New members are important for associations to thrive. 2020 has shown that associations can no longer hold only physical events. Virtual events have been happening since before the pandemic, but now they are a requirement to keep members of your association excited. Virtual events offer an exciting way for your association to gain new members and potentially grow a virtual events community within your association. Audience engagement is one of the main challenges of online events. But engagement is one of the most important tools to gaining new members. Good engagement will ensure that your guests have a enjoy themselves and socialize. What better way to increase the chances of them signing up to your association? Keep reading to hear about our membership engagement best practices.

1.  Be prepared

Virtual events might be a new world for your association. Of course, no good event can happen without a plan. Sit down and write out clear objectives for how you plan to engage your members. Some membership best engagement practices include:

• Marketing to attract guests
• An engaging virtual events platform
• Technical support for the event

2.  Celebrity guest

An interesting celebrity guest is a sure way of getting your guests to talk! People are using social media more and more as they are at home due to the pandemic. Influencer marketing and celebrities have huge power over people. As your event will happen online you can invite a celebrity from anywhere to talk. Make sure you pick a celebrity that will really get your members to engage in the virtual event.

3.  Customizable floor plan

When we use virtual events platforms, we all miss the experience of leaving the house. Customizable floor plans make the event seem like it is in a new location. The customizable floor plans can bring you to your dream location at the click of a button. By bringing your members to a whole new location, they will feel like they are out of the house. The fresh location will make them engage more. Membership engagement best practices ensure that the event as interactive as possible. Interactive backgrounds make the event super engaging!

4.  Engaging features

Your virtual events platform can make or break your event. The best membership engagement needs a virtual event platform with many features. Not all virtual event platforms will allow the same level of interaction. Some features that will encourage member engagement include:

• Polling
• Virtual tables
• Gamification
• A lobby

5.  Offer technical support

If your guests are having technical difficulty during the event they won’t be able to engage. Not all virtual event platforms work in the same way. Some guests might not be familiar with your platform and could be confused when they try to engage. The best practice for engaging membership is to provide full-time event support. Check out the product support that comes with your virtual events platform before you buy it.

6.  Content is key

Make sure you provide plenty of content to keep your guests busy during the event. Interesting content is one of the best practices to keep your guests. Encourage your sponsors to run extra activities along with your own talks. For example, live demos, virtual sweepstakes, and breakout rooms.

7.  Have fun

If you take yourself too seriously so will your guests. It is best practice to be light-hearted and have fun so that your members engage. Make sure the people presenting the event are engaging and encourage people to speak. Some nice game or ice breakers at the start of the event could get the audience ready. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box to make your event stand out.

8.  Collect feedback

You can never improve on your event if you don’t collect feedback. A post-event survey is also a best practice for engaging with your members even after the event. Guests might have questions about the event or your association. Following up with guests is a nice touch to make sure they feel valued.

So, what next?

Virtual event best practices can be difficult as it is new for a lot of associations. Don’t be afraid to use our ideas to engage your members in your next virtual event. Now that you have our top 8 tips you are ready to go out there and host your first virtual event. Check out our free trial at Remo or join us for a virtual tour- you have nothing to lose! Looking for a more in-depth perspective on how to hack and optimize Remo to its full potential? Join the Remo Revolution Community! Here you can interact with fellow virtual event users and see what tools and tricks they implement to create the most immersive virtual experience in the market!

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