What one word is sure to strike fear in the hearts of virtual event planners? Engagement. It's that Je ne sais quoi stuff that makes you memorable and gives you the power of influence over your audience. Engagement is what every event planner worth their salt strives to achieve—the secret sauce. Engagement is what causes people to speak with passion and excitement about your virtual event, weeks or even months afterwards.
The key to understanding engagement is to appreciate why your audience is investing their valuable time in attending your virtual event. What do they hope to learn, and what’s the most efficient, stimulating, and memorable way to deliver that knowledge to them? How do you reach them where they are when you’re not even in the same room? We can’t claim we’ve bottled engagement, but here are nine tried-and-true ways to increase it at your next virtual event.
1. Prepare your executives/presenters
Authenticity is key to engaging your audience. Help your team of presenters prepare for their virtual appearance by working with them ahead of the event. Do they do well pre-recording their remarks, or are they more comfortable presenting live? Choose the approach that will give your audience a positive experience.
2. Elicit authentic engagement with high-quality content
Craft interactive content that is entertaining, connected to your message, and delivered with passion. Make sure it is informative and to the point, so the audience doesn’t feel their time is wasted.
3. Mail (yes, mail!)
Send gifts to the audience ahead of time. Think beyond swag: choose items that will be used during the event, such as something they can customize or a wristband that grants entry to an exclusive mixer.
4. Don’t make it too complex
Interactive tools should be intuitive. Design the run-of-show so everyone knows when and how to interact. Create elements tailored to the common interests that brought attendees to your event.
5. Host a Q&A session
Invite the right mix of experts to answer questions after the formal presentations.
6. Don’t underestimate the impact of chat rooms
They may seem old-school, but many users love them. Chat rooms provide a comfortable space for quick contributions and connections.
7. Have attendees submit pictures or stories before the event
Integrate these at key points in the program. Seeing themselves on-screen creates surprise, nostalgia, and a deeper connection.
8. Wellness break
Include a brief wellness or mindfulness segment—especially for longer programs—to keep energy and focus high.
9. Make it a game
For example, host Jeopardy-style trivia with breakouts and a leaderboard. Games spark laughter and healthy competition in live, online, and hybrid formats.
Engagement can make or break any event. An engaged audience is more receptive and more likely to remember your message. Effective engagement must be planned—leaving room for spontaneity, but never relying on luck. Do it well, and your audience will carry lasting memories of your brand and eagerly anticipate your next event.
These nine tips just scratch the surface of the insights our production experts bring. If you’re ready to bring your hybrid event vision to life, connect with our hybrid event specialists today!
Stagedge: Creating Immersive Experiences for 50 years is proud to be one of Boston's leading full-service event production companies, dedicated to conceiving, creating, and executing immersive brand experiences through live, virtual & hybrid events domestically and worldwide.