Virtual Book Fair - A planning and success guide by ibentos

Virtual Book Fair

Virtual Book Fair
The only situation where you gleefully enjoy confusion as well as excitement is where you are spoiled for choice in the things you love. Such is the joy of avid readers when they walk into a Book Fair. A Book fair is an event in which authors and publishers come together to collectively display their works, and the books are available for purchase. Attended by children and adults across all ages who love to read, Book Fairs tend to be very fun because of all the crowd it attracts and is also a great chance to socialize and network.
Having said that, Virtual Book Fairs have been very much in demand ever since the pandemic hit. So what can you as an organizer do to conduct a Book Fair that lives up to these expectations and ensure that it is simply worth it to attend? Well, here are a few suggestions:

Maintain lists

Book Fairs tend to have a very large amount of books provided by publishers and authors. Make sure to maintain a list of these books along with the quantities that are updated live as and how purchases are made. This way, if a particular book goes out of stock, aBook Fairs tend to have a very large amount of books provided by publishers and authors. Surely maintain lists of books along with the quantities that are updated live as and how purchases are made. This way, if a particular book goes out of stock, the participants would know.the participants would know.
However, the updation of this list depends on whether payment is done via a redirection to another site or on your site itself. If the purchase is carried out from another site, it may not be possible to update the list of available inventory, but it is certainly possible to do so if the purchase is carried out on your site itself.

Enable a Search Engine

Aside from assigning appropriate booths to the authors and publishers, equip your Virtual Book Fair platform with a search engine. This allows attendees to search for books, authors, publishers and genres, easier for them to navigate through the platform. Tip: Create interesting sections like “Editor’s Choice” or “Our Recommendations” for your participants to keep them intrigued.

Donation Booth

People often have way too many books that they would like to give away. Set up a book donation booth where people can send required book photos and names. Also, provide them with the details of where and whom, along with a way to send books to you. As they say, there is no greater joy than the joy of giving.

Games

A Book Fair, even if virtual, need not be all about simply reading and purchasing books. Keep the audience hooked by conducting literary games and offer books or discount coupons as prizes. You can even display the results to make the winners feel special.
ibentos’ Virtual Platforms prove a Gamification feature that allows you to conduct interactive games with your attendees and reward them accordingly too!

Flipping the pages

Since the attendees cannot see the book in person, upload videos of someone flipping through the book showing the cover and the back cover which will help the attendees better understand the book they plan on purchasing along with its quality. This surety provided is a proven tactic to increase the chances of someone buying the book they are looking at. Moreover, make sure to provide downloadable, free short samples of all books so that the participant can read the book a bit and then make a decision. You can even invite authors to your Fair to speak and address the attendees, and perhaps do a book-reading of one of their works displayed at the Fair as well.

Follow-up

Say someone wanted to purchase more books and had them in mind but time ran out. For such cases, provide your attendees with a follow-up mail ID so they can place an order for the books. This can be done even after the Fair is over. This is the greatest advantage of the Virtual Platform- seamless and hassle-free communication. You can also post on your social media about the success of your event and also tag the attendees that are seen in the post. This will keep the hype up even after the event is over.
All these tips will help you conduct a Virtual Book Fair that is close to an in-person experience.
With ibentos’ Virtual Platforms, create customisable 3D environments and booths for your Virtual Event. This will live up to the vision you have for your event and brand representation.
Happy Reading!
Want to execute an enriching virtual event for your audience, reach out to us now.