As an occasion organizer, a part of your job is to encourage your viewers to not solely enroll and present up, however to actively take part in your occasion expertise. And for those who can have interaction and excite them within the days, weeks, or months main as much as your occasions? Nicely, think about how rather more engaged, excited, and invested these people will probably be as soon as they lastly arrive onsite.
Because the President of KEL Consulting, a client-driven occasion and challenge administration firm, Kelly Legris has deliberate the whole lot from luncheons match for a queen (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, no much less!) to conferences, commerce reveals, and conferences for personal, public, and non-profit organizations.
Kelly joined the current EventMobi webinar, ‘The New Guidelines of Engagement’, to share the tried-and-tested suggestions she’s tailored to drive pleasure within the face of adjusting attendee behaviors.
These embody:
Utilizing pre-event challenges to encourage registrants to find out about your occasion
Showcasing the occasion agenda, audio system, venue, and host metropolis to face out in a aggressive occasion panorama
Utilizing video to drive significant pre-event engagement with occasion sponsors so attendees are motivated to fulfill with them onsite
Utilizing sizzle and spotlight reels to extend curiosity in particular periods and audio system
Empowering registrants with the entire data they want prematurely to profit from their time onsite
Hold studying to find out how Kelly achieves all of this and extra for her purchasers’ occasions! You may also watch her webinar section under 👇
7 Confirmed Methods to Have interaction Your Occasion Viewers & Members
Kelly Legris is a large proponent of investing in an Occasion App to enhance the attendee expertise and enhance engagement earlier than, throughout, and after a convention. Let’s check out a few of the ways she makes use of to drive attendee engagement at her purchasers’ occasions.
1. Reward Pre-Occasion Interactions
It may be a problem to get your attendees to obtain your Cellular Occasion App earlier than the convention begins, however Kelly has discovered a dependable method to get her viewers to obtain the Occasion App forward of time and use it for pre-event networking.
How? By creating pre-event gamification challenges and awarding factors for particular actions.
“We give [attendees] factors to […] arrange a profile within the app and it’s not about simply stepping into, signing up, and clicking. We wish them to essentially discover and actually have enjoyable with the app.”
-Kelly Legris
One surefire method to encourage your attendees to do, effectively, something is to show it into a contest. So, to make sure attendees totally discover the Occasion App, Kelly makes use of gamification to encourage them to transcend merely downloading it and creating their profiles. She creates in-app challenges and assigns factors for pre-event interactions, like watching speaker sizzle reels or recordings, exploring digital sponsor cubicles, and networking with different attendees earlier than the occasion begins.
To generate even larger ranges of engagement within the lead-up to occasions, Kelly suggests going as far as rewarding even the best of asks, equivalent to having an attendee create their in-app profile. For instance, you can supply 5 factors for attendees who add a photograph to their profile within the Occasion App and 10 factors for updating their bio.
2. Flip Your App right into a Snapshot of Your Occasion
Your viewers is extra protecting of their schedule than ever–and lots of occasions are condensing their time frames to accommodate. To compete for registrations in such a aggressive occasions panorama, it’s necessary to point out registrants precisely why they need to be enthusiastic about your occasion.
A lot of Kelly’s success in producing pleasure across the occasion agenda, audio system, venue, and host metropolis stems from her artistic use of Cellular Occasion Apps. She creates worth for attendees by utilizing an Occasion App to supply a sneak peek or “snapshot” of what they will sit up for on the upcoming occasion.
“We create issues by means of the app so that folks can get what I name a snapshot model of what the convention goes to be about.”
-Kelly Legris
The objective is to showcase probably the most thrilling elements of what you’ve acquired deliberate to get attendees excited in regards to the parts that make your occasion distinctive. To tug this off, she encourages audio system and sponsors to create their very own brief sizzle reels to assist get registrants excited.
Kelly’s occasion “snapshots” typically embody particulars in regards to the schedule, the venue, distributors, periods, and even the town the place the occasion is being held, so attendees can higher plan their go to and prioritize how they spend their time onsite.
An added bonus? Changing printed packages with an Occasion App is a good way to run extra sustainable occasions, they usually additionally give you the much-needed flexibility to replace the schedule with last-minute speaker or schedule modifications!
“I really like the app. The app is so versatile [and] straightforward to make use of. And having moved away from paper, if there’s a change on website, it’s very straightforward to include.“
-Kelly Legris
Certainly one of Kelly’s purchasers is the Alberta Hearth Chiefs Affiliation (AFCA). Managing occasions for AFCA comes with a particular set of challenges, however having the pliability to replace the occasion schedule on the fly is useful it doesn’t matter what kind of occasions you’re planning.
“We had audio system [cancel] final 12 months due to the wildfires […] so we needed to pull [them] out of the App and we had been capable of truly [make those changes] versus once you’ve acquired it printed.”
-Kelly Legris
3. Improve Curiosity in Particular Classes & Audio system
“We encourage all our audio system to do what we name a fast spotlight reel. They may give a 15-second clip introducing themselves, the importance of their session, and the important thing takeaways. We publish these within the app and it provides [attendees] a while to go in [and watch]–as a result of they lead busy lives.“
-Kelly Legris
Kelly makes use of video highlights reels to point out occasion registrants what they should sit up for–together with who will probably be talking, their background, and key takeaways they’ll cowl of their presentation. She encourages audio system and sponsors to document 15-second sizzle reels to focus on their experience.
These movies are then hosted within the Occasion App–both within the Video Library, the speaker’s profile, or as a part of the sponsor’s digital sales space. This presents an important alternative on your audio system to offer attendees a sneak peek into their session matter or introduce themselves to a brand new viewers.
“As knowledgeable speaker, I really like apps that enable me to have interaction with attendees and exhibitors earlier than, throughout, and after the occasion. It’s such a worth add to me as a speaker.”
-Robin Shear, Director of Strategic Relationships, Nationwide Audio system Affiliation – Michigan and ‘New Guidelines of Engagement’ attendee
To not point out, your viewers is busy! In the event that they register early, they might not keep in mind what a specific session is about by the point the occasion rolls round. With occasions deliberate months prematurely, sizzle reels assist jog attendees’ reminiscences nearer to the date.
Really useful Useful resource: Need to see what engagement methods and ways different planners shared within the webinar? Signal as much as watch The New Guidelines of Engagement on-demand now! 👇
4. Spark Precious Pre-Occasion Conversations So the Proper Ones Can Proceed Onsite
Driving significant engagement with sponsors has all the time been difficult, however Kelly has discovered methods to extend visibility and consciousness pre-event that result in extra engagement onsite. And with tightening sponsor budgets, it’s extra necessary than ever to have the ability to ship a amount and high quality of conversations that may make sponsoring your occasion worthwhile.
“Cash’s tight. The economic system’s not the identical because it was,” says Kelly. “So that they need to guarantee that their presence, whether or not it’s in that App or onsite, is admittedly related they usually’re being acknowledged.”
For her purchasers’ occasions, Kelly creates digital cubicles to showcase sponsor content material–together with the sizzle reels talked about above together with different movies, photos, and downloadable content material. These digital cubicles present a lot richer content material than only a typical sponsor profile on the occasion web site.
“They need to develop their model, expose it, and actually captivate that viewers whereas they’re on website. As a result of the commerce present is a day and a half. In order that’s a really finite time that they’ve to try this networking and showcase their product or their providers.”
-Kelly Legris
Highlighting sponsors within the app will increase the variety of interactions they’ve onsite as a result of attendees already know they’ll be there and are wanting ahead to connecting. This gives the chance to begin the dialog earlier than the occasion even begins. Even higher, attendees can watch a speaker’s video after which attain out instantly by means of the App to ebook a gathering onsite.
“And perhaps it’s competing with one other session. They’ll hear and speak to that speaker to determine [if] they will go community and have a espresso within the lobby at a while.”
-Kelly Legris
Plus, this sort of content material helps audio system set up themselves as specialists. By encouraging sponsors and exhibitors to share content material on the Occasion App, you’re permitting them to construct credibility and familiarity with the viewers.
When attendees understand sponsors and exhibitors as invaluable assets (versus people who find themselves simply going to attempt to promote them issues), they’re extra inclined to work together with them earlier than and through an occasion.
5. Empower Attendees to Plan their Occasion Expertise in Advance
Whether or not it’s a trip itinerary or a convention schedule, half the enjoyable of creating plans is anticipating what’s to come back. Whenever you supply attendees a Cellular Occasion App, you’re empowering them to take full management over their occasion schedule.
Bear in mind: your attendees are busy. They won’t keep in mind particulars about periods between after they register and when the occasion takes place. An Occasion App permits them to favourite the periods and actions they need to partake in to allow them to create a personalised occasion agenda prematurely.
“So [attendees] can reserve it as a favourite of their profile after which return and watch it after which construct their [agenda] on what periods are important to them.”
-Kelly Legris
Planning out their schedule prematurely will assist enhance anticipation as they may have a transparent view of how they will profit from their time onsite. By permitting attendees to “favourite” the periods they’re most enthusiastic about, you additionally get to see which periods are resonating together with your viewers–and which of them aren’t. Apply these insights to regulate your programming or the way you promote necessary periods with loads of time to spare.
“All the data is within the app, so we moved away from paper and actually embraced the know-how.”
-Kelly Legris
6. Flip Passive Observers into Lively Contributors
“We now have audio system that may use the app to push out their questions as a result of they need to get the temperature of the room to see the place the dialogue goes to go.”
-Kelly Legris
Kelly encourages audio system to reap the benefits of Reside Polls and Q&A options throughout their stay periods to encourage viewers participation. Giving the attendees an opportunity to voice their opinions and ask questions can add worth to the dialog and assist steer the presentation in probably the most related route.
Sending out updates and knowledge by means of the App is a invaluable method to notify attendees of modifications throughout an occasion.
For instance, you can ship a notification to announce when the gamification problem has been up to date with new methods to earn factors. Or you can allow them to know as quickly as the brand new keynote speaker is introduced, inviting them to go to the app to view the speaker’s spotlight reel.
Conserving attendees knowledgeable and engaged with related content material can assist you keep pleasure and anticipation for the occasion.
7. Prolong the Lifetime of Your Occasion Content material
After a whirlwind occasion, you need your attendees to have entry to any academic data, session notes, or new connections they need to save. That’s why Kelly ensures her purchasers give occasion attendees a window of time to revisit the Occasion App after the convention is over.
“They’ll return in after and take a look at issues once more as a result of we depart them a window of time to return into the app post-conference as effectively to get any data, whether or not it’s within the Video Library or the useful resource library or going again right into a commerce sales space or a sponsor sales space.”
-Kelly Legris
This enables attendees to have ongoing entry necessary supplies, evaluate periods they might have missed, or rewatch one thing they discovered notably attention-grabbing. Moreover, if an attendee met a speaker or sponsor onsite and wished to study extra about them, they might join with them by means of the App. As an illustration, they might revisit a speaker’s profile and message them instantly by means of the App if they’ve a query about their presentation.
“[Attendees can] take a look at that data as a result of perhaps there’s one thing there that they didn’t get an opportunity to speak to them about. However there’s some data in that app and now they’ve they usually can obtain it.”
-Kelly Legris
With all the trouble that goes into planning a profitable occasion, it’d be a disgrace to not make your occasion content material and session recordings obtainable to attendees after the very fact. By supporting your occasions with a Cellular Occasion App, you’ll be able to create extra alternatives to have interaction, educate, and encourage your viewers after the stay occasion wraps up.
Use Occasion Apps to Have interaction, Encourage & Join with Your Viewers
There are countless artistic methods you should utilize an Occasion App to higher have interaction your attendees earlier than, throughout, and after your occasions. From showcasing speaker sizzle reels and digital sponsor cubicles to creating pre-event challenges and networking actions, an app lets you excite, information, and educate your viewers on what’s to come back after they be part of you in individual!
Need to study extra about how an Occasion App can assist you have interaction together with your viewers at each stage of your occasion? E book your customized demo in the present day!
