Category: Audience Engagment
How to Boost Event Engagement!
Whether organizing a conference, meeting, or event, planners are utilizing new techniques bolstered by the latest technology in order to ensure attendees get the most out of an event. With an increasing focus on achieving event ROI and success, it is becoming more and more important to improve event engagement by involving attendees throughout the experience: before, during and after! These features include apps, seating, visuals and much more!
Here are ABCey’s Top 10 ways to boost participation at your next event!
1.Event Engagement with Mobile Apps
Mobile apps such as Whova, Event Friendly and Event Board aim to transform audience networking and event engagement. These platforms include key features such as the accessibility of communication amongst each other, the ability for guests to plan networking in advance and also receive real time updates. There is also the ability to receive feedback during and after the event!
2. Mixed Seating
We all know theatre style is making it’s way out, and mixed seating IN! Mixed and informal seating at your event is important so that the audience is comfortable, and creates more space for lounging, networking, and engaging. We love this stage and seating design from Girl Boss!
3. Bioreactive Wristbands
There are a variety of new devices to engage the stage with the audience! Bioreactive wristbands were recently used at a Google-sponsored music event that displayed levels of emotion, movement and energy! These levels were presented on a real time board for the audience to see. Developments in new tech continue to change the event industry as it becomes more integrated into our daily lives!
4. Catchbox
Catchbox gives the audience the capability to speak and participate at an event or conference, making it fun and different! No more walking across the room to pass the mic! Attendees have a chance to engage with each other with the use of this throwable microphone. Make sure to keep your eye on the box so you don’t get hit in the head!
5. Virtual Reality
Not all event engagement needs to include speaking! Having new technology at events provides participation with the use of virtual reality headsets. VR can range from the audience playing a game to showcasing a new product, and is even used to scout event spaces! This interactive technology allows the audience to have some fun!
6. Live Visual Thinking
ABCey recently used One Squiggly Line at the UpStart 10x Event! Visual note taking provides the audience a way to engage, brainstorm and share ideas with each other at events.
7. Social Media Influencers
One influential person can change the perspective of an event compared to many average social media users! The attendees who are more powerful on social media can be tracked prior to an event through monitoring. This allows them to engage with their followers and have a discussion.
8. Eye Catching Sets and Backdrops
It is important to have a design or event that is eye catching to the audience! Projection mapping can also help display content to really drive a brand’s message across. This will spark the interest of the attendees and set the tone for engagement and discussion.
9. Special Perks
Give attendees a gift to show your appreciation, and you don’t have to spend a ton! At our recent Upstart 10x Event, we created a cute low budget gift which included Dill Seeds from Urban Adamah (an event sponsor), tied with a custom flip book of all of the organizations members, and info on the company. This gave attendees a little something to discuss and take home!
10. Networking After Party
Well this one’s a given! Who doesn’t need a cocktail after a long day of sessions? DO provide a chance for attendees to continue the conversation, relax, and enjoy themselves. This also gives the guests the ability to talk about what they learned, as well as a way to meet and network with new people!
As attendees go to events to learn, network, and engage they also want an unforgettable experience! Event engagement allows the audience to have a unique involvement with the event. What are your favorite ways to stay tuned in at an event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
5 Ways to Effectively Engage Your Audience
It’s getting increasingly harder and harder to engage audiences. With over 1000 cable channels, video streaming online, and on-demand music streaming, we have become more sophisticated and demanding! So, when your audience arrives at your event they expect the same level of choice, engagement, and customization. Read on for tips to truly engage live audiences!
1. Get them before they arrive: Reach out to your audiences and get them interacting with your content and your brand before they even show up. This does not include a simple email blast, but real and interactive content they can begin to engage with and get them psyched for & buzzing about your event! Pushing social media content is helpful, but be sure to create a branded campaign and target your influencers.
2. Give them something to do: True learning only happens when your audience experiences something! Give them a task, ask something of them, or expect them to bring some valuable insight. Your audiences want to be asked to participate in the process. Give people something to buzz about!
3. Let them have a say: Allow your audience to choose their own path at an event or conference. This goes beyond having them build their agenda through your conference app. Have them build content, change the flow, or collectively decide how they will interact with demos, content, and speakers. Creating unique and personalized content is the only way to authentically target event attendees!
4. Get them talking: A social media wall is one way, of course, but what about in-the-moment engagement? Integrate social media into the program flow so that you are receiving real-time feedback, questions, and comments that will tell you, on the spot, if your message is hitting home.
5. Speak to them: Really interact with them, not just to their heads, and provide content they need. Speak to their hearts as well. We tend to forget that, as professional as we all are, that our audiences come to our events to be moved, informed, and ultimately changed in some way. They want to be enriched and sometimes the answer is not just valuable content, but ideas that move & challenge them!
Reinventing live engagements are what we do here ABCey Events. Which of these tips do you find most useful in engaging your audience? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!