Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a massive shift to virtual meetings. And contrary to the disappearing mask mandates, everyone has realized Zoom calls and virtual meetings are here to stay.
Virtual meetings have many massive advantages when compared to face-to-face meetings. However, there is one problem that organizers are consistently having — keeping their audience engaged.
Everyone's asking: "How do I make my virtual events more engaging?"
Welcome to gamification.
We all love playing games. And gamifying virtual events creates better, more engaging experiences. Implementing it in your next virtual meeting doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be done right.
Gamification is about more than just playing games. It's about creating an immersive learning experience by offering rewards, arousing curiosity, or creating competition.
Gamification is the process of integrating game-like elements into non-game settings. This means transforming normally mundane tasks into games, something that rewards you.
Simply put, gamification is anything that provides you with gratification to help you overcome a challenge. As one definition puts it: "Gamification is exciting because it promises to make the hard stuff in life fun."
People might be checked into a virtual event, conference, or meeting physically but not always mentally.
Zoom fatigue, social media alerts, distractions at home, and other reasons make it WAY more difficult to keep your audience engaged. Participants are much more likely to zone out during a Zoom meeting than when they are in a room full of people.
Gamification helps keep people mentally checked in because it draws out real human emotions such as excitement, curiosity, and happiness.
The benefits of gamifying your virtual event can be massive:
Gamification hinges on the principle of rewarding hard work. Make sure you reward dedicated actions in your virtual event.
One of the big reasons virtual events fail to engage their audience is because people aren't actually meeting together. Therefore, networking has to be encouraged all the more.
Working as part of a team motivates us and makes us feel a sense of responsibility.
The only thing that motivates us more than collaboration is competition. People love to win. Recognizing people's achievements can massively motivate them to stay engaged.
You can use leaderboards, which tap into our natural instinct to compete by making us want to rise to the top.
Confusion sows disinterest. So provide clear instructions to ensure that people will know exactly what is expected of them and how they can earn points.
Analytics are key to virtual event gamification. Your attendees need to feel that their contribution is recognized.
Gamification provides an excellent opportunity to promote your sponsors and increase sales. Encourage your sponsors to be a part of certain games and offer prizes.
There is little use in having people show up to your virtual event if they aren't paying attention. Engagement is one of a virtual events' most unique issues, but it's not unsolvable.
Virtual Velocity offers full virtual and hybrid event support for companies of all types. We have been using gamification in virtual events for years.
Are you curious how to implement these 5 key ideas into an event? Set up a free consultation and we'll gladly explain how gamification can be the difference maker in your next virtual event.