7 Tips Savvy Event Managers Use To Boost Audience Engagement
Even if we didn’t know any other thing about the event and event management industry, we are sure audience engagement is not something you leave to chance. It is one of the event planning moments which should be taken with as much seriousness as possible for the best results.
If you have not been taking a proactive approach to your audience engagement before now, you might have been losing out on a lot of conversion and potential positives.
That is not why we are here today, though. How about we talk about how you can drive the needed engagement instead?
1. Invest in key speakers
The choice of key speaker you make for the event goes a long way to determine how engaged the acne will be too.
People will be more willing to listen to Jeff Bezos on business matters than they would listen to Lionel Messi. Even though both men are successful in their fields, charisma is not alone to woo a sophisticated audience.
Thus, make sure your key speaker is an authority figure who has some sort of celebrity status and knows what they are saying too.
2. Hold live polls
Don’t wait for the event to be over before you stage live polls.
This is one of the reasons why we always recommend building an app for the event, allowing the audience to get engaged with the program this way. An alternative will be to develop a website for the event or create a poll on a social media platform that many of the attendees are on.
Polls are a great way to make the audience feel and know that you value the feedback you get from them, not just the content you throw their way. At the same time, polls can help you finetune the user experience right there within the event by leveraging the feedback you get.
3. Create a hashtag
Want to know why hashtags work so much?
It creates the feeling of exclusivity to those in the event as they can discuss on open social media awhile having some sort of clique that they belong to. Besides that, hashtags are also a great way for people to find each other on social media which could be the start of some effective networking.
That, and we have not mentioned how it allows just about everyone to get in on the conversation, share their ideas, tweet their opinions and put their mind out there.
In short, you have provided a platform for those who could not speak in the event hall to voice out their thoughts too.
4. Run contests
We have come to find out that no matter how small the prize is, people are willing to engage in a contest to win it. All you have to do is package the contest beautifully and present it in the right way, and you have already an audience for it.
This means you don’t have to put a hole in your pocket all because you’d like to engage the audience. Get something simple which your attendees will like – possibly in multiple units – and give it out at certain points of the event.
A great way to ensure everyone stays alert, don’t you agree?
5. Share highlights
Audience engagement does not just happen when the event is on, but when it is done too.
In this case, you can share moments and highlights from the event on social media and ask people to tag themselves. This makes it fun since everyone would want to go through your timeline to see where they were captured, or get mentioned by someone who recognizes them from the frame.
At the same time, you can give the option for interested attendees to download their highlights from an online cloud storage folder.
6. Host an after party
Let’s face it:
Most events are serious, and even while people are trying to be social, they have to do so as formally as they can. Likewise, attendees restricted to certain codes of conduct and forms of approach.
Once the event proper is done, host an afterparty to allow every one to loosen up and have fun the right way. Those who are more comfortable in this setting will find it easier to network. Others will also have a more relaxed atmosphere to not only have fun but meet new people too.
That is not to mention the fact that the afterparty might be the single reason why many come to your event – especially if it’s a corporate one. After all, these executives have also been looking for an excuse to let off some steam for a while now.
7. Leverage technology
The amazing part of this is how technology can be used for just about any kind of event.
For some, you could implement exhibition booths for start-ups to showcase what they have on offer. Besides the engagement and fun that gives the audience, you can also make money off booths while offering the start-ups/ other exhibitors a solid platform.
At some other events, game rooms can also be set up to allow attendees to have fun during breaks. Here, immersive 3D technology, AR and VR can be put to good use. Depending on your audience and kind of event, research the forms of technology that will work wonders for you.