How to make virtual events more engaging? 

Virtual events emerged as a harbinger of hope for businesses and individuals during the pandemic. They presented a brighter future for organizations and the way forward as everybody sat at home. Business functions continued and so did the need for gatherings and events for various occasions. Virtual events like webinars, online conferences, virtual award shows etc. are seeing growth and these virtual events will probably shape into hybrid events that service the audience online as well as offline. 

These virtual events will not only stay relevant but also grow from this point onwards as they are scalable, more cost-effective, resulting in higher ROI, time-saving, and reach a wider and more diverse audience. Therefore it becomes highly essential for businesses to realize the power they hold and know the hacks that make a virtual event successful. Any event is successful if it generates leads, or educates the viewers, or draws their attention towards the business, basically fulfilling the ultimate purpose and that only happens when people pay attention to your virtual events. 

As every viewer is in his/her personal space amongst a million distractions, it becomes our responsibility to crack methods that can keep the audience engaged throughout our event. 

With the attention spans getting lesser by the day, businesses must have in place a concrete strategy and plan to make these virtual events an interactive journey for the attendee. 

Some of the basics, as we know, include having a lively speaker who can keep the audience hooked to what they are talking about. Making the content crisp, engaging, entertaining and light also helps the audience to consume it with ease. Details related to the content could be given as resources after the event. These details can be linked to the company website in order to get high traffic driven there.  Breaking the event into smaller sessions with some breaks also helps the audience stay refreshed. But make sure that there aren't too many breaks else the viewer tends to get distracted/disinterested. It is also vital to choose the right platform to host the event.  Once you have an idea of the format of your event, you should find the right software platform that suits your requirements and has the interactive features you need to create a dynamic event. Optimization for all devices- from phone to laptop to PC to tablet, should also be fulfilled. 

Amongst other things, the organizers should try and make the event interactive and engaging through gamification. Challenge the audience with quizzes and trivia, give them points for correct answers, which can then be redeemed to get prizes/products. This way, you may even add other key players and brands to your event and get various sponsorships and associations. Also,  give your audience a chance to speak and pose questions to make them feel heard. 

Foster in-event networking by forming pairs among the participants during various interactive activities and encourage them to connect with each other during the event to come up with ideas and solutions. Various features on different event platforms allow the feature of a personal chat with the participants which can be used to support this. You may also create communities for your participants that can help them stay connected after the event. 

To keep the buzz going, organizers can also send attendees some resources and goodies before and after the event. Along with presence and reminders over social media, this offline merch and resources (like a book, printed newsletter, stationery etc.) give a personal touch to the event and make the participants feel more connected and invested in the event. 

 Do remember to keep the visual branding of the event on similar lines as it makes it easier for the audience to grasp it and also helps in better connect and recall .

Holding the attention of your audience while adding value to their life/skill set should be the goal of your virtual event and in order to achieve that, following the above pointers can help you greatly.