Sometimes you have the perfect idea, content and setting for your virtual event, but the audience does not feel engaged or does not even show up. It is difficult to onboard participants to an online event. And even when you succeed in attracting a desired crowd there is a big drop-out. So how to increase your virtual event attendance?
Here are 5 steps to keep in mind:
1. Set clear goals for your event and audience
Setting clear expectations about how to measure success in event attendance is the foundation of virtual events. Do you care about the fact that you have as many attendees as possible? Or do you care that those attendees are relevant and lead to possible sales or useful contacts. Define your goals of the event first and understand clearly who is the best audience for it.
2. Understand your audience needs
After you have defined the goals and audience, make some research on your possible attendees. Now more than even, understanding when is the best time to organize an event for participants is highly important. Do they have kids who are doing distant learning? Are they busy business owners who have meetings booked all morning. Do they need breaks to go walk the dog? Do your research and keep in mind that the average participant needs some buffer time between sessions. The attention span in the home office is short and full of distractions.Â
3. Make your virtual event simple
The more you complicate things already before the event, the less the chance your attendee will even show up. With so much going on, participants need something that is easy and relevant to consume. Don’t over-do with registration, functionalities or tracks, keep the communication and organization clear and simple. Minimize your own risks of technical mishaps with seamless broadcasting and clear interaction functionalities. Sometimes less is more.
4. Use correctly timed communication
Depending on how you reach your audience, via e-mail or on social media, make sure you update the participant timely before the event. Often the attendees just humanly forget they even signed up to attend somewhere. Which is why it is important to plan and automate your communication beforehand. On the same day or an hour before, the attendees need to be reminded where and when they have to be.
5. Sharing is caring
And lastly, how to increase your virtual event attendance is by sharing. Encourage the attendees to share – share their thoughts before, during and after the event. Create buzz within the participants to build suspense. Allow networking during the event, allow them to give feedback. Make sure those who did not show up live, will get the content on-demand afterwards. This will not only make the attending more appealing, but also creates a good feeling and expectation for the next event.
Worksup is a virtual and hybrid event platform, enabling clear and easy setup, simple user interface and expert advice. Book your first online consultation below.