on top – they can also measure the performance and make changes at any time.

10. Virtual University Fairs

an image of a university fair

Universities often set up a number of fairs to help their students get the information and opportunities to achieve their goals. For this purpose, leading universities base their programs around encouraging top prospects from across the globe.

In order to engage with this audience, the first step is to be visible and accessible. Resultantly, Virtual University fairs can be accessed through any smart device from any corner of the world. With this diversity, here’s how different types of virtual events help students & alumni engage with universities as well as top employers.

  • Virtual Open Day– allows prospective students to learn about your university, interact with faculty, and fill lead capture forms. Virtual open days help you attract & engage 3 to 5 times more students than a physical event.
  • Virtual University Fair– helps universities showcase their infrastructure, culture, and programs to a diverse prospective student base. In addition, a virtual education fair helps educate the student masses about higher study options through one comprehensive event.
  • Virtual Student/Alumni Networking Fair– connects students with successful university alumni. These events also boost engagement with rich interactive tools such as webinars, discussion forums, and chat tools.
  • Virtual Job Fair–  helps students/alumni network with leading employers and find sustainable careers. This is done via an accessible, online platform, rich in interactive tools.

11. Virtual Housing Fairs

Thousands of international students are looking for on-campus and off-campus accommodations before every school year. What better way to connect a global student body with university accommodations? 

A virtual housing fair lets you bring accommodation providers and students together to help them connect online. Most housing fairs include informational sessions to give students an idea of what to expect, complemented by virtual booths to showcase accommodations.

Online communication tools like live chats and meetings can be a great way for the accommodation providers and students to talk and explore potential housing agreements from the comfort of their homes.

12. Virtual Malls

We’ve also seen an entirely new concept emerge this year: Virtual malls. Essentially, people buy a virtual space, convert it into a mall with 3D visuals and ad spaces, and rent out booths to vendors on a month-by-month basis. Potential buyers can access the mall 24/7 and 365 days a year, and make purchases from their favorite vendors. These malls also have online shopping carts to facilitate purchases.

13. Virtual Benefits Fairs

Hosting a virtual benefits fair can help employees learn about employee benefits through an easy and interactive online event. It removes the hassle and long hours that HR has to spend on each employee. More than that, it provides a better way for employees to access appropriate plans.

What type of virtual event are you planning?

FAQs

What technology do attendees need to join virtual events?

Attendees simply need a working phone or laptop and a stable internet connection to join a virtual event.

How can I make my virtual events interactive?

You can use live polls, Q&As, chatrooms, provide live content, and use gamified engagement like scavenger hunts and leaderboards for your virtual events to make them more interactive.

How do attendees register for a virtual event?

You can create a landing page with event details, time zones, and event joining instructions to help attendees register for the virtual event.

How can I measure event success?

Virtual event platforms let you track attendance rates, engagement metrics, session views, and post-event analytics to help you measure event success down to every minute detail.

Types of Virtual Events That Work

Huda Zaman

Huda is a Product Marketing Manager at vFairs.She believes in the power of storytelling paired with creative visuals that brings brands to life, and compels both, current and potential customers. Along with sharing corporate brands’ stories, she is equally passionate about the personal brand. Which to her, means creating body-positive spaces, encouraging acceptance of one’s self as well as others.

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