Increase Engagement at Your Convention

Attendee engagement is important for constructing significant relationships, boosting model visibility, and driving enterprise outcomes at your commerce present, exhibition, or convention. Excessive engagement ranges translate to extra leads to your exhibitors, elevated ROI, and a memorable occasion expertise for all contributors.

Listed here are some key insights from a current dialog between occasion chief, Katie Minaret, and advertising and marketing maverick, Jay Lebo, that can assist you maintain your attendees engaged at each stage of the occasion cycle.

The Evolution of Engagement Metrics

Prior to now, occasion organizers primarily targeted on the variety of attendees and fundamental suggestions kinds when engagement. The aim was merely to assemble as many individuals as attainable, with out a lot regard for his or her expertise or how engaged they had been throughout the occasion.

Nonetheless, over time, the panorama has modified. Gone are the times of merely counting attendees. Organizers now have to know not simply who attended but in addition how they interacted with the occasion, which periods they discovered helpful, and the way they networked with different contributors.

This shift has been pushed primarily by heightened expectations for ROI. Organizers are underneath extra stress from stakeholders like exhibitors, sponsors, and buyers to point out a transparent return on funding, making engagement metrics important for proving occasion worth.

“Our understanding of engagement is evolving, and it is modified so considerably, particularly over the previous few years. We have gone from barely benefiting from occasion information to needing metrics that hyperlink to enterprise targets. ” – Katie

Construct an Efficient Engagement Technique at Your Convention

Participating attendees at your commerce present, exhibition and convention requires cautious planning, making an allowance for the assorted elements to make sure most participation and satisfaction. 

From composing compelling pre-event communications to implementing real-time engagement techniques throughout the occasion and following up with post-event actions, each step performs a vital function in shaping the attendee expertise. 

An engagement technique maps out core methods that improve attendee engagement. Under are 4 core parts you want in yours.

1. Begin Early, Construct Buzz 

Begin by contacting potential attendees properly prematurely. Use focused questions throughout registration to assemble helpful information, serving to to create a customized attendee expertise that enhances engagement.

Subsequent, craft a collection of pre-event communications to maintain attendees knowledgeable and excited. Share sneak peeks, spotlight key periods, and introduce audio system and exhibitors to generate anticipation. Construct anticipation by way of a structured communication plan, using emails, social media, and different channels to create buzz. Launch data in levels to maintain your viewers hooked.

“I all the time urge our organizers to consider communication and engagement in parallel to their registration. It must be accomplished proper firstly, and time must be spent on it. Information exhibits that mapped-out engagement and communication methods yield outcomes.” – Katie

2. Promote Platform Proficiency

The usage of an occasion platform is vital to maximizing attendee engagement and exhibitor ROI, nevertheless, most organizers and exhibitors are nonetheless not profiting from it.

To assist your workforce and exhibitors turn out to be proficient in utilizing the occasion platform, provide pre-event coaching. You’ll be able to provide these properly prematurely — Katie recommends just a few months earlier than the occasion — but in addition document them and supply written documentation so everybody can familiarize themselves with the platform’s functionalities and options at a handy time.

“We actually urge organizers to speculate time in coaching. in the event that they know the way to leverage [the platform], it’s going to improve the return on funding for them.” – Katie

3. Use real-time information to make on-the-fly changes

Engagement peaks throughout the occasion, nevertheless it’s not the time to calm down. Due to fashionable tech, it’s now attainable to leverage information because it is available in to make knowledgeable selections that maintain attendees engaged. 

A scorching subject, for instance, is geofencing or geolocation (also called wayfinding expertise) to see the move of holiday makers as they’re transferring by way of your occasion after which reacting to that information e.g. prompting exhibitors to host one other reside demo or workshop to be a magnet for the incoming crowd.

You too can use real-time information to see in case your exhibitors are making use of issues like badge scanning for lead technology. And if they are not, have your workforce onsite go to their cubicles to see how one can help them.

“Seeing the move of holiday makers and reacting to that information is essential. Time actually must be scheduled throughout these on-site occasion days. They [exhibitors and organizers] have to be monitoring the information, they have to be reacting to it” says Katie.

4. Purpose for 365 engagement

Publish-event engagement tends to be uncared for, however it’s truly a wonderful alternative to foster extra engagement and develop your group. 

Leveraging your occasion group for year-long engagement (or 365 engagement) can have a tangible constructive affect in your occasion targets. It’s so simple as sharing session summaries, and content material along with your group after the occasion doorways shut. 

Relating to content material, the extra customized, the higher! Don’t hesitate to make use of attendee information from registration or the onsite occasion to tailor content material to your attendee’s curiosity and sector.

“[Organizers] may even filter who they aim relying on in the event that they attended the session or did not, or if it was a subject that they registered as an curiosity of their registration kind or not”. – Katie

Use your group to share networking alternatives (each digital and in-person), and to encourage additional interplay with exhibitors services within the digital exhibition house.

“Holding the viewers engaged past the occasion cultivates a group and lays the groundwork for future occasions.” – Katie

How one B2B convention deliberate for engagement throughout the occasion lifecycle

Wish to know the methods a number one medical convention put in place to nail their engagement technique? Hold studying!

Earlier than the Occasion

Content material and communications: Attendees acquired tailor-made messages primarily based on their pursuits and registration information, making certain relevance and better engagement charges. The content material was launched in phases to take care of a gentle stream of anticipation, that includes sneak peeks, key session highlights, and speaker introductions.
Registration course of: The registration course of was designed to gather key data from attendees, enabling customized experiences and focused engagement methods.
Intensive occasion promotion: The occasion was extensively promoted throughout all social media channels, with convention employees together with the occasion web site or platform hyperlinks of their e-mail signatures to maximise visibility and attain.
Complete coaching: A devoted workforce to coach exhibitors so they can successfully leverage occasion instruments to extend their engagement and ROI.

Through the Occasion

Occasion platform communications: All occasion communications got here from the occasion platform, making certain larger platform engagement charges.
Occasion platform promotion: Organizers positioned QR codes resulting in the occasion app wherever and everwhere – from the Metro exits, to the venue foyer, to employees members t-shirts. They actually made use of each alternative to advertise the occasion app. And we all know there’s a robust correlation between occasion app activation and engagement. 
On-site help workforce: The on-site help workforce engaged with exhibitors to creating certain they’d every part they wanted to drive the attendee engagement and to assist them analyze incoming information in actual time.

After the Occasion

Ongoing networking alternatives: The occasion organizers facilitated continued networking by creating alternatives for attendees to attach and collaborate even after the occasion doorways closed. 
Content material: Detailed summaries of key periods had been shared with attendees, tailor-made to their pursuits and areas of focus. These summaries included highlights, actionable takeaways, and extra assets, making certain that attendees might proceed to learn from the occasion content material even after it had concluded.
Publish-event information evaluation: Occasion organizers offered complete help to exhibitors in analyzing post-event information. This included customized consultations to assist exhibitors perceive attendee habits, suggestions, and engagement metrics, enabling them to refine their methods and maximize their ROI for future occasions.

Last Ideas

“Engagement in itself is such an enormous element of occasion success, however having an engagement technique is what organizers have to do in an effort to attain these targets that they are being set by exterior stakeholders.” – Katie

Constructing a profitable engagement technique requires time, planning, and the correct instruments. At Swapcard, we provide a user-friendly occasion engagement platform for big B2B commerce exhibits, exhibitions, and conferences trying to modernize and future-proof their occasion. The outcome? Income development, enhanced attendee engagement, and extra exhibitor ROI.