Events are one of the most effective marketing tools for any event organizer, as they can help achieve various goals, such as generating leads, increasing brand awareness, educating customers, building relationships, and more. However, the key to maximizing the impact of these gatherings lies in the meticulous design and execution of a comprehensive event engagement strategy.
According to statistics, 49% of marketers say that audience engagement is the biggest contributing factor to having a successful event and 34% of B2B organizations say that opportunity acceleration is a key success metric.
But how do you design an event that captures the attention, interest, and interaction of your participants throughout the event journey? In this guide, we will share with you some tips and best practices on how to create a winning event engagement strategy for your next event.
What is Event Engagement?
Event engagement is the degree to which attendees are actively and meaningfully involved in an event, which creates a dynamic and interactive experience whether it’s in-person, virtual events, or hybrid events. This means encouraging participation through various methods.
Some of these methods are:
- Interactive discussions
- Networking opportunities
- Relevant content
- Fun elements like quizzes or challenges
- Incorporate technology for an inclusive experience.
Successful event engagement goes beyond just having people present—it’s about creating a dynamic and enjoyable atmosphere that leaves a lasting impression.
Why is event engagement important?
Event engagement is vital for many reasons. It improves the experience, satisfaction, and loyalty of attendees, who then spread positive feedback and come back for more. It also increases the value, impact, reputation, and visibility of the event, which draws new and diverse audiences and sponsors.
According to recent statistics, 80% of event professionals report measuring event success based on attendee engagement and satisfaction.
How has event engagement changed in the past few years?
Event engagement has changed significantly in the past few years, due to the following factors:
Event Technology Adoption
Statistics show that event management software is used by more than 85% of event planners and that using event technology makes attendees 22% more satisfied than those who rely on a printed event program.
The use of technology has opened up fresh avenues for event attendees, including live polls, Q&A sessions, gamification, virtual reality, and social media. It has also broadened event accessibility, allowing participation from anywhere globally.
Expectations
Attendees now expect events to offer personalized, interactive, and meaningful experiences, where they can actively participate and have a role rather than being passive spectators. They desire a voice and the ability to make choices during the event.
Diversity
For the past years, attendees have become more diverse, bringing varied backgrounds, interests, preferences, and goals to events. Attendees actively seek representation and respect, aspiring to connect with individuals with similar values and passions.
Stages of Event Engagement
Each stage of event engagement has goals, challenges, and opportunities that require a different approach and strategy. Here are some examples of how to engage attendees in each stage.
Strategies for Pre-event Engagement
Before the event begins, pre-event engagement involves building interest and excitement. The goal is to create a buzz and anticipation among both potential and registered attendees, offering them pertinent and valuable information about the upcoming event.
Create a compelling website and landing page
The event website and landing page are the first impressions that the attendees have of the event, so they should be clear, attractive, and informative. Highlight the event’s key aspects, including the value it offers, agenda, speakers, sponsors, and testimonials. Also, ensure a straightforward and secure registration process for attendees.
Send personalize and timely email communications
Instead of sending generic invitations, tailor them to each recipient based on their profile, preferences, and behavior. Show them that you care about their participation and that the event is relevant and valuable for them. Also, send them timely and friendly reminders to keep them updated and motivated.
Use hashtags to create a social media buzz
Boost your event’s visibility by crafting a unique and catchy hashtag, urging attendees to use it on social media to amplify the event’s reach. Leverage the power of social media accounts across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Develop a strategic plan to share compelling content, including videos, photos, and stories, fostering audience engagement. Encourage attendees to join the conversation, sharing expectations, questions, and feedback.
Share sneak peeks and teasers
Build curiosity and anticipation among attendees by sharing some previews and highlights of the event content and speakers. For instance, you can share some snippets of the presentations, some interviews with the speakers, or some behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the event preparation.
Encourage attendees to register
Make the entire registration process easy and convenient for attendees by offering them various options and incentives through platforms like Event Smart. Attendees enjoy a hassle-free registration experience with user-friendly features like early-bird discounts, group discounts, and referral bonuses.
Moreover, Event Smart empowers attendees to shape their event experience by creating personalized profiles and agendas.
Audience engagement strategy during the event
According to statistics, 82% of business event attendees prioritize networking as their top concern, followed closely by learning at 71%.
It aims to deliver an interactive and varied event experience that meets the expectations and needs of the attendees, as well as to collect feedback and data from them.
Here’s a key step to consider:
Provide a seamless and user-friendly event app
Think of the event app as the heart of your gathering, serving as the go-to place for attendees to get all the info and engage with the event. It’s crucial that the app is user-friendly and includes key features like the schedule, speaker details, exhibitor info, maps, polls, Q&A, chat, and networking options.
To keep everyone in the loop, make sure the app offers real-time updates, notifications, and a way for attendees to give feedback. Integration with other platforms like social media, live streaming, and translation services can also enhance the overall experience.
Design a diverse and dynamic event agenda
The event agenda is the backbone of the event and the main driver of value and satisfaction for the attendees. It should be diverse and meet the various needs, interests, preferences, and goals of attendees.
The agenda should be dynamic. It should feature different formats like keynotes, panels, workshops, breakouts, and demos, and offer flexibility with in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. Attendees should have the freedom to choose their path and pace within the agenda.
Create a fun and engaging event atmosphere
When organizing an event, consider the atmosphere you want to create for attendees. Aim for a lively and thrilling vibe that sparks curiosity and sets the stage for an adventure. Foster a sense of community, encouraging everyone to participate and collaborate.
To enhance enjoyment and interaction, incorporate games, entertainment, enticing prizes, engaging challenges, and icebreakers. These will help people initiate conversations and provide opportunities for attendees to meet and connect.
Post-event Engagement Strategy
After the event, organizers maintain momentum with a post-event engagement strategy. Here are the key steps to consider.
Send a personalized thank-you message
Enhance post-event engagement by expressing gratitude to event attendees through personalized thank-you messages. As event planners, share videos, slides, pictures, and certificates, encouraging attendees to stay engaged and join future events for continued interaction and meaningful experiences.
Post-event Surveys
Gathering feedback is gold for event planners—it’s your best tool to understand what worked well, what needs improvement, and where opportunities lie. Collect feedback from surveys, polls, ratings, reviews, and social media. Dive into quantitative and qualitative analyses, including sentiment analysis. Share the insights with your team and, most importantly, use them to make your next event even better.
Sharing event highlights on social media
Keep the event alive and fresh in the minds of the attendees by sharing some event highlights and recordings on social media accounts and email. For example, you can share some key takeaways, quotes, statistics, photos, videos, etc. of the event. You can also tag and mention the attendees, speakers, and sponsors who were involved.
Encourage attendees to share and comment on the event on social media and email, as well as to join your online community and newsletter.
Creating opportunities for attendees to think or talk about the event
Stimulate and sustain the interest and engagement of the attendees by creating opportunities for them to think or talk about the event. For instance, you can send them some follow-up questions, challenges, or resources related to the event content and topics. You can also invite them to join some online or offline discussions, webinars, or workshops related to the event themes and goals.
Following up with leads and prospects and inviting them to future events
Convert and retain the leads and prospects generated from the event by following up with them and offering them relevant and valuable information, solutions, or opportunities.
You can send them personalized and customized emails, calls, or messages based on their profile, preferences, and behavior. You can also try offering them some free trials, demos, or consultations of your products or services. Don’t forget to invite them to attend your future events and provide them with some incentives or discounts for doing so.
What does event engagement look like in 2024
Event engagement is constantly evolving and adapting to the changing needs and expectations of the attendees and to the emerging trends and technologies in the event industry. Some factors that will shape event engagement in 2024 are:
Hybrid Events
Hybrid events will become more prevalent in 2024, as they provide more flexibility, accessibility, and inclusivity to the attendees and reach more revenue, and resilience to the event organizers.
Making hybrid events work well demands extra creativity, innovation, and seamless integration. You want to ensure attendees, no matter where they are or how they join in, have a consistent and smooth experience.
“Hybrid events are the future of events. They offer the best of both worlds: the reach and convenience of virtual event engagement, and the connection and engagement of in-person events.” – Josh Howarth, founder of Exploding Topics
Artificial Intelligence
In 2024, expect artificial intelligence to step up its game in event engagement, bringing more personalization, automation, and optimization for both attendees and organizers. Look forward to exciting features like chatbots, facial recognition, voice assistants, and recommendation systems that will enhance information delivery, interaction, and overall attendee satisfaction.
Sustainability
In 2024, sustainability takes center stage in event engagement, embodying the idea of meeting current needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to do the same. This shift is significant because it mirrors the values and priorities of both attendees and organizers, highlighting the event’s impact and responsibility.
“Sustainability is not a trend, it’s a necessity. Event planners have a responsibility to minimize the environmental and social impact of their events, and to align their events with the values and priorities of their attendees and stakeholders.” – Gerardo Tejado, vice president and general manager of American Express Meetings & Events
As event planners, this means considering sustainability in the event’s design and delivery, including choices related to venue, food, transportation, and materials. It’s about aligning the event with a commitment to a greener and more responsible future.
Tips to Improve Event Engagement Strategy for Future Events
To make your future events more exciting and memorable for people, you can try different things to get them involved. Here are some simple tips to help you.
Know Your Audience
The most important tip for making future events better is to understand the audience well. Find out what they like, what they want, and what they’re interested in. Organizers can do this by using various methods such as surveys, interviews, personas, and segmentation.
This helps organizers create a map that shows different opportunities the audience takes during the event and find ways to make it interesting for them at each step.
Use a Data-driven Approach
To enhance event quality, consider using a data-driven approach to understand how well things are going and make improvements. Event apps are one of the most effective tools that event planners can use in tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), ROI, and the metrics of event engagement.
In a survey, it was discovered that 91% of event organizers consider event apps to be essential for the success of their events. Moreover, a marketing report revealed that 78% of businesses utilizing a mobile event app say that it plays a role in achieving a positive return on investment (ROI) for their events.
This helps organizers understand how the event is going and find ways to improve it. It also lets them show others how much people liked the event and if it was worth the time and money.
Be Creative and Innovative
The event planning team can make their events more exciting by trying out new trends and technologies like hybrid events, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. Encourage attendees’ engagement to share their stories and insights to make each event meaningful and distinctive. Explore inventive event engagement ideas that can be shared on your Facebook event page, fostering excitement for upcoming events.
Remember, the goal is to make the event something people enjoy and remember, so have fun trying out these ideas.
Frequently Ask Questions
How do you keep an event engaging?
Keeping an event engaging is one of the crucial tasks of every event planner must achieve. To make your event interesting, focus on what matters to attendees, mix things up with different formats, and let people customize their experience. Encourage connections and contributions from everyone to create a lively atmosphere.
How can I measure event attendees’ engagement and its impact?
To figure out how well your event is doing and the impact it’s having, you can look at different things.
- Quantitative metrics, like the number of event attendees, how satisfied they are, or the revenue generated, give you specific numbers.
- Qualitative metrics, like feedback and stories, give you more of a description of how event attendees felt about the event.
- Mixed methods: By using a mix of both, such as surveys or interviews, you get a well-rounded view of your event’s success and the engagement it created.
How can event planners foster inclusive engagement for diverse audiences?
To make everyone feel welcome and included at events, event planners can include diverse speakers and content, offer different language options, and make sure things are easy to access. Create places where people can meet and share ideas. Train staff to be friendly to everyone. Ask people for their thoughts and fix anything that might make someone feel left out.
This way, events become enjoyable and meaningful for everyone.
Conclusion
Event engagement is not a one-time thing, but a continuous and strategic process that requires planning and execution across the entire event journey. By following the tips and best practices we shared in this article, you can create a winning event engagement strategy for your next event, whether they are in-person, virtual, or hybrid.
By doing so, you also need an event management platform to assist you in accepting online registrations and selling tickets for various types of events, and that’s where Event Smart comes in for you!
With Event Smart, you can plan unlimited events with 0% commission fees. Our user-friendly platform lets you effortlessly enjoy customization, real-time analytics, and a hassle-free experience!
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