Virtual Event Branding Guide for B2B Events

In order to make sure that your next online event not only garners attention, but also makes an impact, this article will guide you through the basics of virtual event branding.  

What is Virtual Event Branding?

Virtual event branding involves designing your online event to reflect your brand identity, message and experience. This includes everything from your logo and colors, to the way your event sounds, feels and flows.

Virtual event branding is present everywhere, including the landing page, virtual lobby, networking areas, and post-event thank-you emails, in contrast to traditional events where branding is restricted to banners, booths, and brochures.

Here are some of the key elements of virtual branding:

• Visual identity: It includes logos, color schemes, typography and imagery that align with your brand.
• Messaging: It includes consistent tone, language and content that resonate with your audience and reflect your event’s purpose.
• User experience: Think fluid navigation, interactive features and personalized touchpoints. It increases engagement by making each interaction feel purposeful and on-brand.

Combining all these components will allow you to create a virtual event branding experience that will emotionally engage people, while also giving them all the information they need.

Why Branding Your Virtual B2B Event Matters

Branding is your hidden weapon if you want your event to stand out among the static webinar slides and dull online meetings.  Effective branding for virtual events accomplishes several goals, which is why it’s crucial to understand just how critical it is. Here are a few reasons why event branding matters:

• A consistent brand experience gives attendees confidence that your event is professional, and worth their time.
• Attendees are more inclined to interact with and participate in the event if they feel a strong connection to your business.
• It helps you achieve your company objectives.
• It enables quicker sales funnel journeys, whether you are educating clients or creating leads.
• Your event has a greater impact when participants share it actively with their networks, thanks to memorable branding.

In essence, branding transforms an ordinary virtual meeting into a memorable event that preserves your company’s identity and values.

Step-by-Step Guide to Branding Your Virtual Event

Let’s walk through the entire journey of branding your virtual B2B event, from pre-event prep to post-event engagement.

Let’s first look into pre-event branding techniques:

1. Start With Your Brand Story

Every event requires a narrative. Your brand story is the glue that connects everything, from your event website to the session content and more. 

So, begin by establishing the narrative you want your event to convey. This should be consistent with your event’s objective and relevant to your target audience. To build the narrative, you can consider asking yourself:

• Why are we hosting this event?
• What key messages do we want to convey?
• What transformation do we want attendees to go through?
• How does this event align with our brand mission?
• How does the event reflect our brand values?

Your answers will shape your theme, slogan and overall creative direction. Having a strong narrative forms the basis for all branding initiatives, assuring consistency and clarity.

2. Design a Branded Event Website

Your event website is often the first interaction people will have with your brand. So, make it count and make sure that it reflects your brand. You can do so by incorporating brand colors, logos and typography, by using consistent messaging and tone and by providing intuitive navigation and responsive design for various devices.

Some tips for your virtual event site are:

• Use your brand colors, fonts and logo across the page.
• A clear call to action to register should be included in your page.
• Provide speaker biographies, images and any partner brands’ logos, if applicable.
• Make your page compatible with mobile devices.

A well-designed website not only provides information, but also establishes the tone for the event experience.

3. Create a Visual Brand Kit for the Event

Create a collection of branded assets to ensure uniformity throughout all event materials. The kit should include the following:

• Logo variations and usage guidelines (horizontal, vertical, white, dark).
• Event theme graphics.
• Backgrounds for speakers and attendees.
• Slide decks templates.
• Templates for presentations, emails, and social media posts.
• Color palettes and typography specifications.

Distribute these kits to all the stakeholders, including speakers and sponsors, to ensure uniformity.

4. Use Social Media to Build Buzz

Your branding does not end at the event platform.  Bring the same enthusiasm to your social media networks.  Promote your event through multiple platforms using branded materials like email campaigns, social media and press releases.

Consistent branding throughout advertising initiatives increases recognition and anticipation of your brand. Here are some ideas for this:

• Branded teaser videos
• Speaker intro reels
• “Behind-the-scenes” prep footage
• Countdown posts
• Use a unique hashtag like #YourEvent

Encourage attendees to post or share about your event using branded frames or filters.

5. Branded Email Campaigns

Email is your best buddy for promoting virtual events. However, ordinary emails are no longer enough. So, ensure that each email you send out reflects your event’s brand.

Use your brand colors and event banner, maintain a consistent tone. It could be counterproductive if your first email reads monotonous and robotic, while the second one is vibrant and joyous. Lastly, don’t forget to include a link to your branded landing page or agenda. 

Now let’s explore some branding techniques to include during the virtual event:

6. Customize Your Virtual Venue

Turn the virtual event platform into a branded environment by creating a virtual lobby using brand images and welcome messaging; customizing session rooms with themed backgrounds and signs; and including interactive components such as branded polls and Q&A sessions. Having a coherent virtual environment will immerse the visitors in your brand from beginning to end.

You can customize the virtual lobby and reception areas with welcome videos and animated banners, breakout rooms styled for each topic track, networking lounges named after brand pillars or campaign themes and sponsor booths with logos, product demos and giveaways. 

7. Brand the Presentations Too

Your speaker sessions should feel cohesive with your event’s overall look. So, ensure that all the presentations are consistent with your brand by providing presenters with the following:

• Slide templates that match the event branding.
• Digital backdrops or overlays.
• Consistent intros and outros with music or animation.
• Virtual name tags with company logo and role.

This small detail can drastically improve how professional your event looks.

8. Keep the Brand Experience Going During the Event

Branding is not just visual but it’s emotional and interactive. So, enhance engagement through branded interactive features like:

• Live polls with fun, on-brand questions and use brand colors and themes in your poll designs.
• Interactive Q&A with branded avatars or leaderboards.
• Gamified challenges that reflect your company’s tone and values. Implement branded challenges or quizzes to encourage the participation of the attendees.
• Create themed breakout rooms that reflect brand values.

Interactive components not only entertain but also help attendees engage with your brand. So, the more immersive, the better.

Now let’s look into some of the Post-event branding tactics:

9. Share Branded Recap Content

Your event may end but your brand’s journey with attendees continues. So, extend the event’s impact by distributing branded post-event materials. Here are few steps how you can keep your event alive:

• Share highlight reels with branded bumpers.
• Send thank-you emails with the same design as your pre-event campaigns.
• Post speaker quotes or testimonial snippets on social media.
• Share session replays using your brand player or platform.
• Present event statistics and insights in branded visual formats.
• Offer on-demand access with branded intros and outros.

These things are essential resources that strengthen your brand’s presence. Make sure that everything points back to your website, funnel, or community.

10. Assess the Impact of Your Branding

Good branding shouldn’t just be pretty, but should also move the needle. So, track the following metrics to see how well your branding performed.

• Engagement rates during branded activities.
• Social media reach of your branded hashtags.
• Sponsor booth traffic.
• Time spent in customized event spaces.
• Post-event brand recall (via surveys).
• Express appreciation using branded templates and personalized messages.
• Collect feedback with branded questionnaires to inform future events.
• Keep attendees informed about upcoming events or company updates.

Leveraging Technology for Branding

Use event platforms with powerful branding tools and look for the following:

• Ensure that the platform offers the flexibility to customize the virtual environment to match your brand.
• Check if the platform has engagement features like live chat, polling and Q&A sessions.
• Make sure it allows access to data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of branding activities. 

Choosing the correct technology ensures that your branding is successfully installed and managed.

Tools You Can Use to Create Branded Virtual Events

Here are few tools you can use to create branded virtual events:

• Airmeet: Full-scale virtual and hybrid event platform with deep branding control.
• Canva or Adobe Express: Easy graphic creation tools for non-designers.
• StreamYard / OBS: Branded live streaming overlays and transitions.
• Mailchimp / HubSpot: Branded email campaigns
• Typeform / Google Forms: Create beautiful, on-brand surveys and forms

Data Points to Track for Measuring the Impact of Branding

Analyze the success of your branding strategy by analyzing the following:

• Engagement Metrics: Track participation rates in branded sessions and events.
• Brand Recall: Evaluate guest’s ability to recognize and recall your brand after the event.
• Feedback: Collect qualitative information through surveys and direct conversation.

These evaluations will help you to shape future branding efforts and promote continual progress.

Conclusion

Virtual events can be just as powerful as in-person experiences if done right. And when it comes to doing it right, branding is what makes you stand out. From the moment someone clicks on the “Register” button, to the moment they leave your final session, your event should feel like your brand was everywhere – not in a pushy way, but in a memorable, thoughtful and emotional way.

Branding is an important aspect of successful virtual B2B events as it influences impressions, promotes connections and sets your event out in a busy digital landscape. By deliberately integrating branding throughout the whole process, from planning to post-event follow-up, you can create a unified and memorable experience that resonates with guests and reinforces your company’s identity.