We’ve seen it at every event we’ve been a part of: there’s a moment when an event participant is struck by what seems like a ray of sunshine — their face lights up, a smile takes over — and the reaction from interacting with an experience becomes tangible. Some people call it an aha moment — we know it as the moment of engagement that leads to improved Return on Experience (ROE).
ROE has steadily become a growing measure of event success. When people are emotionally engaged, they are more likely to derive meaning from experiences and feel continued connection to them. And we know ROE is important to you — in our recent Planner Pulse report, meeting and event planners shared that content production, opportunities to personalize event experiences and ways to bolster engagement are at the top of your to-do list.
We also know event participants are engaged by what’s new and exciting, so let’s explore the options together! Here’s how to craft and deliver meaningful content, provide elements of personalization that feel right at home in the hearts of your participants and how to engage people at your event to make moments that matter.
Showcase content that creates connection
In our Planner Pulse report, 73% of respondents said they believe that “Content is very important to my events.” And we agree: content production is essential to connecting participants to the greater purpose of the event. Engaging, creative content has the power to inspire emotional experiences that leave an imprint on our minds and help us recall the significance of the moment.
One of the first things we ask planners is, “What is the goal of your event?” The event goal drives the strategies we choose and the event design choices we make. From there, we help develop the event theme to craft the event’s story in a masterful way. Great content — delivered in thoughtful and impactful ways — is what ties it all together, creating connective parallels between the experience and the participant that make the greater story personal. When this connection happens, the goal is achieved.
Impart your event’s main takeaways to your audience with these tips:
- Tell a cohesive story. Every story we love, whether told in a book, play, show or movie, has plot, climactic elements and description that take the audience on a journey. The same is true for the content you produce for your event: It’s all about how you craft meaningful messaging — and how you deliver it. Just as there are peaks and valleys in the stories that move us, create connection to your educational sessions, presentations and general sessions by embedding your core messages within a recognizable — or novel — narrative. Developing a narrative to include unique imagery, compelling video content and audience interaction can punctuate the story effectively.
- Engage with emotive presentation. People want to be engaged, so bring them into the experience with content delivery that elicits an emotional response. Speakers are the event’s storytellers, and they often need help to capture attention and strike the right chord. When we coach presenters, we plan rehearsals and table reads to examine the flow of the content and their delivery ability. From there, we encourage them to speak as if they are having a two-way conversation and let the audience remain unspoken. A conversational style is expressive and sincere, and with audio support to project sound, it transcends the need to impress. Prepping presenters to speak naturally and to build interactivity into their speech creates trust and commands attention.
- Connect the dots with design. Event participant expectations are at an all-time high, because vibrant visuals and dynamic graphic design are the new standards. After we determine what our customer’s goals are, we can engage our Creative Content Studio to conceptualize visual content like graphic design, video production, motion graphics, logo design and more. These elements set the scene for the experience and predispose participants to absorb the messaging you craft. When creating the content to integrate with design, what you communicate should reflect your strategy and amplify that design, and vice versa. When everything lives in harmony, the effects are engagement and retention.
Leverage event tools that enhance their experience
Regardless of the size and scope, personalization is essential to the overall success of your event. With 66% of Planner Pulse respondents highly focused on personalization, consider different ways to engage participants with unique, personalized offerings: networking opportunities, experiential learning, more inclusive and accessible environments with innovative event technology solutions that respect individuality.
Improve your participants’ event experience with these ideas:
- Give them the warmest welcome. Personalize each part of the event journey for an extra layer of connection by starting at the beginning. Welcome Walls are a great way to grab participant attention, elicit emotive responses and encourage interaction, both in-person and digitally on social media. Registration apps like Encore RSVP allow for simple check-in and customizable event agenda journeys with personally crafted messaging. For an effective mixture of “high touch, high tech,” utilize informational greeters to help direct participants and provide human support for wayfinding and building the experience.
- Prioritize participant inclusion. Consider offering greater accessibility with personalized comfort in separate spaces that allow people to livestream large sessions. Also, transitional spaces, like hallways, lobbies and foyers that preview or summarize information, can allow people to make informed choices about the sessions they choose to attend. If participants need to miss a session, AI tools like Snapsight provide event content summarization that reinforce important takeaways without having to force on-demand focus.
- Follow the participant journey with polling. To make sure your event content and design connect with your audience, polling apps like Slido, Pulse, Chime Live and Chime Go enable participants to share their feedback on what changes you can make to improve the experience on-site and for future events.
- Add accessibility with AI. A growing number of planners are using AI or thinking about how to incorporate AI tools into their events. Several new and exciting AI tools are helping events become more accessible, like Wordly, which improves participant engagement by providing language translation and transcription.
Let’s co-create your most engaging event together
When you choose to partner with us, you’ll find we’re brimming with ideas to make your next event more engaging with personalized experiences and captivating content. In collaboration with you, let’s strategize the right plan to reach your goals with our extensive range of solutions.