How to Engage a Remote Audience at Your Virtual Event

If you’re living in the same world as the rest of us, we can easily assume you’ve most certainly experienced a few bumps this year. Some of these bumps caused by COVID might have even felt daunting at first, resulting in you considering canceling your events due to the restrictions on large gatherings.

However, if this is a mirror image of you, think again, and instead let us figure out a way for you to bring a larger audience to your event, and really engage them online.

It is important to remember that remote audiences might be accessing your event with a whole lot of distractions, and limited attention spans – either with children spilling food all over them, or while traveling from one place to another, with their mobile notifications constantly buzzing, and much more.

Therefore, you may want to ensure that your audience is 100% hooked, and in doing so, the following online engagement tools and tips can help turn your event into a viral success.

1. Create hype prior to the event

• Agenda of the event: sharing the event schedule with your audience can allow them to know what to expect from the event. This will also ensure that they clear up their routines at certain timings to avoid missing out on relevant parts of the event.
• Incentivize with popular speakers: invite well-reputed and influential speakers to attract remote audiences and let them know what topics will be discussed before the event begins. This will also have a similar impact on attendance.
• Award certifications to those who attend the event. This information can motivate your remote audience to register for the event and participate, because what easier way would it be than sitting at home and receiving a certification?

2. Ensure your event category is clear and relevant to your target remote audience

This is vital for two reasons – First, in order for your event to be engaging, it has to be of value to your audience. Only then will they be interested to join and stay for the rest of it.

Second, for events such as virtual conferences and virtual tradeshows especially, the underlying fields are usually so vast, it can be confusing for the audiences to figure what they’re being offered at the event. Classifying your industry is key to inviting the right crowd to your event.

Read More: 9 Types of Virtual Events Being Hosted in 2021

3. Make use of online engagement tools during the event

You’ve invited your audience from next door, all the way till probably Alaska. Now, how do you ensure that your remote audience is engaged?

Virtual events offer several online tools and features to fight against the distractions that remote audiences are often surrounded with, as well as to power networking and seamless interactions from across the world.

Using the following methods, virtual events typically make sure you don’t lose the personal touch that traditional physical events used to offer back in the day.

• Live Chat: 1:1, as well as group chats, can boost engagement at any event and make interactions & networking possible in real-time.
• Live Webinars: webinars are a great way to educate and engage the masses. In fact, they also open up room for two-way communication. Adding a Q&A session during or at the end of your webinar sessions can multiply engagement by adding the element of interest and making your remote audience feel more involved.
• Polls, Surveys & Quizzes: Anna Anisin, founder and CEO at experiential marketing agency Formulated.by says, “While all of this is very possible with physical events, you don’t get to share the instant results you would see online (e.g., display graphs summarizing an audience poll seconds after distribution). This can give you insight into the audience you are speaking to in addition to providing you with great conversation starters.”

4. Micro-learning can Boost Engagement

Engagement in terms of remote audiences (and to a certain extent, even for non-remote audiences) immensely depends upon the methods of delivery. As mentioned earlier, high levels of distraction in remote settings can play a huge role in lowering audience engagement. Therefore, it is suggested that you provide your audience with bite-sized information, over a certain period of time. This will not only make the transfer of information more effective but also the rate of retention higher.

5. Delight Your Remote Audience

Keeping remote audiences excited is key to higher engagement at your event. One way of doing so is by gamifying your event. Use scavenger hunts or leaderboards to provide attendees with rewards for certain actions and therefore keep the enthusiasm alive and their stay longer. Moreover, you can also do the same by offering exclusive material to your remote audiences.

Conclusion

The COVID crisis might have affected a number of businesses and institutions, however, it is not the end of the events industry. In fact, hosting a virtual event has been known to borne more benefits than drawbacks, not only to organizers but also, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees.

Therefore, going ahead with your scheduled events is the obvious choice. It is only how you’re going to enhance the same event with an even larger, more diverse audience on your online platform. Isn’t that an opportunity in itself?

Read More: The Ultimate Guide to a Virtual Event

About vFairs

vFairs strives to deliver top-class virtual events for all audiences, with an intuitive platform that recreates physical events through an immersive online experience. With a range of powerful features and dedicated support for users around the world, vFairs removes the hassle from organizing, exhibiting at, and attending events such as conferences, trade shows, and career fairs. Contact the vFairs team to learn more or request a demo to see a virtual event in action. 

vFairs is a global leader in virtual events, offering best-in-class virtual event solutions for audiences across industries and geographies. With a user-friendly platform that delivers an immersive online experience, a range of powerful features, and an acclaimed team of experts, vFairs provides a value-driven alternative to traditional in-person events. Contact the vFairs team to learn more or request a demo to see a virtual event in action.