9 Ways to Increase Virtual Event Attendee Engagement

As virtual events become the new norm, it is important to figure out ways to keep your attendees excited and engaged for a successful event. Easier said than done, right?

When it comes to optimizing for virtual attendee engagement, a good place to start is to look at your in-person event agenda and make a list of all your networking, wellness and social activities.

When hosting a virtual event, begin to think of ways these activities could be converted to virtual activities or think of new activities with a similar goal that have been done virtually and are easy to replicate to create a great attendee experience.

To help you get inspired, we’ve included some ideas below.

Virtual Health & Wellness Activities

1. Invite a yoga instructor to lead an online morning class to help people energize before the general session.
   
   
2. Offer an online meditation session in the afternoon to help attendees refocus.
   
   
3. Host a 5K marathon or virtual run. Ask attendees to post their times, route and a selfie to social media using a designated hashtag. Want to make it a competition? Offer awards or badges that can be shipped to participants post-event.

Virtual Networking Activities

1. Create a Facebook or LinkedIn group where attendees can connect to discuss a certain topic, have an open forum Q&A with the speaker post event or just connect with like-minded individuals.
   
   
2. Utilize Twitter chats to host a networking event. Create a hashtag that correlates to a specific topic or theme (avoid using the general event hashtag), then share the hashtag with attendees and invite them to follow and converse during set networking hours. Have a designated moderator to help keep the conversation flowing.
   
   
3. Create intimate small group meetings, meet-ups or idea exchanges throughout your event via Zoom or another meeting platform. Limit the number of attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis to help keep the groups small and the conversations constructive.

Virtual Social Activities

1. Host a virtual trivia game at the end of the day. Allow attendees to create teams in advance or create teams with similar interests or roles. Look for a platform that lets you run multiple trivia sessions at one time if you have a larger audience.
   
   
2. Create a virtual happy hour by live streaming a band or musician and send out attendee cocktail kits prior to the event for a fun and relaxing after-hours event. Kick it up a notch, by having attendees submit their song requests in advance to create the ultimate set list.
   
   
3. Let your attendees prep for family dinner while still attending the evening event with a virtual cooking class. Consider sending a box of items in advance with all necessary ingredients so attendees have exactly what they need to participate.

Once you decide on your various virtual activities, look to a partner to help you execute these great ideas with custom curated attendee kits that can be delivered straight to their front door.

Interested in designing your own custom curated virtual event kit that can be shipped straight to your event attendees' door? Learn more here.

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