Events are a great way to bring your community together, raise funds, and spread your mission. From auctions to walkathons to conferences, you’ve likely hosted successful events in the past that helped you rally support for your cause or introduce professionals in your sector.
However, to take your events to the next level, you need to center the attendee experience and engage your audience every step of the way. In this guide, we’ll provide tips for how you can improve your events and create an interactive experience for attendees.
1. Personalize the attendee experience.
Did you know personalized emails have 82% higher open rates than generic ones? Personalizing your attendee communications can keep guests engaged and show that you care about them as individuals.
Use data you collect during the registration process to customize your communications with elements like attendee names and past attendance history. Even small distinctions like welcoming back past attendees and letting first-time attendees know how excited you are to have them join you can make a big difference in individualizing your pre-event messaging.
You may also gather information that helps you personalize aspects of your event like:
- Agendas
- Networking opportunities
- Event content
For example, you may send a pre-event survey asking attendees about their interests so you can offer them a personalized event agenda that includes speaker sessions they’re likely to enjoy. You can also relay this information to guest speakers so they can focus their presentations on topics relevant to your audience and fully engage attendees.
2. Incorporate gamification.
Gamification refers to the process of incorporating game-like elements into a non-gaming context. In the case of events, EventMobi’s event app gamification guide explains that gamification “repurposes gaming tactics for an event context, inspiring friendly competition amongst attendees and incentivizing active event participation.”
When you give attendees clear objectives, track their progress using points and leaderboards, and reward winners with prizes, you can motivate them to participate and drive your event goals forward. To get you started with gamification, consider the following ideas:
- Challenges. Develop a challenge that will encourage attendees to join the fun while also helping you achieve your event goals. For instance, if you’re looking to increase networking opportunities, you may launch a networking challenge that awards participants points for every new connection they make or meeting they set up with a fellow attendee.
- Scavenger hunts. Allow attendees to explore your venue and all your event has to offer with a scavenger hunt. Whoever finds all the hidden items the fastest may win a prize like branded merchandise or a gift card donated by one of your event sponsors.
- Fundraising thermometer. If you’re hosting a fundraising event, a fundraising thermometer is a great way to encourage attendees to contribute and help you reach your fundraising goal. Use an automated tool that will automatically update your thermometer as people make their gifts, and share it on social media to get even more of your supporters involved.
Whether attendees realize it or not, gamification can introduce an element of nostalgia to your event, reminding them of playing games as kids and reigniting that competitive spirit. As a result, you’ll create an enjoyable experience they’ll never forget.
3. Add additional fundraising elements.
If you’re running a fundraising event, your attendees are already interested in giving to your organization. Offer them more opportunities to demonstrate their commitment to your cause with additional fundraising ideas.
Here are some common fundraising ideas that you can combine with larger fundraising events:
- Raffle. Raffles go hand in hand with fundraising events, especially auctions since they allow people who don’t win an auction item another opportunity to take home a prize. Source raffle baskets from local businesses and sponsors, and put them on display during the event. Then, have your event volunteers sell tickets to raise more funds for your cause and announce the winners of each basket.
- Product fundraiser. When it comes to selling products at your fundraiser, there are so many different options you can choose from. You may sell snacks to keep your attendees full and satisfied, event-specific merchandise to help attendees remember your event, or discount cards that allow attendees to access exclusive discounts at local businesses. Consider your audience’s demographics and preferences to select a product they’ll want to purchase.
- Peer-to-peer fundraising. For a-thon events like walkathons, dance-a-thons, and read-a-thons, participants can help you raise more for your cause by creating their own peer-to-peer fundraising pages and collecting donations on your behalf. This way, attendees take charge of the fundraising process and become more actively involved in your event.
The more fundraising opportunities you offer, the more you’ll raise for your cause and engage your attendees in unique ways that fortify their connections to your mission.
4. Encourage audience participation and collaboration.
When attendees actively participate and collaborate during your event, they’re more likely to enjoy and remember it. Provide a valuable, unforgettable event experience by encouraging attendees to get involved.
Start by leveraging your event app to run live polls and surveys during the event. That way, you can gather feedback in real time and show attendees that you’re committed to providing an event experience that lives up to their expectations.
You may also invite attendees to share their experiences with your nonprofit to showcase their connections to your cause. For instance, you may invite one of your volunteers to speak at your fundraising gala about how their one-on-one work with your beneficiaries has changed their life outlook and inspired them to continue giving back.
Lastly, facilitating networking opportunities is a great way to get attendees more involved in your conference, workshop, or seminar. Set up special networking areas throughout your venue and group attendees with similar interests or areas of expertise who can build valuable connections.
5. Collect feedback.
After your event, it’s important to collect feedback to assess which parts of your strategy were effective and which you can improve upon to offer an even better event experience next time. As Deep Sync explains, data you collect through surveys is considered zero-party data, which encompasses information your supporters voluntarily share with your organization.
Since this information comes directly from your attendees, it’s reliable and can give you unparalleled insights into how to elevate your future events. Questions you may ask your attendees include:
- How would you rate your overall experience at our event, and why?
- What did you enjoy most about our event?
- Did you feel engaged throughout the event? Why or why not?
- How likely are you to attend another event of ours in the future?
- How likely are you to recommend our events to others?
- Is there anything we could do to improve the event experience in the future?
- Do you have any other feedback or suggestions about our event?
Depending on attendee preferences and the contact information you’ve collected, send these surveys via email or text messages. Thank attendees for coming, and explain that their feedback will allow you to improve your future events.
Alternatively, you can add a link to the survey on your event site so attendees can easily access it from any of their devices. Then, promote your survey on social media to let attendees know it’s available for them to complete.
Hosting an event is a large undertaking and investment for your organization. Don’t let it go to waste by offering a subpar attendee experience. Iterate on your attendee engagement strategy to constantly improve your approach and incorporate the perspectives of new and returning attendees.