Since the global pandemic hit the world in late 2019, people have changed their approach toward several things. In this light, virtual events – conducting events on digital mediums – became quite common.

For businesses, virtual events serve as a way to conduct business and reach out to audiences. Additionally, virtual events also helped businesses reach out to global audiences. Earlier, offline events, which were conducted at a certain physical location, had limited participation. However, due to their convenience and lower barriers to taking part, virtual events saw an increase in participation in terms of both speakers and audiences.

However, capturing attention and keeping the audience engaged during the event is still a challenge, especially when they are B2B virtual events.

In this blog, we will share 12 ways to make your B2B virtual events more engaging. The blog will cover –

1. What is a B2B virtual event?
2. What makes a B2B virtual event more engaging?
3. Ways to make your B2B virtual events more engaging

What is a B2B virtual event?

A B2B virtual event is an interactive experience happening on the digital platform. Similar to offline events, virtual events also comprise multiple sessions taking place within a given timeframe. These events are usually available via a single interface.

B2B organizations use virtual events as powerful tools to interact and educate their target audience, leads, business partners, or even their internal teams. People, who are interested in these events, need to register to gain access. B2B virtual events have a reputation for delivering valuable content that is also available in videos and PDFs for people who have registered.

What makes a B2B virtual event more engaging?

Three things make for an engaging B2B virtual event –

1. Superior quality: Imagine having an exciting event coming up, and you are all set to attend it, but once it starts, you find out that the volume is too low, or the streaming got struck. Wouldn’t you just turn it off and switch to something else? Well, that is exactly the case with virtual events! You must not compromise the quality of video and audio at these events. Use advanced tools and techniques to ensure that the event is top quality.
2. Excellent content: Virtual events are viewed by hundreds of people who look forward to being educated during the event. It is also one of the reasons why people spend on access passes!  It is not fair for you to dish out mediocre content with such expectations. You will have to come up with content that is not only valuable but something exclusive for the attendees.
3. Experts as speakers: To make your content compelling and valuable, you must rope in crème-de-la- crème speakers from your industry. Such speakers also attract viewership. When bringing key speakers, also make it a habit to ask them to prepare a script relevant to your theme and target audience.

Ways to make your B2B virtual events more engaging

Want to make your B2B virtual events more engaging to your audience? Look at the tips below:

1. Invest in tools and technology

There are several advanced tools available to make your virtual events more engaging. Several tools will help you embed visuals such as videos and pictures to make your events more appealing and interactive. For basics, you could use the commenting option where the video is streaming, or you could be integrating a live option for your viewers to join in. tools like ON24 and Hopin help you do this.

2. Make sure that the content is relevant to your audience

Research well about your target audience and make sure that you are offering content relevant to them. It is valuable to have content that either addresses their pain point, solves a problem, or fulfils a requirement. B2B communities are more engaged at virtual events with a structured content program. Make sure you have one.

3. Include industry-related sessions

Engagement also happens when you offer value to your attendees so that towards the end of the event, they have satisfying takeaways from it! You need to rope in some industry experts to talk about industry-related issues and solutions to ensure this. Take a cue from the AD World conference. They have highly rated speakers educating the participants on several marketing-related topics. This interests people from various sectors to join in to gain industry knowledge.

4. Give them the opportunity to interact with the speakers

You can boost the engagement rate on your virtual events by encouraging your target audience to take part in the event. Your audience would appreciate the opportunity to connect to speakers from the industry. You can make the most of this opportunity by arranging interactive sessions or Q&A sessions.

However, make sure that these sessions are time-bound; otherwise, the sessions get dragged.

5. Bring in some entertainment

B2B virtual events are considered too formal, and thus, the audiences do not expect them to be encouraging. However, adding entertainment to your event could be a breath of fresh air! For instance, hiring a stand-up comedian would be a great idea. This could be a great add-on that engages your audience.

6. Send in virtual event goodies

Sending goodie bags for your event can be a great way to engage your target audience. Sending them bags with some event-related merch is a great idea. To make it more interesting, you could send them things they could use during the event. For instance, a notepad or a pen, or some teabags could be a few things that could be used during the event.

7. Have live voting during the event

Another fantastic way to keep your viewers/ attendees engaged is by conducting live voting during the event. The voting could be about anything from their favorite speaker to the speech delivered. Conduct polls and also show the results on the screen.

8. Let them enjoy a quick quiz time

Make their participation a fun experience by getting them to indulge in quick quiz games and questionnaires about their learning from the event. Make it more interesting by offering quick prizes to the winners. This is a wonderful way to keep them hooked. It also helps you to analyze the impact of the sessions. However, make sure that the questions you put are not too complicated.

9. Keep communicating with the attendees

Make sure that you stay connected to your audience/ attendees throughout the event. Provide them with a medium of communication where they can share their concerns (if any), ideas, or community meetups. This will not only boost engagement but will also make your event more memorable.

10. Ask opinions

Asking opinions = two birds at one shot – engagement and making them feel valued!  Ask for their opinions about a session or about something a speaker had mentioned or get them to share if they have alternatives. It is a terrific way to get them engaged.

11. Conduct social media contests

Conduct social media contests and have your audience use event-related hashtags. This will not only boost engagement but will also bring organic traffic. Additionally, you can also track the hashtags to analyze engagement.

12. Conduct follow-up sessions after the event

Following up and taking feedback from your audience is important, especially in B2B scenarios. It is a way of building relationships and networking. It will also allow you to evaluate the value of the event and what your targets thought about it.

 You could either reach out to them via digital ads, DMs, surveys, or emails for the follow-up.

Have more creative ideas to increase engagement at virtual events? Let us know.

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