3 Easy Ways to Increase Attendance at Virtual Events

What would you say is the number one concern for event organizers? 

Ensuring high-quality content?
Handling tech issues?
Increasing audience engagement?

It’s actually much simpler than that. 

According to one report, over 1/3 of event organizers are making higher attendance their number 1 priority. 

None of those other things matter if no one shows up to the event. So how can you ensure a full house at your next event? 

In this article, we will address these 3 basic questions:

• How can you get people excited to attend your event?
• What can you do so that people will be checked in to your event both physically and mentally? 
• What can you do so that your event will impact your attendees and make them want to act on what they’ve learned? 

We will discuss what you can do before, during, and after your event to increase attendance at virtual or hybrid events.

Research has shown that people now feel overwhelmed with the amount of virtual events they are expected to join. 

This so-called ‘virtual event overload’ is one of the biggest hurdles you will overcome in attracting people to your event. 

What you can do: 

Create a path of least resistance. People are more likely to sign up if you make it easy for them to attend.

• Simplify the sign-up process:
  Don’t ask for too much information upfront, hand out long registration forms, or create a complicated log-in process. The fewer the steps to attend the better.

• Set up the right technology:
  People are invited to countless virtual events. The only way to compete for their time is to make your event accessible.

One way to do so is by making your event technology, such as your platform, easy to use and coherent.

• Choose the best time:
  Carefully plan when your audience won’t have other conflicting events. This means carefully considering the demographic of your audience for each particular event.

• Consider a hybrid option (if possible):
  Some people will only attend your event if there is an in-person counterpart to a virtual tie-in.

By setting up a hybrid meeting, you are casting your net wide to allow the most people possible to attend your event.

“If one does not know to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.” –Roman philosopher Seneca

This famous quote illustrates the importance of having well-defined goals. 

A great virtual event is wasted if it’s not delivered to the proper audience or tailored to their specific needs.

Have a strong plan laid out ahead of time to ensure that your time, money, and resources will be invested wisely.

What you can do:

Identify your target audience, what they care about, and what key concerns you hope to address.

• What challenges or problems are they facing?
• What will they be hoping to gain from this event?
• What will be the key motivator for them to attend this event? 

Only once you understand who your event is geared toward and how you plan to benefit them will you be able to market your event in a way that will attract their interest.

Companies spend over $750 billion every year on advertising alone. Why? Because they know that promoting their product is crucial. 

If you want people to know and care about your event, you must promote it well in advance. 

How it benefits you:

Increases visibility:

Promoting your event helps you reach more people, including those who may not have known about your event before.

Sets you apart:

Promoting your event helps you stand out from other virtual events and makes it more appealing.

Builds excitement:

 By creating engaging content, offering giveaways, and sharing sneak peeks, you can build excitement and anticipation that will encourage your target audience to attend.

How to do it:

• Use Social Media:
  Over 72% of people in the US use social media. Why not use it to promote your event?

Consider using posts, videos, or paid social media ads to reach a wider audience and target specific demographics.

• Use existing resources:
  Advertise your event by posting on your website or blog page.

• Send emails:
  Sending out personalized email invitations is one of the best ways to gain attendees.

Highlight the benefits of attending your event with clear instructions on how to log on. Don’t forget to send a reminder email as the date approaches! 

• Work with your presenters:
  Will a well-known or influential speaker appear at your event? Ask them to promote the event within their network. 

By collaborating with businesses of similar interest, you are promoting a mutually beneficial partnership.

It’s true that you likely won’t get more people to log on once the meeting has started. But what you do during your event is critical to meeting your attendance goals.

How so?

• All your efforts will have been wasted if everyone is logged on but no one is paying attention.
• Capturing your audiences’ attention is crucial to keeping them happy. If they are engaged, they will be more likely to tell others about and attend your next event.

What you can do:

1. Determine Event KPIs – Having a large crowd show up is great. But you need to know what brought them there and how much your event impacted them.

• • Engagement Metrics: Engagement metrics show how active participants were. Learn how much they participated in various activities, which content they downloaded, and what content they shared.
  • Attendance Metrics:Analyze how many attended and how long people stayed for your event as a whole and in each session.
  • Lead Generation and Networking Metrics:Discover how many new leads were created and how often your event was shared on social media.

2. Engage! Engage! Engage! – Your event might be all business but it doesn’t have to be so serious. Work hard so that your attendees enjoy the program.

• • Gamification
  • Virtual happy hour
  • Q&A sessions
  • Polls
  • Lively presenters
  • Content sharing

Pro tip: Few things will annoy your attendees like frequent technical difficulties. So do everything in your power to mitigate them.

3. Be Mindful of Timing – Your attendees have taken a part out of their busy schedules to attend your event. Don’t “overstay your welcome”. 

If you show you respect your participants’ time, your participants will leave with a good taste in their mouths and will want to attend your next event.

Remember the main reason for wanting to increase attendance at virtual events – to create new business opportunities. 

Effective post-event strategies help create new leads. People are still thinking about your event, so you’ll want to strike while the iron’s hot.

• Reach out to potential clients thanking them for attending.
  A quick “thank you” email makes attendees and guest speakers feel good, helps you stand out from the competition, and makes people more likely to come to you in the future.

• Send out follow-up emails that recap the main points from your event.
  Highlight how they can benefit from following through.
  

• Share a recorded program of the event.
  This will help you reach those who couldn’t make your event live, thus expanding your attendance circle. 

• Encourage networking to give your attendees a sense of community.
  By allowing people to discuss what they’ve learned, your event can make more of an impact and inspire people to share your brand. 

• Ask for feedback by sending out post-event surveys.
  Knowing what you did right and what you can improve on will improve the quality of your next event. The better the event the more likely people will want to attend.

Increasing attendance at virtual and hybrid events requires thought and planning. When planning your next event, keep in mind these 3 basic steps:

1. Plan before your event – The steps you take beforehand will determine how many people will attend your event.
2. Engage during your event – The actions you take during your event will determine the degree to which you will impact your attendees and get the most value from them.
3. Follow through after your event – What you do after your event will impact how much business growth your event will generate and how many will attend your next event. 

By having a well-rounded strategy, not only will you increase your attendance at your virtual or hybrid event but you will also capitalize on the opportunities this growth provides. 

Would you like to hear our top strategies for marketing your event? Would you like tips on how to engage your audience and encourage networking all while staying within your budget?

Reach out to us for a free conversation. Our years of experience will guarantee a full house at your next virtual event.