Each occasion planner is aware of that viewers engagement is essential to occasion success. There are just a few tried and true methods: ebook top-level audio system, put money into an occasion app to extend engagement onsite, and supply them with loads of networking alternatives.
However what when you’re in search of one thing totally different? You’re in luck!
Karen Hill is the Director of Conferences and Occasions & Engagement at Barcami Lane, an Affiliation Administration Firm (AMC) that works with nationwide and regional nonprofit associations. She lately spoke at EventMobi’s ‘The New Guidelines of Engagement’ webinar, the place she shared quite a few viewers engagement methods—every tried and examined over her 19 years of expertise delivering participating affiliation occasions.
A number of the insights Karen shared embrace:
Leveraging your occasion’s location to amp up the enjoyable
Sourcing inspiration from numerous voices as you design your program
Including thriller and intrigue to construct anticipation
Hold studying to study three new occasion engagement ways that truly work!
3 Distinctive Methods to Enhance Viewers Engagement
You need to enhance engagement ranges at your subsequent occasion. However you’ve already exhausted your traditional ways. Karen has just a few outside-the-box concepts for you:
1. Decide the Proper Location
Any actual property tycoon will let you know, it’s all about location, location, location.
Effectively, location issues relating to occasion engagement as properly. The appropriate metropolis and/or venue can shock and delight your viewers. Take inspiration out of your host metropolis’s distinctive areas, surroundings, and landmarks to create extra participating and memorable experiences.
Karen lately helped plan the annual convention for the Affiliation of Educational Surgical Directors, which was held in Boston. This was a brand new metropolis for most of the attendees.
“I believe one of many issues was a variety of them had by no means been to town—or in the event that they had been within the metropolis, they had been simply caught in a gathering room…. This was simply the chance to nearly push them, exit, go see town, group up with different attendees, and simply discover.”
-Karen Hill
Karen and her group used town to their benefit, planning enjoyable actions for attendees that inspired them to discover their environment.
You are able to do one thing comparable. Take a web page out of Karen’s ebook and plan a city-wide scavenger hunt on your viewers (extra on this under). Or take a small-scale strategy and use your pre-event communications to focus on uncommon details concerning the location the place your subsequent {industry} convention will happen.
In the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have your host metropolis’s Vacation spot Administration Firm (DMC) as an occasion sponsor, you might collaborate to make sure your attendees expertise unique areas or actions highlighting town’s most original and thrilling features.
Any of those approaches will give your attendees one thing particular to get enthusiastic about.
“We introduced a listing of 10 totally different objects all through town of Boston… We needed to get them to exit, discover, strive new issues, new meals. We’d have them truly add them within the app after which we get all their images instantly… So we lower out social media utterly and simply targeted on having folks interact extra within the app and share their experiences.”
-Karen Hill
As an added bonus, the scavenger hunt required attendees to add images of their progress to the Exercise Feed within the occasion’s cellular app. This was an effective way for individuals to interrupt the ice and make new connections with different attendees.
To take part, attendees needed to log in to the app, which was a win-win situation for Karen as a result of it assured attendees may additionally entry all of the occasion info, content material, and engagement options that might assist them profit from the annual convention.
2. Take heed to Numerous Voices
To make sure her occasions provide actual worth to all attendees, Karen faucets into her volunteer base. This allows her to supply inspiration from numerous folks representing the occasion’s target market.
A gaggle of dedicated volunteers may also help you deal with administrative duties, elevate funds for future occasions, and market and ship your affiliation’s subsequent gathering. They will also be a wealthy supply of details about their very own demographic. Since your most engaged members are prone to be your volunteers, collect their insights into what actions can be most compelling to folks like them who could also be contemplating becoming a member of your affiliation—or thrilling to present members.
“So we work with a committee to give you and brainstorm totally different concepts to assist new members or first-time attendees interact with one another and likewise get out and benefit from the metropolis that they’re in.”
-Karen Hill
The query is, how do you join with and recruit volunteers? First, make sure the folks in your affiliation know the advantages of volunteering. For instance, they’ll be capable of make a distinction of their {industry}, join with different professionals, and develop new expertise. In sure conditions, they can improve their resumes, too. Plus, it will likely be a ton of enjoyable!
Second, supercharge the recruitment course of. A easy option to make it occur is to streamline the applying course of. The better it’s for folks to use, the extra volunteers you’ll get.
Additionally, be sure that to outline every volunteer’s duties. What do you count on of them? Complete readability on this regard will assist preserve everybody on the identical web page.
Subsequent, promote your volunteer alternatives throughout your affiliation’s web site, your occasion’s registration web site, neighborhood app, and social media channels. Clarify the advantages of volunteering, spotlight the enjoyable, and embrace your occasions’ hashtags in your social posts to drive registrations.
Lastly, think about rewarding your volunteers for his or her efforts. What are you able to provide them? Potential choices embrace hands-on coaching, industry-wide recognition, and networking alternatives.
3. Add Thriller and Intrigue
There are two methods to drive pleasure earlier than your occasion: inform them precisely what you might have deliberate along with your actions and hope they get excited. Or, preserve key info underneath wraps so the component of thriller builds a brand new stage of anticipation. Karen took the latter strategy.
“We didn’t launch any details about the precise picture scavenger hunt till the day of… We wished to make it thrilling—like that is what you might have developing.”
-Karen Hill
We all know what you’re pondering, “Did this strategy truly work?” Completely!
The scavenger hunt was designed to encourage networking and direct attendees to must-see spots within the metropolis. As a substitute of offering a listing of suggestions upfront—a extra widespread strategy—Karen ensured attendees had devoted time and a terrific cause to get on the market and see them.
“We noticed a rise in engagement and other people downloading the app and getting concerned… They’re truly in search of suggestions on what place to go to get the cannoli or get one thing, some chowder or one thing else. So it went properly.”
-Karen Hill
A scavenger hunt may not work at each occasion. Somewhat than copying Karen’s precise playbook, you should utilize thriller and intrigue to extend engagement with nearly any enjoyable exercise you might have deliberate on your attendees.
Elevate Viewers Engagement With a Confirmed Occasion Platform
There are numerous other ways to interact your attendees. Due to Karen Hill, you now have just a few extra distinctive methods to assist seize their consideration.
Need an extra tip? Put money into a confirmed Occasion Platform to maintain your viewers engaged and excited throughout your occasions—in addition to within the weeks or months between gatherings.
Your affiliation can use EventMobi to handle occasions, host content material, construct an engaged neighborhood, and talk with members year-round. A single platform the place your members can go online to register and attend occasions, study, and community all year long and throughout occasions.
To study extra about EventMobi and see how the occasion platform may also help you interact your members at and in between occasions, join a free demo!
