How to engage attendees beyond the event

Do you want to create successful events that continue to engage attendees long after the events are over?

With an ever-evolving event management landscape, there are numerous ways to nurture relationships and engagement with your attendees: share photos on social platforms, tagging attendees and inviting comments; transform event videos and presentations into webinars for future use; connect with the audience after the event is finished via surveys, games, and giveaways.

Rather than limit your efforts to just one of these options, aim to check a few boxes to clearly demonstrate your commitment to ongoing and meaningful communication with your attendees, post-event.

Read on for additional tips and practices to engage your audience in the days following the event.

Engaging attendees at your event shouldn’t stop once the event ends

Although it’s easy to focus on engagement leading up and during the event, keeping your attendees engaged once the event ends is just as important — and not as tricky as it might sound. Consistent attendee engagement is important to:

• Foster connection among your members 365 days a year
• Empower members to advocate for causes that matter to your organization
• Facilitate the effortless and productive collaboration of committee members
• Maximize your profits throughout the year
• Make it effortless for attendees to access and attend your most significant events and smallest meetings, like conferences, webinars, and instructional sessions
• Invest in members through education

Ready to maximize the longevity of your event?

Maintain your event’s momentum with 7 proven post-event strategies:

To maximize the full potential of your event and create lasting value for all attendees, you’ll need to captivate your audience before, during, and even after the big day. To help get you started, here are seven tips and techniques.

1. Produce engaging videos

Before and during your event create tons of videos.

Record details like the quick check-in process and feature attendees’ glowing testimonials. Capture Q&As with speakers and their presentations to maximize exposure and provide a source of content that lasts long after the event is over.

You can also use these recorded videos to tie back into topics you’ve mentioned on your blog and highlight them in a fun and informative social media post.

Since videos are an incredibly effective marketing tool, use them for marketing your future events and keeping your attendees in the loop between events.

2. Capture photos

Post the photos on your website as visual evidence of a successful event. Showcase a carefully curated album so that anyone interested can scroll through and immerse themself in the experience.

Create posts on your social media platforms featuring your best shots and spread the word about what a great time it was. Tag attendees and invite questions or feedback in the photo captions.

Engage event attendees throughout the year by posting content related to this event, even in simple #ThrowbackThursday type posts.

Pro-tip: feature past event photos as teasers about the upcoming event by highlighting a detail that will change or be even better than the last event. This way, your attendees will be excited about what’s to come and eager to register for your next event.

3. Curate the best content

Harness the power of creating content around your most important speaker topics. Take a look at your previous presentations and identify essential themes that connect them, which you can then turn into more in-depth content.

Expanding on popular event  topics through new blog and social posts, pillar pieces, and downloadable white papers or PDFs allows you to connect with and engage your audience between events, while providing valuable content in the meantime.

With content being such an essential part of driving customers to your events, capitalizing on every opportunity for maximum reach and engagement is sure to pay off.

4. Follow up with attendees

After your event is over, find ways to follow up with your attendees.

Start by simply showing your appreciation. Thank them for coming, which can go a long way toward fostering long-lasting relationships.

Doing so gives you the perfect opportunity to share photos or any other content they might find valuable, as well as invite specific feedback about the event, which can help with planning the next one.

5. Launch post-event webinars

Hosting post-event webinars is a great way to provide lasting value for your event stakeholders. Take the best topics from the most popular sessions and turn them into engaging webinar workshops. You can use different approaches here, such as sending out monthly webinar registrations or repackaging fascinating insights as seasonal releases for further discussion and debate.

Before the event, start prepping your list of potential interviewees and present the interviews as an exciting post-event series that attendees can either access all at once or you can release according to a specific schedule. Whether attendees must download or register to view, make sure you create a social media strategy to extend engagement.

6. Live stream and record your event

Live streaming and recording your event provides the ultimate opportunity for engagement — both in person and virtually. Make sure viewers who couldn’t make the event can still follow what you have to offer and get connected with everyone else attending.

Consider repurposing your recorded content so that its appeal is not limited or dependent on ticket sales. You can also draw your attendees further into an interactive experience with live Q&A presentations, chats, forums, and more! Even better, the entire process becomes effortless when your live stream is integrated with your AMS.

7. Launch ongoing charity projects

Launch an ongoing charitable project during your event! Share information about upcoming activities, such as fundraising opportunities and progress updates.

Maintain and promote the project throughout the year. Raising awareness around your chosen cause can result in more donations to help further its mission.

Give an inspiring account of your organization’s impact on the project; highlight how people can get involved in helping create meaningful change now and into the future. No contribution is too small — every show of support matters and is valuable.

Strategic post-event engagement summary

Engaging with participants after your event can maximize the impact of your efforts and leave a lasting impression on attendees.

Here are some helpful tricks to make it happen:

• Ensure that post-event content and engagement opportunities are meaningful and add worth: Select activities that are stimulating and captivating for your audience so that they will be more likely to engage and participate. You can also use the feedback from your event as a guide on what worked and what missed the mark.
• Keep communication open and transparent: Ensure your post-event communication is honest, clear, and concise. Let your attendees know about important upcoming opportunities and why they won’t want to miss them.
• Include a range of engaging activities: Find ways to engage with participants in interesting ways — from webinars, Q&As, interviews, surveys, live streaming, and more.
• Provide social media opportunities for people to share their experiences: Social media platforms can be powerful storytelling tools for the event, so use them to maximize your reach and encourage post-event engagement.
• Continue building a comprehensive post-event program: Strive to create captivating and valuable content consistently. This should include anything from blog posts and podcasts to interviews with speakers, panelists, and participants.
• Stay connected and engaged: To keep your attendees in the loop, routinely contact them with updates and information about upcoming events or other activities associated with your organization.

Don’t let your event disappear into thin air after it’s over! Make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to keep your event relevant in people’s minds by finding ways to extend its reach even after it’s ended. Utilize these helpful tips and create a post-event engagement plan to encourage ongoing engagement.