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Quick answer: To increase attendance at your next virtual event, build buzz on social media, plan a robust marketing strategy, make the event itself engaging and memorable, keep registrants excited with a dedicated follow-up campaign, and secure recognizable speakers - something virtual formats make easier, because presenters can join from anywhere.
When you’re in the midst of planning a virtual event, you have grand visions of a packed digital house full of remote attendees who come away with a meaningful and productive experience. For that to happen, though, you need to get people to show up first. Fortunately, there are plenty of strategies that can make your virtual event more successful - here are five that work.
Static flyers and ads alone don’t give your potential audience the full picture of what your event has to offer. Social media will undoubtedly play a role in your event promotion and early engagement: people need to get excited about attending, and engaged registrants will share your event with others and be more likely to attend themselves.
Your focus should be on the event itself, so hire someone who specializes in social media and can create a buzz on your behalf. A social media manager can post frequently about the event, ask questions, gain audience feedback, and give you valuable insight into how to make the event more successful - all before it starts. Their efforts can help you sell more tickets and grow your list of interested attendees right out of the gate.
An effective marketing strategy is one of the biggest drivers of new attendees. You need to know who to reach, how to reach them, and how to entice them to sign up for your event. Timing matters too: give people enough notice to plan ahead, but don’t publicize the event so far in advance that they RSVP and forget about it.
This is where an end-to-end event management system comes in handy. It lets you track your marketing efforts and their success as part of your event planning process, so you don’t miss a beat.
It may sound like a statement of the obvious, but the best way to get people to show up for your events is to throw great events. You can do this by strategically using audience engagement strategies so that attendees leave each session with a meaningful and educational experience - and by showing off engaging features like games and interactive sessions in your marketing.
Every event that successfully engages your audience also lifts attendance at the next one, because word gets around that your events are worthwhile.
It’s thrilling to watch sign-ups roll in as you plan your event. Remember, though, that you don’t just need people to register - you need them to actually show up too. Create a dedicated marketing campaign specifically for those who have already signed up: occasional emails with teasers for the event, announcements about exciting speakers and sessions, event giveaways, and more.
The goal is to make registrants more and more excited so they’re sure not to miss it. Don’t forget to send out reminders in the final days before the event too.
As any blockbuster movie proves, big names will always draw a crowd. Apply that to your next event by booking recognizable speakers who are known as thought leaders within the industry, and put them front and center in your promotion.
This is one area where virtual events have a real advantage: you’re not limited to speakers who are in your local area or have the schedule availability to travel to the event. That opens the opportunity to book even more impressive speakers for your sessions.
Planning a virtual event can be time-consuming and stressful, but it’s all worth it when your sessions are packed with professionals talking about how much they’re learning. With the right data tracking and analysis, every event becomes a gateway to making the next one even more successful. The trick to making the planning, marketing, and data analysis easier is choosing the right event management software.
Early enough that people have time to plan ahead, but not so early that they RSVP and forget about it. Keep a steady drumbeat of promotion going from announcement to event day, ramping up reminders in the final days.
Run a dedicated follow-up campaign for people who have already signed up: teaser emails, speaker and session announcements, and giveaways that build excitement, plus reminders in the final days before the event.
Because speakers can present from anywhere, you’re not limited to people in your local area or those with the schedule availability to travel - so more impressive names are within reach.
An end-to-end event management platform that covers registration, marketing tracking, audience engagement, and analytics in one place. Canapii has powered 2,000+ events for 300,000+ attendees across 45+ countries.
See how Canapii’s virtual event software helps you pack the digital house at your next event: get a demo.