Where almost all the organizers have learned to plan and design engaging and compelling online exhibitions, keeping the audience engaged still remains one of the biggest challenges that the organizers face on a daily basis.
Now that we are almost two years down from the pandemic, we believe many of us have understood that planning and hosting an online exhibition is one task, and keeping the audience engaged is another. However, keeping this in mind, we have combined a list of the top tips suggested by experts to keep the audience engaged during the online exhibition. So, without any ado, let us quickly get through the blog.
Set Up a 3D Virtual Lobby
While you are planning an online exhibition, keep in mind that an online exhibition is not only about getting a fixed audience on a regular online conference platform and enabling them to interact with each other. If you really want the audience to stay engaged in the event, and have a fulfilling experience, then it is suggested that you should go for an online exhibition platform that lets you set up virtual 3D lobbies. The 3D interface of the platform would give the exhibition a realistic touch and it would make the attendees feel like they are attending a real-life exhibition. Not only this, a 3D virtual lobby would enable attendees to interact with others and expand their personal networks.
Guide The Attendees
The next thing you need to do to ensure that the attendees stay hooked to the entire exhibition is to guide them throughout the exhibition. However, we understand that it would be impossible for the organizers to guide each attendee. Hence, to make things easier for them, you can add an event agenda to the platform. Not only this, you can add the direction of accessing the platform and the entire virtual venue. In addition, one can make things easier for the attendees by sending the entire exhibition agenda and itinerary to them a few days before the exhibition. It will help them learn and know more about the exhibition and do their part in research in the meantime.
Deliver Compelling Content
Always remember, no matter how big of an organization you are or how prominent an online exhibition you are hosting, know that unless you are not delivering compelling content, nothing is going to make sense. All your strategies and planning come down to the content you deliver to your audience. Hence, make sure that your exhibition is worth attending and that the attendees get to learn something from it.
Hence, use an advanced online platform; design your exhibition in such a way that compels attendees to stay till the end. Not only this, plan and host a few keynote sessions. Moreover, you can also invite a few celebrities and industry experts to add to the charm of the exhibition.
Promote Your Product
The objective of hosting an online exhibition is to promote a product or service to the audience. However, what also matters is the way you present your product. While you exhibit your product to your audience, make sure that you add informative material like pdfs, videos, and other graphics that will help attendees understand your product and service in detail. Not only this, but you can also add a link to your website. It will set up the authenticity of your product. It will boost the chances of them purchasing your product in detail and drive more sales.
Boost Interactivity at Your Virtual Booth
The audience and organizers find it easy to interact with each other during an offline event. However, interacting with others might feel a little awkward during the online exhibition. However, it is when audience engagement tools such as virtual breakout rooms, AI Matchmaking and Networking Tables come to use. As an organizer or exhibitor, you need to ensure that till the time the attendees are at your booth, they are staying completely engaged with the booth. You can ensure the same by using audience engagement tools such as live polls, surveys, and many more. It will boost two-way communication in an online event and make the audience feel included in a rather technology-driven event.
Make the Online Exhibition Entertaining
Well, this is our personal favorite way of boosting audience engagement during an online exhibition. Add a dash of entertainment to the online exhibition. Who said that exhibitions have always to be formal? They can be fun and entertaining too. You can either host an entertainment-driven segment in the exhibition or set up some fun and interactive virtual booths. If you feel an event hosted in a virtual space cannot be entertaining, then you are completely wrong. In a business event, going with the virtual booth ideas would be right. Not only this, we recommend you do a bit of research and include ways of entertainment depending on your target audience.
If you are planning on hosting online exhibitions, we recommend you first have a clear understanding of the ideas you will use to keep your audience engaged during the event. There are several organizers who believe that only getting an audience to the platform is more than enough. However, if you are one of them, let us burst a bubble for you; you couldn’t be more wrong.
Keeping the audience engaged is more important than having an audience. Hence, if you are planning on hosting an online exhibition, keep the above-described tips in mind.
