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December 22, 2023
4:09 pm
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One thing every successful event planner will agree on is that audience engagement is vital to the overall success of an event.
Imagine trying to teach a class, hold a discussion or get people to participate in an activity only to receive bland responses or, even worse, awkward silence. Scary imagination, right?
But then, what is audience engagement? Why does it matter? And how can you increase the level of audience engagement at your events?
Audience engagement, also known as event engagement, is an event's ability to secure the attention of its audience and encourage full participation from attendees.
To achieve this, such events must be thrilling and captivating from start to finish.
According to a 2020 Bizzabo report, over 80% of B2B marketing professionals ranked audience engagement as an essential key performance indicator for determining an event's success.
So, the next question that comes to mind is: How can you tell if an event is engaging? Several metrics can help measure audience engagement, but these are primarily based on the event setup.
For instance, at a physical event, perhaps a conference or lecture, you can gauge an engaged audience by their participation in discussions, interaction with one another, and level of attentiveness throughout the event.
An audience engagement strategy is crucial when planning and managing events, and the reason for this is not far-fetched.
Audience engagement strategy can differ between a fantastic, memorable event and a light show without mincing words.
Suffice it to say that engagement levels determine event attendance, audience retention, and the success of future events.
As such, the more engaging your event is, the higher the chances of attendee satisfaction and interest in participating in similar future events.
Recommended Post: Top 5 Strategies to Build Trust and Improve Employee Engagement
To increase audience engagement at your events, you should strive to create a deep sense of connection by keeping up with them before, during and after the event.
The strategies below cover the activities you must incorporate pre, during, and post-event to ensure maximum success.
It is crucial for event attendees and their potential to access your event planning team easily. Provide answers to questions on your social media, and try to send regular reminders.
Allow attendees to sign up for SMS updates or email reminders. This way, they feel part of the brand even before the event occurs and are motivated to participate actively when they attend the event.
A whopping Seventy-four percent of event planners believe that social media is the most powerful marketing tool at their disposal. Therefore, depending on the kind of business you operate, endeavour to utilize relevant social channels properly.
Start by creating a Facebook event page from which you can invite members of your target audience and share engaging, interactive content.
Then, to increase the personal feel of your brand, show your followers exclusive video content on Instagram and make it easy for them to register for your event right from your social media profile.
To engage your attendees, you need to promote discussions that matter to them, not just what you feel they would be interested in.
Look for conversations in places where your target audience might interact with one another.
Look at the topics they are discussing and the questions they are asking. This way, you are more informed about how to plan and market your event correctly.
Another way to encourage and increase audience engagement is by opting for a seating arrangement that enhances the person-to-person conversation.
Isolating attendees by making them sit alone can contribute to a dull atmosphere and reduce their engagement levels.
However, before deciding on a seating arrangement to adopt—open or assigned—you might want to consider what is best for your event.
No matter how severe or formal your event is, the last thing you want is a drained, inactive audience. To forestall this, try to get your audience up and moving through participatory activities that boost vibrancy.
You can introduce healthy challenges and encourage collaborative competitions with pop quizzes, trivia, and games. Whatever you decide on, be creative, spontaneous, and less restrictive in your approach.
This would enable them to participate more, get familiar with the other attendees, and look forward to future events.
Suggested Read:5 Corporate Event Ideas That Will Get Your Employees buzzing
An engaged audience would most likely be open to different events organized by your brand.
To increase the likelihood of your audience signing up for future similar events, you should be intentional about keeping tabs with them after the event;
this is one of the audience engagement tactics that works.
Some excellent ways to do this include:
Utilise the strategies highlighted in this article, and don't forget to explore other excellent articles on this blog that can help make your events memorable and exciting!
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For more, kindly visit www.thezone.ng or email hello@thezone.ng
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