Planning corporate events of any scale requires a lot of planning, resources, and attention to detail. The last thing you want is not being able to generate enough engagement from the attendees and letting all that effort go to waste – especially in an era when stakes are already high.

How can you leverage the latest advances in the world of technology to fill the gaps and make sure the attendees remain engaged throughout the event? In this article, we share a bunch of effective techniques for you to develop and sustain a deeper connection with your event attendees, using new and upcoming technology.

How to Use Tech to Build a Deeper Connection With Your Event Attendees

Wondering which forms of tech are actually worth investing in and relevant for your event? Here’s a compilation of some of the best suggestions we have in store for you.

Use Mobile Apps to Stay Connected With Your Audience

Did you know you could launch branded multi-purpose event apps to regularly share important updates with your attendees and interact with them even before the event officially begins? Of course, mobile apps hit the sweet spot when it comes to instant communication (using push notification), wide accessibility, and ease-of-use. Think of it like an all-in-one resource for your event attendees with all the information they will need to join the event and navigate through the multiple sessions you have planned for them – from speaker bios to meeting schedules.

Create Networking Opportunities Using Virtual Chatrooms

Networking opportunities are the core of corporate events. With social distancing becoming the norm, for now, face-to-face networking may not seem appealing to most. This is where virtual chatrooms are going to come handy. Everyone attending the event is just a message away when you can start private chats with not just the VIPs, but the presenters and other attendees of your interest, too. So, now why would anyone shy away from networking anymore?

Set Up Multiple Session Streams

You can use mobile apps to push notifications and instant surveys to help personalise the event agenda for the attendees. Since not everyone is interested in the same programming or presentation line-up, let the attendees choose what they are actually interested in and let them consume whatever will best keep them engaged during the course of the event.

Record Attendance and Personally Welcome the Attendees Using Facial Recognition

What could be a better way to add that “human touch” to your event and impress the attendees than to welcome and greet them personally, with their name, when they join in? Facial recognition makes it super easy to do this and also register their presence in the event.

Use Behavior Recommendation Engines

It’s now possible to use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse personal preferences of each of the attendees and guiding them for the best experience. Suggest them to connect with other like-minded attendees or find them the most suitable event programming for their tastes. Sky’s the limit!

Implement Gamification Strategies

Since gamification aims to tap into human emotions and individual response, gamified events are sure to generate significantly more engagement than their non-gamified counterparts. Of course, who doesn’t love some fun and games?

Design an Immersive Virtual Experience

Making use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for audience engagement is not a new concept, however, it’s yet to go mainstream when it comes to corporate meetings and events. This is where lies a huge opportunity for event planners to put their creative hat on and design an immersive virtual experience that the attendees will never forget.

Leverage the Power of Social Media Networks

Taking advantage of social media networks to build a strong online presence is a no-brainer. Create relevant hashtags for your event and start promoting it on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. well in advance. Encourage people to share your content, keep them posted with the updates throughout the event, and continue making waves in the online communities even when the event is over.

Integrate Frequent Polls and Surveys to Make Your Event Successful

It has become almost effortless to query your event attendees to receive their feedback in real-time. From arranging live polls during presentations to following up with the attendees and seeking their feedback once the event is over, there’s so much that you can do with this! The best part? It doesn’t cost much but goes a long way towards ensuring your event’s success.

Use Technology to Deliver Rich Sensory Experiences

Incorporating rich sensory experiences into your events is always a great idea! How about using simple but appealing audio-visual elements that can delight your attendees? Check with your event planning team to see if they can make use of appropriate colour themes, floral installations, lighting, motion graphics, background music, or anything that will stimulate the senses of your attendees and add that human touch everyone is looking for in corporate events these days.

Final Thoughts

With the constant rise of event tech versus all the increasing support towards going low-tech, it may seem confusing at first when you begin to wonder which way to go. But if you ask us, it’s pretty simple – have a balanced, holistic approach towards event planning and stay nimble. That’s our secret sauce of organising successful corporate events of varied scale, across multiple industries – whether live or virtual events, time and again!

So, if you’re planning your next corporate event and want nothing but the latest, cutting-edge advice from the leading corporate event planners in the UK, who can guide you on the next steps, visit our corporate event management page or drop us a note today and we will get back to you ASAP!

For more tips and ideas on event tech, check out our other blog posts on the topic here and here!