Effective Tactics for Keeping Attendees Informed and Involved

As an event planner, you want to create a memorable experience for attendees. How can you ensure that your attendees get all the information they need to feel confident and engaged at your event?

In this post, we’ll explore some tips and strategies for communicating with attendees to keep them informed and engaged.

How Do You Interact with Attendees?

People don’t like to feel confused or uninformed at events. Think about the last few events you’ve attended and whether you felt stressed if you weren’t sure where to park or how to find the right room for your breakout session.

Communication is essential in any successful event, and this starts from the moment attendees register. Many event planners put so much effort into creating the perfect event experience that they sometimes forget to communicate with attendees after registration. 

Attendees need to know what to expect, and any questions or concerns should be addressed promptly. Here is a quick breakdown of how communication should look for event planners:

1. Start your communication process with an automated confirmation email that thanks attendees for registering.
2. A quick follow-up should provide them with any necessary information about the event, including their ticket QR code and the event date/time. 
3. From there, event planners should continue to engage with attendees by sending regular updates, reminders, and relevant information leading up to the event.
4. Make it very clear how attendees can contact your team and offer more than one monitored channel for support if possible (e.g., by phone, by email, or in person during the event).
5. A reminder should be sent out just a couple of weeks before the event to boost excitement and help people remember to save the date.
6. A few days before the event, send out another reminder with the attendee’s QR code included so they don’t have to search far when checking in.
7. During the event, it’s important to have a way to get in touch with your attendees — this could occur through email, social media, or a custom mobile app for your event.
8. After your event, you want to follow back up with communication to help advertise future events and gather valuable feedback.

Consistent communication helps attendees feel informed and valued. Whether you’re sending out emails, push notifications, or using social media, keeping your attendees informed about event details is critical to their overall experience. By providing regular updates on things like schedules, speakers, and activities, you can keep attendees excited and engaged leading up to the event.

5 Tips for Keeping Attendees Informed and Involved

With so many moving parts, it can be challenging to keep everyone informed and engaged. Here are some tactics to improve attendee communication and participation.

Start with Clear and Consistent Messaging

Effective communication starts with clear and consistent messaging. Make sure your event website, social media channels, and marketing materials all have accurate, consistent, and updated information. 

Keep your messaging concise and highlight the key benefits of attending the event.

Leverage Technology to Stay Connected

Technology can help you stay connected with attendees before, during, and after the event. Use social media to create buzz before the event and to share highlights during and after. You might want to outsource a call center dedicated to your event if you know you are going to have a large call volume with event-related questions. 

Consider creating your own mobile apps for events that can answer attendee questions, offer additional resources, and provide real-time updates with push notifications.

Create Engaging Content

Engaging content is key to keeping attendees informed and interested. Provide sneak peeks of the event agenda, behind-the-scenes content, and interviews with keynote speakers. Use interactive elements like polls, quizzes, and surveys to encourage participation and gather feedback.

Engaging content increases the buzz surrounding your events and encourages attendee involvement.

Encourage Attendee Interaction

Think about how different interaction opportunities can provide your team with more data, move guests around your venue, or help engage your audience by provoking emotions (curiosity, excitement, competitiveness, etc.). You can encourage interaction through networking events, breakout sessions, and social media groups. Use gamification elements, like scavenger hunts or trivia games, to encourage attendees to explore the event, learn more about relevant topics, and connect with other attendees.

Getting your audience to take part in your event is an essential element of planning a memorable experience.

Provide Opportunities for Feedback

Providing opportunities for feedback is crucial to understanding attendee satisfaction and identifying areas for improvement. Collect feedback through surveys, social media polls, and in-app messaging. 

Use feedback to make changes to the event in real-time or to plan for future events.

A Custom App for Events Changes the Game

Are you trying to engage your audience in an innovative and effective way? Look no further.

We’ve seen organizations do incredible things when they get to design an app that’s perfect for their event. Offer fast, modern communication and account information for your audience. Learn more about improving your event programming and attendee communication with our guide, Brushfire Event App: A Better Program Guide and Management Solution.