Virtual events have been on everyone’s radar for the past two years, and for good reason. It generates nearly as much revenue as face-to-face events for a fraction of the cost. Virtual events have shifted from being everyone’s plan B to a mega-trend in the industry. Virtual and hybrid events are here to stay, but the question stands; how do you keep your virtual audience invested? Virtual events might give attendees more opportunities to “zone-out” so how can you manage this when distraction is only a click away?
To save your attendees from staring at the screen blankly, or getting distracted by something else on their laptops, you need a little creativity. Here is how you can spike your virtual attendees’ engagement level at your next online or hybrid event:
Use an Event Platform With Engagement Features
When it comes to virtual engagement strategies, this is the most important of them all. To increase your attendee engagement, you need to host your online event on a platform that has top of the range engagement features, much like the platform Flock has to offer. When you are choosing a virtual platform for your next event, be sure to choose something that includes:
- Tools for Q&A, live polls, and comments from attendees
- Small group and one-on-one networking
- Breakout rooms
- A public discussion forum
- Gamification
- Robust analytics
- And more…
Before locking in the event platform for your next virtual event, ask all the necessary questions to make sure that all the required features are included to drive engagement.
Create an Event That Sparks Conversations
At the end of the day nothing will get your attendees talking like an interesting topic that they can relate to. Research topics that resonate with your online audience. An easy way to do this is by asking attendees to participate in pre-event polls. Use this information as a framework for the topics you will elaborate on during speaking sessions.
Also, remember to focus on the quality of your presentation. There is no point in creating conversation provoking content, if your attendees are struggling to hear the speakers clearly. Pay attention to clear, crisp audio and video quality. Put some thought into slide layouts and design. These are all factors that will contribute to your attendees’ willingness or unwillingness to participate in conversations following speaker sessions.
Host a Virtual Dinner/Lunch
Breaking virtual bread together is a great why for attendees to engage with each other on a more personal level. You can connect with a number of virtual restaurants to help you set up the perfect menu, and even have it delivered to your attendees’ homes. Communicate with your attendees in advance, and tell them that there will be different breakout rooms where attendees with similar interests can group together and enjoy their virtual meal together while bonding over the topic of interest.
Implement Gamification and Fun Activities
Online attendees are more likely to have a shorter attention span. Throw in some creative activities into the agenda to help your attendees feel refreshed in-between sessions. Here are some of our top suggestions:
Gamification
Get your attendees talking through gamifying event activities. Why not reward attendees every time they enter a session, ask a question, participate in a poll or make a comment on a public forum? Not only will this encourage your attendees to actively participate in all the features the online platform has to offer, it will also boost your engagement metrics tremendously!
Guest Performance
If you really want to brighten your virtual attendees’ day, you need to provide them with some “live” virtual entertainment. Connect with a musician, magician or comedian to bring something unique to the table.
Want to learn more about Flock’s virtual engagement features? Book a demo! We would love to tell you more about our platform, and how you can use it to drive your virtual attendee engagement through the roof!