How to Engage Attendees During a Virtual Event

This blog is a result of Level Up CXO - an invitation-only, peer-to-peer discussion forum for C-Level leadership in the events industry. The August discussion group shared strategies for battling virtual fatigue through creating binge-worthy content and innovative opportunities for engagement.

​At this point, there’s no dearth of virtual events for people to join and attendees can click in as quickly as they can click out. So, what can you do to keep attendees engaged and make your event stand out from the crowd? The question of how to take your event to the next level with audience engagement and interactivity components has been top of mind among the event leaders in our Level Up community. In an attempt to quickly identify solutions, we conducted a rapid fire brainstorm and came up with ideas at a broad level as well as for specific industries.

Content Engagement

• Session Participation - Ask attendees to submit questions they want answered beforehand tied to specific sessions. Let them know you will be calling on them and bringing them “up on stage” during the session to dive into the question in a deeper manner.
• VIP Access - Allow VIP attendees to get exclusive access to keynote speakers in smaller breakout sessions where video chat is enabled.
• Curated Meetings - Offer to curate meetings between attendees who want to connect with one another and allow those meetings to occur during designated breaks.
• Topic Tables - Set up topic tables that people can join during the lunch break to discuss specific issues that are important to them. Topics can focus on business issues or even personal ones that we all share during these unprecedented times.
• Customizable Experience - Allow attendees to pick and choose sessions that appeal to them using a combination of pre-recorded and live. Using data from those selections, add on themed roundtables to allow attendees to drill down further with peers.

Health & Wellness

• Sponsored Yoga Session - Incorporate yoga breaks with special instructors where attendees receive complimentary mats with sponsor logo(s). 
• Fitness Competition - Host a fitness competition such as a virtual 5K ahead of your event or a step competition throughout the days of your event that keeps people moving. During your event, you can showcase a leaderboard, give awards, and donate “earned” money to a charity.
• Healthy Living Trivia - Quiz audience members on the specifics of a health subject that’s relevant to one of your sponsors where winners get prizes like gift cards, subscriptions, or free product.

Food & Beverage/Entertainment

• Themed Lunch/Tasting - Send a box of goodies with instructions for a themed lunch or beer/wine tasting. Select a sponsor to host the event and include a few items with their logo on it. Participants can then set up their place setting and take photos to post on social as well as within the virtual event platform.
• Virtual Dance Party - Hire a virtual DJ and have a dance party at the end of the day. Attendees can suggest songs throughout the day to be added to the queue.
• Virtual Classes - Host a cocktail making or cooking class with a celebrity bartender or chef and send autographed books to all those who participate.

We hope these thought starters helped you get your creative juices flowing! If you need help planning your virtual event, contact us today. 

Level Up is a complimentary program offered by H2K Partners and Bruno Group Signature Services.

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Heather Holst-Knudsen

Founder & CEO, H2K Partners
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​A top performing multi-functional executive in the events, media and event tech industries, Heather is passionate about all things related to sales, revenue stream innovation, & new organizational structures. She is particularly adept at helping her clients achieve growth during challenging times. Heather has won and failed leading her own businesses and through those experiences, she has learned. She shares what she knows openly with all of her clients and lives by being honest, true, transparent and authentic. Heather delivers results that matter using her strategic planning abilities coupled with operational expertise.