You might be tempted to think that there’s an indistinguishable similarity between live and virtual events. At a first glance, you might be right. However, the difference in medium makes a world of difference between the two event types.
When organizing a virtual event, the biggest challenge you will have to overcome is to make participants shake that feeling of detachment and to have them be fully engaged in the event’s activities.
We believe that entertainment is the sure-fire way to immerse the audience and captivate their attention. To convince you of this, here are our 5 tips on how you can plan your virtual events to be more engaging.
1. Add Music to the Mix
Music adds a much-desired level of dynamic to an event. People will want to chime in even for the listening experience alone. For this reason, you should consider adding a musical segment to your virtual event.
We recommend booking a musician to play for your guests. The presence of a live performer and the raw, unfiltered energy of live music has the power even to move virtual audiences.
Given the context of the pandemic, live music has been sidelined a bit. And participants will surely appreciate the opportunity to get to experience it again.
2. Go for Comedy
If you feel like your virtual events are dragging for too long, then perhaps it’s ideal to space things out by adding a bit of levity between the programs. Sometimes, a good dose of laughter is all that people need to recharge their batteries, and we believe that comedy is just the right way to achieve this.
A virtual comedy show will be a hit for your virtual event – because no matter where your guests are, a good joke will get a positive reaction out of pretty much anyone.
On top of that, good comedy has the power to rally the audience and make them more involved. And an active audience is without a doubt a sign that people are having a good time.
3. Get Everyone Involved
There are many reasons why there’s not enough audience interaction during your company’s virtual events. These can range from boredom, shyness, or a general lack of motivation. It would help if you found clever ways to get people involved and show them that their input is valuable to address this issue.
An effective way to achieve this is through virtual team-building activities. These consist of gamified group activities, ranging from bingo, golf, scavenger hunts, or personalized versions of popular TV shows.
Since everyone participates in the event through their computer, there is usually a general lack of personal connection. However, technology allows people to bridge this gap and enable them to engage with each other through virtual games.
4. A Unique Experience
One of the challenges event organizers face with virtual events is the constant need to diversify the audience’s experience. There is a level of expectation that the event should offer something new to participants. Otherwise, it will give them a few reasons not to sign out faster.
We suggest adding something genuinely unexpected to your event’s program. We believe that magic is the type of activity that’s interesting and outlandish enough to make participants curious.
A virtual magic show will give the audience a sense of amazement by offering a wide variety of mind-blowing moments, which will keep participants on the edge of their seats the whole time.
5. Empower the Listeners
It has been a long tradition in the event planning industry to have keynote speeches as a headlining activity. And now that the industry has pivoted towards digital events, keynote speeches have also undergone some changes.
Thankfully, keynote speeches feel right at home when ported to a digital event due to their easy-to-implement and welcoming nature. The digital environment allows speakers to diversify their presentations in ways that live productions could not, making them more engaging and interactive.
You, too, should consider implementing a virtual keynote speech since it adds much value to your virtual event program, making it sought-after for the precious information it can offer to the audience.
Virtual Events Made Better
We hope that the ideas we have shared with you proved helpful and inspired you to breathe new life into your upcoming digital events.
At The Grable Group, we specialize in finding the right kind of entertainment to suit your needs. Give us a call at +1 615 283 0039, and let’s work together to take your event to new heights!
