Event professionals know that making an event a success is more than just getting people in the door. A successful event planner must understand what makes people want to attend, and how to keep them engaged once they arrive.
Audience engagement is not just a buzzword, it’s an essential part of any successful event.
In this article we will explore why audience engagement is important, how you can use multiple channels to engage your attendees, and how to turn them into loyal customers for your brand.
Event professionals need to understand that audience engagement is not just a buzzword.
Your audience engagement efforts are not just about live experiences and digital reach. They’re also about providing great content and engaging speakers.
When people think about audience engagement, they often focus on the experience of an event: The lights, sound, and venue; the stage production; even how attendees interact with each other in person. That’s all important—but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
Engaging your audience means giving them something to talk about online before, during, and after your event—not just during their experience at your event.
Audience Engagement takes many forms: live experiences and digital reach.
Live Experiences: A live experience is something that your audience can do in person, and it usually involves some type of interaction with you, the brand or business. For example, a musical performance or a cooking demonstration are both live experiences that allow people to get up close and personal with you and your brand. Other examples may include:
- Live Speakers
- Live Music
- Live Entertainment
- Live Demonstrations
- Live Contests and Prizes
- Audience Participation, Voting, & Surveys (live or online)
- Audience Feedback
Digital Reach: Digital reach is when you have an online presence that allows people to engage with your brand in a way that isn’t tied to any one physical location. This could include things like having an Instagram account where people can post pictures of themselves using your products or liking posts on Facebook if they’re fans of yours on there.
Event professionals that deliver great content and engaging speakers are the key ingredients to event success.
Great content and engaging speakers are the key ingredients to event success.
Event professionals know there are many factors that contribute to a successful event. But if you want your attendees to be engaged and inspired by the experience, providing great content is essential.
After all, it is your responsibility as a speaker or panel moderator to ensure that the audience receives what they came for—in other words, relevant and interesting information that will be of use to them in their professional lives.
In order for speakers’ messages to resonate with their audiences, they need certain tools at their disposal—most importantly engaging stories.
If you can tell an interesting story about a unique topic or use humor as part of your presentation style, then chances are high that people will remember what you said long after your discussion has ended. Providing these kinds of memorable moments during meetings is key for reaching your goals like increasing brand awareness or driving sales leads—you just gotta keep ’em laughing!
Event professionals can keep the audience engaged by providing a multi-channel approach.
By tailoring your strategy to the audience, you can create a multi-channel approach that keeps them engaged throughout the event.
For example, if you’re hosting an event for social media influencers and bloggers, you might reach out via Twitter or Facebook to provide them with more information about the upcoming event.
However, when it comes time for your actual event, encourage those same influencers to share their experiences on Instagram and Snapchat so their followers have access to event details before the event, and real-time updates as well.
Don’t forget about targeting different audience types all at the same time!
You might want one group of attendees excited about what they’re learning while another group has fun engaging with speakers or performers on-site that day—the excitement of watching it all go down live in a behind-the-scenes style, will encourage followers to attend your next event.
A great event experience can transform your attendees into loyal customers.
Creating a great event experience benefits both the brand and the attendees.
Event professionals looking to make a lasting impact on their audience need to think about what attendees will take away from your event experience.
A great event experience can transform your attendees into loyal customers because you created an environment where they felt welcomed, comfortable, and involved. To add real value to an experience, you want to ensure that you provide education, entertainment, and engagement.
Audience engagement is key in planning successful events.
To be successful at engagement, you need to be able to prove that you are engaging. This means showing results.
Audience engagement is key to planning successful events. The audience wants their voices heard and they want their ideas changed and improved upon by the speaker or sponsor they are interacting with. The more they feel like an active participant in the event, the more likely they are going to recommend it later on or even tell their friends about how much fun it was.
But what does audience engagement really mean for event planners?
For starters:
- ease of access for attendees (registration)
- good facilities with plenty of options for seating
- food and drink options that are varied yet still reasonably priced (so no $12 hot dogs)
- space for sponsors’ tables/booths where attendees can interact with them directly
—and last but not least—
- a professional staff who know what questions might come up beforehand so they can plan accordingly (i.e., if someone asks whether there will be wireless internet access available throughout the venue).
These things all require careful planning ahead of time because once your event has started then any changes would disrupt its flow completely!
Conclusion
In conclusion, we hope this article helps event professionals understand the importance of audience engagement in planning events.
Engaging your audience doesn’t just happen by accident—it requires careful planning and thoughtful execution. If you can provide a multi-channel approach that includes live experiences and digital reach, then you’re sure to have a successful event.
Click to learn more about how you can participate in The Event Planner Expo where you’ll truly get a taste of how much audience engagement has truly evolved.
