10 virtual event best practices for engaging audiences

Picture this: you’ve settled in for a virtual conference that you’ve been looking forward to attending. You have your cozy drink, your favorite chair, and you’re ready to learn.

Then, just as the first speaker starts their presentation, you need a refill of your drink. In the kitchen, you notice a few things that could be tidied, and your partner wants to touch base about weekend plans, and before you know it you’ve missed too much of the event to get invested again.

The market for virtual events has been growing exponentially, and it isn’t going to slow down any time soon. With access from anywhere in the world and the benefits of unique online features, it’s easy to see why.

However, keeping people’s attention when their pet, dinner, or even bed is calling them is a challenge. That’s why a good virtual event host needs to be proactive in keeping their audience engaged.

Getting ready for your next virtual event

Virtual events are a powerful tool for any company hoping to increase brand loyalty, trust, and overall engagement. Experience all the advantages of a conference or live event without the constraints of a physical venue, attendee limitations, or the expenses associated with catering, travel, and more.

All these benefits can be overturned if you aren’t able to keep your audience engaged. That’s why your marketing team needs to keep audience engagement central to their planning from the very start.

Types of virtual events

Just as every company is unique, so is every virtual event. Regardless of these considerations, there exist several fundamental event types, each encompassing its unique set of goals and obstacles to tackle.

• Networking – A virtual mix and mingle. Making sure you have an online chat or another platform where attendees can communicate is essential for driving engagement.

• Team-Building – A way to build collaboration and have fun. Team-building activities should always encourage conversation and participation.

• Webinars – Both educate and entertain. You will want to add interactive components, such as online polls and Q&A sessions, that keep people interested.

• Conventions – Can last hours or even days. Making sure you include breaks for attendees to stretch and mingle is key.

• Hiring Events – Involve a lot of one-on-one interviews or small group discussions. Utilizing breakout rooms or video chat rooms makes it easier for attendees to connect and feel seen.

The perfect type of virtual event for your business will depend on your target audience and your end goal.

10 virtual event best practices

A successful virtual event has a lot of moving pieces. With these best practices in the back of your mind, you’re sure to create something that your audience will remember for a long time.

1. Clear your background 

It’s very easy to get distracted in a virtual space; even the little details can draw our audience’s attention from what you are saying. This is why it’s best to have a clear background for your speakers: keep it neutral and ensure you have good lighting. You can also use a green screen and put the event logo on it.

Once you have settled on your visual background, it’s time to consider audio. Check for ambient noises and other audible disturbances. Find a quiet room or use a soundproof studio to minimize distractions.

2. Allow your audiences to network

Over 90% of people wish it was easier to interact with speakers and other attendees. Give them that opportunity and you’ll see engagement skyrocket.

3. Create chat rooms or groups for specific topics

Having a chat room or a social media group dedicated to your event and specific topics within it kills two birds with one stone. Attendees can use these forums to network, and you’ll keep the conversation going after the event.

4. Schedule a tech rehearsal

Technical difficulties quickly lead to a loss of interest from your audience. It’s more than worth the time to make sure everything is running smoothly beforehand.

5. Include attention checkers

Having a popup every so often to see if people are engaged allows you to collect valuable insights and keeps them focused during the event. Just don’t overdo it.

6. Make the most of your platform’s tools

Webinar platforms have cutting-edge tools to make sessions even more fun and engaging. Integrate these into your event to encourage participation and maintain your audience’s attention. Features like emoji reaction and live polling are perfect examples of this.

7. Create a compelling story

It is challenging to master the art of keeping an audience engaged for extended periods. This is why it is vital to craft a compelling story to deliver your message. Start with a story, add bits of your message in the middle, and maintain the narrative throughout. 

Begin with an attention-grabbing introduction, keep the story short, and transition into the messages that will engage your audience. Most importantly, ending on a positive note will help attendees retain information and make the webinar successful.

8. Have a moderator

Your presenters have a lot on their minds during the event. Having someone else keep track of questions coming in and monitoring the chat keeps everything running smoothly.

9. Make content available on demand

Even the best virtual events are at risk for “Zoom Fatigue” (and they don’t have to be held on Zoom). Making it easy for attendees to take a break and come back to what they missed later adds value and makes the most of your content. You can also post event-related content on social media to build brand awareness, draw a whole new pool of people, and widen your market.

10. Prioritize security

Everyone at your event is trusting you with their private information and online safety. To protect them, you must take the appropriate security measures.

This includes:

• End-to-End Encryption – You can’t trust that people’s home networks have the security required to keep everyone safe. Encryption keeps data secure even if it’s accessed with malicious intent.

• Global Regulation Compliance – You never know where attendees will be based, so it’s vital that your security compliance is up-to-date for every global standard.

• Cloud-Based Technology – Hosting your event in the cloud keeps all the data in a central location, making it far easier to protect.

Taking privacy seriously will benefit your users in the long run.

Post-virtual event follow-up and evaluation

Every event your team hosts is an opportunity to improve. Finding out what landed for your audience and what lost their attention will help you steer your future events in a more engaging direction.

If you’re asking your audience to fill out a survey, make sure it is straightforward. You can also use data collected from the live stream to support points of feedback or insight.

Once you have all the feedback you need, get your team together to brainstorm how you can achieve key objectives with future events. The more people involved in these sessions, the more creative you’ll be.

How do you make a virtual event more engaging and immersive?

It’s important to remember that people will inevitably have shorter attention spans when engaging in a virtual event remember, you’re competing with everything else in their homes. Making something immersive means creating a distraction-free environment where people can connect.

You will need to break up activities throughout the event to ensure your audience is always engaged and has something to focus on.  Make use of slides, activities, and even gamification to keep things exciting.

FAQs:

How do I make my virtual event more engaging?

Ensure your audience can interact with the event, whether through a Q&A section, a chat room, or a game.

How do you make a good virtual event?

The success of your virtual event will depend on your goals. You want to make sure any speakers you bring in are relevant and engaging, and that you’re offering value to your audience.

Meet kaltura: your ultimate virtual events solution

If you’re going to be keeping your audience engaged and collecting data to improve your virtual events going forward, you’ll need a powerful platform to keep everything in line. With its innovative features and seamless user experience, Kaltura provides the perfect solution for keeping your audience captivated while gathering valuable data for future enhancements. Stand out from the crowd and make your next virtual event an unforgettable success.

In conclusion

Hosting engaging virtual events requires careful planning and implementation of best practices. By allowing audiences to network, creating chat rooms for specific topics, scheduling tech rehearsals, including attention checkers, having a moderator, offering on-demand content, prioritizing security, and conducting post-event follow-up and evaluation, you can create memorable experiences for your audience.