The best way to create a memorable conference and build lasting momentum for future installments is to engage with your attendees. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, we’re not just talking about schmoozing after your favorite sessions.
Proper attendee engagement requires interaction with guests before, during, and after the conference. It requires serious planning.
Fortunately, a strong attendee engagement strategy pays off when you put in the effort.
Pre-Conference
Social media, email campaigns, and an event website can be used to communicate with your attendees before they arrive. Messaging should build hype for the conference and set attendee expectations.
When building hype, focus on what attendees will learn, the speakers they’ll meet, and how they can start connecting with fellow guests. When setting expectations, focus on topics such as catering, transportation, and parking — all things that guests should be aware of before their arrival.
We also recommend creating a content calendar for posting on social media. This way, you won’t miss an opportunity to discuss important conference features. Pairing a social media scheduling platform with that content calendar will help you even more, freeing you from the burden of having to write and publish emails and social media posts every single day.
On-site
With all the hustle and bustle that goes on during a conference, getting attendees to raise their hands and ask insightful questions at their third session of the day isn’t always easy. This is what makes technology your best friend. In addition to using an event app to push out surveys after a session wraps up, you can use that app to create interactive experiences during the session. Live polling and the ability to ask/answer questions anonymously are always appealing to guests.
Of course, attendee engagement isn’t solely about creating opportunities for the conference staff and speakers to interact with your guests. It’s essential that you also make time for guests to interact independently. One way to achieve this is to create pods where attendees can discuss sessions they attended or share a quiet breather from all the activity.
Our favorite piece of advice when it comes to on-site engagement is to encourage group discussions whenever you can. Guests can share interesting facts about themselves on their name tags. You can plant people at every table who are sure to get the conversation started. Lastly, you can curate events that cater to different guest personalities, which helps ensure that you’ve allowed every attendee to network while on their A-game.
Post-Conference
We’ve now arrived at the most underutilized — quite possibly the most important — form of attendee engagement: post-event engagement. And look, we get it. You’re tired, and the attendees are exhausted, too. Why not take a beat?
Because you need to start thinking about next year.
Post-event messaging is your chance to collect the data, feedback, and testimonials that will help improve the guest experience at future conferences. It’s also an opportunity to incentivize early registrations. Offer survey participants or anybody who provides a testimonial a deeper discount for early registration or exclusive access to content.
Speaking of content, sharing videos and photos on social media and through email is an easy way to create a sense of nostalgia and keep people talking about the conference. It’s also an opportunity to connect with individuals who couldn’t attend this time but will want to participate in the future.
It’s hard work, but somebody has to do it!
Creating and maintaining an informative, engaging communication plan with guests is a year-round endeavor. If you have any questions or concerns about your attendee engagement strategy, email our team today.