Virtual events have moved well beyond their pandemic-era roots. Today, they form a strategic pillar of any serious B2B event programme, not because in-person events have faded, but because the right virtual format can reach audiences no physical venue ever could. In fact, 83% of event organisers report higher overall attendance when they add a virtual component to their events (AMW Group, 2026). The challenge is no longer whether to run virtual events: it is knowing which type of virtual event to run, and when.
In this guide, we break down ten types of virtual events in 2026, explain what each format does best, and, crucially, assess the networking potential of each. Whether you are planning a global conference, a focused trade show, or a structured hosted-buyer programme, you will find a clear answer here.
What Are Virtual Events?
A virtual event is any organised gathering that takes place entirely or primarily online, using a combination of live streaming, interactive tools, and digital networking features. The global virtual events market reached USD 98 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 297 billion by 2030, a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 20% (Grand View Research, 2025). Three factors are driving that growth: the maturation of virtual event platforms, the widespread adoption of AI-powered networking tools, and a fundamental shift in how organisations think about audience reach and scalability.
What Are Online Virtual Events?
“Online virtual event” and “virtual event” are often used interchangeably, but the term carries a specific meaning in strategy and procurement discussions. Online virtual events are events that exist entirely in a digital environment, no physical venue, no hybrid component, designed to serve distributed audiences across geographies and time zones. They range from a single-track webinar with 50 attendees to a multi-day global conference with tens of thousands of participants.
The strategic case for online virtual events has never been stronger. Beyond cost efficiency, organisations cite accessibility, scalability, and data richness as the primary drivers. A well-built online virtual event generates session-level engagement metrics, attendance data, and networking analytics that a physical event cannot replicate at scale. Organisers using virtual formats consistently report 2.5x the overall audience reach of comparable in-person events.
Market data
The Virtual Events Market in Numbers
10 Types of Virtual Events
1. Webinars
A webinar, short for “web seminar”, is a single-track online session where one or more presenters deliver content to a live audience, typically supported by Q&A, polls, and chat interaction. Webinars are the most widely used virtual event format and remain the workhorse of B2B content marketing. The webinar market alone is projected to reach USD 134 billion by 2032.
Networking potential: Low to medium. Webinars prioritise content over connection. Q&A and chat features allow some interaction, but structured networking between attendees is limited by the broadcast-first format.
Best for: Lead generation, product education, thought leadership, and audience nurturing at scale.
2. Virtual Conferences
A virtual conference replicates the multi-track structure of an in-person conference online: keynote sessions, breakout rooms, sponsor areas, and a dedicated networking layer. Attendees move between sessions, join roundtable discussions, and schedule 1:1 meetings with other participants, all without leaving their desk.
Networking potential: High. The multi-session structure creates natural pause points for connection. Platforms with built-in matchmaking and meeting-scheduling tools significantly increase the number of qualified interactions per attendee. If you are looking for best practices on running a virtual conference with a strong networking track, our guide to event networking apps covers the platforms that support this well.
Best for: Industry associations, professional networks, large-scale B2B events, and annual membership gatherings.
3. Virtual Trade Shows and Online Expos
A virtual trade show, or online expo, replicates the exhibitor-buyer dynamic of a physical fair in a digital environment. Exhibitors set up virtual booths; buyers browse, collect materials, and schedule meetings. Advanced platforms support live product demonstrations, video calls between booth staff and visitors, and AI-assisted lead capture. For event organisers looking to combine structured meetings with open browsing, this format delivers both.
Networking potential: High for structured buyer-seller interaction. The format is inherently transactional, which makes it ideal for hosted buyer programmes and procurement events where qualified introductions are the primary deliverable.
Best for: Industry trade associations, destination marketing organisations (DMOs), procurement events, and tourism trade shows.
4. Virtual Networking Events
Virtual networking events put connection, not content, at the centre. They typically use speed-networking mechanics, breakout room rotations, or interest-based group assignments to generate conversations between participants who would not otherwise meet. The best virtual networking events are purpose-engineered: participant profiles are collected in advance, and the matching logic assigns conversations based on role, interest, or stated goals.
Networking potential: Very high, when well-structured. Random breakout rooms produce inconsistent results; curated, profile-based matchmaking produces consistently qualified conversations. The difference between the two is significant, and is the reason AI-powered matching has become the standard for serious networking programmes.
Best for: Professional associations, alumni networks, and any event where relationship-building is the primary objective rather than a secondary feature.
5. Virtual Career Fairs
A virtual career fair connects job seekers with employers through a combination of structured 1:1 interviews, group information sessions, and company booths. Many platforms support automated screening and scheduling to maximise the number of qualified conversations within a limited time window. For organisers, the format reduces geographic barriers for both candidates and employers, a particularly strong advantage for international recruitment programmes.
Networking potential: High in a structured context. The candidate-employer matching dynamic is fundamentally a networking challenge: the right introduction at the right time produces outcomes that no amount of job board advertising can replicate.
Best for: Universities, recruitment agencies, large corporate HR teams, and sector-specific workforce events.
6. Hosted Buyer Programmes
Hosted buyer programmes are one of the most controlled and commercially precise formats in the virtual and hybrid events landscape. The premise is straightforward: organisers curate a group of pre-qualified buyers, senior decision-makers with confirmed budgets and active procurement needs, and bring them together with a selected group of suppliers who want to reach exactly those buyers. Every meeting is pre-assigned by the organiser. Nothing is left to chance or algorithm.
The defining feature of hosted buyer programmes is organiser control. The organiser decides who meets whom, and, crucially, who does not. This is a deliberate design decision. Organisers of hosted buyer events are industry specialists: they know which supplier is the right fit for which buyer, which conversations are worth engineering, and which pairings would waste both parties’ time. That expertise is the product.
For buyers, the value is access. They receive sponsored or subsidised participation in return for a guaranteed number of confirmed meetings with relevant suppliers, meetings they would otherwise spend weeks arranging independently. For suppliers, the value is precision: every paid meeting slot is with a verified decision-maker. Conversion rates from hosted buyer meetings consistently outperform those from open trade show contacts by a significant margin.
The format is well-established in travel and tourism, ITB Berlin, WTM London, and IMEX all operate hosted buyer tracks, and is growing rapidly in procurement, professional services, and technology events.
Networking potential: Maximum, within a curated universe. Hosted buyer programmes do not produce broad peer networking; they produce a small number of high-value, pre-qualified business meetings. Quality over quantity, by design.
Best for: Tourism trade shows, procurement events, professional services exhibitions, and any event where the organisers’ industry knowledge is a competitive advantage and meeting quality is the primary measure of success.
Networking
Why Structured Networking Formats Deliver
Solution: Converve’s event matchmaking platform is built specifically for B2B programmes that require structured, scalable 1:1 networking. From tourism trade shows to association conferences, Converve handles profile-based matching, meeting scheduling, and post-event analytics in one integrated system. Learn more about Converve’s matchmaking features →
7. Virtual Product Launches
A virtual product launch combines live presentation, product demonstration, and Q&A to introduce a new product or service to a distributed audience simultaneously. The format allows for real-time audience reactions, pre-registered media slots, and immediate follow-up through integrated CRM connections. Reach is the format’s primary advantage: a virtual launch can address thousands of stakeholders across time zones in a single live session.
Networking potential: Low. The audience relationship is primarily with the brand, not with other attendees. Peer networking is not the objective here.
Best for: Software companies, consumer brands, and organisations announcing a significant update or new product to a broad stakeholder audience.
8. Virtual Workshops and Training Sessions
Unlike webinars, virtual workshops require active participation from all attendees. Participants work through exercises, contribute to group outputs, and receive real-time feedback from facilitators. Breakout group activities and collaborative tools, shared whiteboards, live polling, case study discussions, keep engagement consistently high. The format is particularly effective in smaller cohorts where everyone has a clear shared challenge or professional context.
Networking potential: Medium. Collaborative exercises naturally build peer connections, particularly when participants share a role or professional domain. Workshop alumni frequently maintain contact long after the session ends, making this a surprisingly effective long-term networking investment.
Best for: Professional development programmes, compliance training, accreditation events, and skill-building initiatives for defined professional communities.
9. Virtual Team Building Events
Virtual team building events are internal-facing: designed to strengthen relationships within a distributed workforce rather than to build new external connections. Formats range from online quiz competitions and collaborative games to facilitated strategy sessions and cross-department innovation sprints. With remote and hybrid working now the norm for a significant share of the workforce, this format addresses a genuine operational need.
Networking potential: Medium, within a closed group. The format excels at deepening existing relationships rather than creating new ones, which is precisely what distributed teams need.
Best for: Remote and hybrid-working organisations, distributed teams, and internal engagement programmes for companies with multiple office locations.
10. Hybrid Events
A hybrid event combines a physical gathering with a virtual component, allowing both in-person and remote audiences to participate simultaneously. It is increasingly the default format for flagship events: 88% of businesses plan to add virtual elements to their in-person events, according to Bizzabo’s 2026 event marketing benchmark report. The appeal is straightforward: hybrid events extend the reach of a physical event without sacrificing the depth of in-person experience for those who attend on site.
You should bear in mind that the central challenge of hybrid is equity: ensuring that virtual attendees have the same quality of networking opportunity as those physically present. Platforms that provide AI matchmaking for both audiences, and build a unified meeting schedule that works across both, come closest to solving this. Our guide to hybrid event planning covers this in detail.
Networking potential: Variable. Hybrid events done well offer high networking potential for both audiences. Hybrid events done poorly create a two-tier experience where virtual attendees are passive observers rather than active participants.
Best for: Annual conferences, flagship industry events, and organisations with geographically distributed stakeholder bases who cannot all travel to a single location.
How to Choose the Right Type of Virtual Event
The right format depends on four variables.
Your primary goal. Is it content distribution, lead generation, relationship-building, or internal engagement? Networking-first goals point toward virtual networking events, matchmaking programmes, or virtual conferences. Content-first goals point toward webinars or workshops.
Your audience size. Webinars and virtual conferences scale to thousands of attendees with relatively modest infrastructure. Matchmaking events and workshops perform best at 50–500 attendees, where match quality and interaction depth are highest.
Your networking ambition. If structured 1:1 meetings are the core deliverable, not an optional add-on, consider a hosted buyer programme, or embed a curated meeting track within a conference or trade show format.
Your budget. Webinars are the most cost-efficient format. Hybrid events are the most resource-intensive. AI-powered matchmaking events sit in between, but typically deliver the highest measurable ROI per interaction of any virtual format.
You do not have to choose just one format. Many successful B2B event programmes combine a virtual conference with an embedded matchmaking track, or run a webinar series as a structured pipeline into an annual hosted-buyer trade show. The formats above are not mutually exclusive, they are composable.
Ready to Host Your Next Virtual Event?
Virtual events in 2026 are not a compromise, they are a deliberate strategic choice. The ten formats above cover the full spectrum from lean content distribution to precision-engineered B2B networking. The key is matching the format to the objective, rather than defaulting to the most familiar option.
If you are planning an event where the quality of business connections is the primary measure of success, a hosted-buyer programme, a B2B matchmaking conference, or a trade show with a structured networking track, Converve gives you the platform to build it at scale. We work with event organisers in tourism, associations, and corporate sectors to design programmes where every meeting is earned, not random.
Get in touch with our team or request a demo to see how AI-powered matchmaking works in practice.
