Virtual Events to Showcase Your Brand Virtual events can be a low-cost source of lead generation for businesses on a budget

If you feel the need for leads but don't have the dough to exhibit in far-flung trade shows, go virtual.

Virtual events -- online trade shows and webinars -- offer big cost savings while giving participants detailed information about attendees, says Patrick Egan, president of CMC Media, a Santa Barbara, Calif., media company that creates online communities.

It costs about $20,000 for a small business to take part in a trade show for a few days, Egan says, and about $1,000 to set up a virtual booth at one of his trade shows for a full year. Businesses can interact virtually with thousands of people who visit the online destination, and some remain active marketing centers. "We've had some customers who use their booths weekly to meet virtually with customers," Egan says.