Guest Post by Cece Salomon-Lee, author of PR Meets Marketing blog and senior marketing communications manager with ON24. While her company recently launched a virtual show product, the thoughts expressed in this posting are not representative of ON24 and are personal views of the author.

Lewis recently wrote how you can get the most our of your next trade show or conference.  While marketers value trade shows and conferences for face-to-face interactions, the reality is that increased travel costs combined with an economic recession will force companies to review their marketing budgets.

Participation in and attendance at physical events will be one area that marketers will scrutinize closely. In fact, MarketingSherpa's recent 2008-2009 Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide indicates that marketers are already planning to reduce the number of in-person events in 2009.

This situation provides a perfect storm for virtual events. As I explained recently to a friend, a virtual event or show is like an in-person trade show or conference, except everything is done online. With that said, there are four distinct differences between the physical and virtual versions of trade show or conference:

Physical World vs. Virtual World: Virtual events can be designed to mimic a physical location, such as Las Vegas Convention Center, Moscone in San Francisco or a luxury hotel in Hawaii. The main difference is that you can navigate to different areas of the show with your mouse instead of walking miles from one hall to the next. This can include an exhibit hall with booths, auditorium to hear and watch speakers, a common area for networking, a resources center and the conference lobby.

Let's be clear, this isn't Second Life which is a full immersion 3D environment that requires a huge learning curve for new users. Rather, it's an environment that has 3D like graphics in a 2D environment, requiring only a browser and Internet connection.

Cocktail Parties vs. Online Chats and Networking: The most important part of a trade show or conference is the face-to-face networking opportunities. This usually occurs at cocktail parties, opening receptions or lunches. But how often have you found yourself speaking to someone who you realize is not related to your industry or would not be an appropriate customer or business partner?

While there are no cocktail parties online, you can find, connect and engage with people you're seeking to reach. This can be done by finding people based on a variety of criteria, such as title, company size and industry. You can also initiate one-on-one chats or participate in group chats.

Heavy Conference Bags vs. Digital Documents: In the past, I've almost thrown my back out with the number of brochures that I received at a conference. With a virtual show, you can save documents, presentations and even virtual business cards to your online briefcase. This is not only environmentally friendly but also provides a central resource for this information. You no longer have to worry about misplacing a business cards or finding a particular fact sheet about a specific product.

Business Cards vs. Online Reporting: Typically, the one way that exhibitors know who has visited their booth is through business card drawings or swiping name badges. While this may generate tons of leads, the question is how pertinent are these folks to your business?

With online reporting, you not only know who has visited your booth, but you are able to understand the behavior of that person. Did they download a technical paper or a business solution white paper? Did they view a product video or listen to your recent Q4 earnings podcast? Each action adds another layer of information that helps you to further qualify each prospect. In this way, virtual shows provide a richer profile of your prospects that you never had before.

Conclusion

While the virtual show differs from a physical one, in the end, the goal of a virtual show is to drive your business forward. This can be done either by generating leads from people who visit your booth or by exchanging virtual business cards.

But let me be clear: I don't think virtual events will entirely replace physical ones. Rather, a virtual event will become another tactic in a marketer's tool kit. It's part of an overall events strategy that includes executive summits, trade show, and conferences – both in the physical and virtual worlds.