As the number of social media sites increases, so does the frequency of virtual events. Such virtual event engagement opportunities give companies, performers, and even those with smaller brands the chance to broaden their scope and reach a wider audience.
If you want to prepare a virtual event, we at Evey Events provide the tools you need and helpful tips for increasing audience engagement on social media sites like X, Facebook, and Instagram.
1. Review Posting Requirements Beforehand
As you plan your event, consider how the social media site you choose distributes your virtual ads. Depending on your virtual event engagement ideas, distribution practices can affect a variety of factors, including:
- The reliability of the stream
- Pixel quality
- The sound and visual quality of the media you use
According to Statista, more than 45% of poll respondents in a 2020 survey said they ran virtual events to specifically increase engagement and find their target audience. As such, the better the feed quality of the event, the more registered viewers you generally obtain.
2. Tease Your Audience
Fewer advertising strategies work better than offering your audience glimpses of an upcoming virtual event. Uploading behind-the-scenes photos, sound clips, and even hints at special guest stars across your social media accounts makes would-be viewers curious. You can also add a countdown clock stamp on these sneak peeks for added excitement.
3. Create a Gathering Place for Fans
It seems like social media was designed as a place for fans of all different genres to meet virtually, even from its very early days. Providing forums for your viewers, such as a Facebook account devoted to your content, gives them a feeling of community and belonging that improves their virtual event experience.
Creating virtual event engagement forums for your fans where they can discuss content and their shared enthusiasm usually requires no more than a few clicks on most social media sites. Thanks to the user-friendly designs of most social media sites, promoting your event via these forums allows users to share posts you create from their mobile devices.
4. Remain True to Your Brand
If you want to create a social media account to promote your virtual event, choose a handle that is easy to remember so viewers who wish to register can find your brand easily across multiple sharing sites.
Using an obscure reference to a band or other group title is clever in some circumstances, but when it comes to creating greater engagement for your virtual event, straightforward branding is the best policy.
When you create links to other brand accounts on several social media sites, use the same avatar so followers can identify it at a glance. Brand uniformity draws event viewers in when they realize how easily they can follow you from one social media site to another.
5. Create Pre-Event Contests
One of the most useful features of sites like Facebook and Instagram related to engagement in virtual events is the ease with which users share posts and information. You can post photos, sound clips, GIFs, and short videos on these sites, which other users can repost on their accounts to share with their followers. This network makes creating contests to promote your virtual event a simple task.
Sites like X (formerly Twitter), allow you to create polls within a post, which you can use to create trivia contests and other fun games for your followers. As they repost the content, your engagement level rises.
6. Announce Special Guests
One announcement viewers of a virtual event wait for eagerly is that of one or more special guests. A big name in your genre attracts attention quickly, urging your followers to share the news across all of your social media accounts and beyond.
Making a guessing game of your announcement can also attract curious followers. Offer clues via trivia and photos, as well as a prize for the follower who guesses the guest’s identity.
7. Offer Pre-Registration Perks
One major factor in how to make virtual events more engaging is to offer rewards to those who pre-register. You can include a variety of perks to early birds, including:
- Digital merchandise
- Early access to exclusive content
- A virtual meet-and-greet with a guest speaker
If you have a tight budget, consider offering different reward tiers and limiting the number of individuals who can register for each.
8. Make Every Post Count
Sites like X imposes a limit of 280 characters for unverified users, according to TweetEraser. This means keeping content that attracts viewers to your virtual event clever but to the point. Since photos, GIFs, and videos do not count toward the character limit, you can use them to enhance your written content.
Many users tend to skim their feeds on mobile devices because the scrolling features allow them to move through posts in only a few minutes. Eye-catching media tools, like looping GIFs or popular internet memes, may garner more attention for your event posts when compared to text-only posts.
9. Make Connections With Your Viewers
One major complaint many social media users have is how impersonal the interactions sometimes feel. Others often feel a disconnect between themselves and the content they consume. You can avoid this type of user discontent when making posts on social media by adding personal touches to each.
Hosting a live Q&A session for your followers allows them to meet you and others behind the scenes. The more you interact with individual followers and create a connection, the greater your positive reputation spreads, increasing engagement.
10. Maintain Active Participation
As the date of your virtual event approaches, stay current with posts and make at least a few each hour. Include countdown posts and use dedicated hashtags so users coming across your brand for the first time can find related posts with ease.
During the countdown, track mentions and hashtags so you can answer any questions viewers have about the upcoming virtual event. Use a pinning tool to keep these posts at the top of your feed for easy access.
Powerful Virtual Event Engagement Assistance With Evey Events
Using social media sites to increase virtual event engagement can spell success for your brand, and at Evey Events, we have the tools that support your promotional vision. Contact us today for more information regarding our services and products.
