What is event engagement—and why should you prioritise it?
Attendee engagement, also sometimes called event engagement, is the active and meaningful participation of attendees in various aspects of your event:
- Asking questions related to the presentations
- Offering insights in discussions
- Maximising networking activities
- Sharing experiences online (e.g. social media) and offline (e.g. with friends or colleagues)
According to Bizzabo’s "The State of In-person B2B Conferences" report, prioritising engagement enhances attendee satisfaction and contributes to overall event success. Let’s dive into the ways you can improve interactions, increase time spent across all sessions, and inspire positive thoughts and feelings among your attendees.
1. Interactive Q&As
Transform traditional question-and-answer sessions into energetic and inclusive experiences. Let attendees submit their queries in advance, giving speakers time to prepare thoughtful responses. During the talk, participants can ask more questions and upvote others, ensuring the most relevant topics are addressed.
This approach eliminates mic queues, maintains topic focus, sets boundaries for those who tend to dominate Q&As, and encourages active participation from everyone—including those who are shy or hesitant to speak in public.
How to get started:
- Select a user-friendly interactive platform like Pigeonhole Live that lets attendees submit, upvote, and comment on questions
- Send reminders through email, social media, and the event page to urge attendees to submit their questions in advance
- Set clear guidelines, such as where to submit queries, how to keep the Q&A relevant and respectful, and when the early question submission ends
2. Live polling and pulse checks
Before the presentation starts, use word clouds to gauge the mood of the room and icebreakers to boost engagement. Launch live polls to get immediate feedback on attendees’ preferences, allowing speakers to adjust their content on the spot.
In addition to captivating your audience, these real-time insights reveal attendee behaviours and interests. They help you improve future sessions and refine your next event.
How to get started:
- Create specific questions related to your session topic, such as Which AI applications are you most interested in: machine learning, natural language processing, or robotics? or Which digital marketing trends are your most excited about?
- Set up your polls before the event, providing clear instructions for attendees to respond via their smartphones, laptops, or tablets
- Choose a polling tool that integrates with your presentation software to easily display results on your main screen through alerts or a sidebar
3. Collaborative workshops
Instead of general sessions, host hands-on activities where attendees can work together while getting to know each other (a brilliant networking opportunity!). Launch a hackathon where people solve a given problem and develop a prototype. Or lead a storytelling workshop where they learn and apply techniques like character-building and conflict-setting to captivate their target audiences.
How to get started:
- Realistically allocate a time for each activity, keeping it to a maximum of one hour to maintain the attendees’ focus and energy
- Decide on your POP: the purpose, outcome, and process of your collaborative activity
- Use icebreakers like a quick poll, word cloud, or quiz that introduces participants to each other and your workshop’s purpose
4. Crowdsourced sessions
Crowdsource an energiser, a solution, or an entire conference in real time! Our team saw this in action at the Singapore MICE Forum 2024. Pigeonhole Live collaborated with SnapSight by Gevme and SongDivision on an energiser that asked the audience to submit words and use these words to compose a chorus for the event’s ‘song’.
How to get started:
- Think about when the attendees will be most receptive to sharing their ideas—is it on the first day of the event when they’re freshly excited, or pre-event so they can organise their thoughts?
- If you’re brainstorming solutions with a big group, consider the crowd’s background, such as expertise and interests
- If you’re crowdsourcing a conference programme, divide your attendees into equal-sized groups to ideate and reconvene later to synthesise their suggestions for, say, session topics and speakers
5. Gamified sessions
Add a competitive element to make your attendees’ event experience more compelling. Activities like trivia quizzes and scavenger hunts motivate people to fully participate. Games also set a fun, lively atmosphere for learning, leading to better retention of information.
How to get started:
- Define your goals for gamification: is it to increase knowledge retention, improve networking, or something else?
- Design engaging content that helps you achieve your goal, such as multiple-choice questions that reinforce session topics or team-based challenges that require collaboration
- Display real-time leaderboards for an instant dopamine hit and, optionally, offer tangible rewards like gift cards, swag, or exclusive access to future events for top performers
Pro tip: Need content ideas? Grab what you can take from our list of 110 sports trivia questions—go ahead, it’s free!
6. Themed content tracks
Group sessions into themes that make sense for your participants. Offer clear, organised paths tailored to their interests so they can easily find the most relevant content.
Themed tracks effectively cater to diverse needs and preferences and instantly put like-minded individuals in the same space, promoting deeper engagement among your attendees.
How to get started:
- Analyse attendee demographics and match the topics to the most common interests, e.g. for a conference called Future of Work, create tracks covering remote and hybrid work models, workplace technology and innovation, and leadership and organisational change
- Use a mix of formats, such as keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, to align with different learning styles
- Consider using a dynamic and interactive agenda and dedicated track pages in your event app for seamless navigation
7. Immersive storytelling
Blend traditional storytelling with innovative technology to maximise the emotional connection between speakers and attendees. However, it might be expensive to provide each person with a virtual reality (VR) headset. Instead, offer 360-degree video experiences where attendees can use their smartphones to explore virtual environments.
How to get started:
- Ensure your story is cohesive—choose hotspots and weave a common theme if you’re showcasing potential travel destinations
- When shooting, keep the camera stable to avoid movements that can cause disorientation or discomfort to viewers
- If you’re hosting a hybrid event, treat your virtual attendees to a 360-degree video of the event space from various angles, making them feel more connected to in-person attendees
8. Personalised 1:1 networking appointments
Empower your attendees to network with the right people at your in-person event. Let them search for and sort connections on your mobile event app to inspire meaningful interactions. To spice things up, you can also match individuals based on their professional interests, goals, or expertise, sparking focused and productive conversations.
How to get started:
- Tap an event management platform like Bizzabo to offer robust networking features, such as profile matching, appointment scheduling, and in-app messaging
- Dish out early invitations to complete profiles and start scheduling 1:1 meetings, highlighting the perks of early engagement like securing time slots
- Carve a dedicated space in the event venue complete with the essentials, such as power outlets and WiFi, ensuring comfortable and private chats
9. Diverse networking formats
Serving multiple formats ensures that everyone finds an option that suits their comfort level and networking style. Set up short, timed Q&A sessions where attendees can quickly introduce themselves, allowing them to meet several people in quick succession. Create dedicated discussion rooms or polls to guide conversations among those interested in the same subjects.
How to get started:
- Use an agenda tool in your event app or website to publish a clear schedule, including detailed descriptions of each format to help attendees choose the best options for them
- Train your staff as networking facilitators, equipping them with effective strategies to engage and guide attendees through the various networking formats
- Consider different personality types and preferences using Pigeonhole Live’s flexible formats, e.g. structured Q&A sessions for introverts who prefer more organised interactions and casual chat rooms or live polls for extroverts who enjoy open-ended discussions
10. Irresistible exhibition booths
Skift Meetings gently reminds event planners that they’re responsible for driving qualified attendees to the right booths. Educate exhibitors on good booth design, social media outreach, and interactive activities to maximise face-to-face engagement. Leverage interaction-driving tech to enable attendees to achieve their goals.
How to get started:
- Outline tactics on how to draw a crowd to the demo station, such as eye-catching signage, hired entertainers, raffles and giveaways, and product samples
- Integrate smart matchmaking in your event app to align attendees’ needs with vendors’ products and services
- Use gamification to bring more foot traffic to the exhibition floor, e.g. let people collect points and earn badges as they visit various booths
11. Live interactive demos
Enable exhibitors to conduct demos that leave a mark on their audience’s memories. While live demos are ‘interactive’ in themselves, brands must stand out on the exhibition floor. And they can do it by developing simulations that underscore how their product provides value and solves the attendees’ pain points.
- Create a sandbox environment where people can test a product’s capabilities and test its performance before they buy
- Train your team to interact with people with a deep understanding of your product, empathy towards their audience, and a welcoming energy that encourages questions, feedback, and closed deals
- Personalise each demo, e.g. cutting to the chase by talking about what the prospects want to learn (instead of what you think they need to know)
Create engaging, memorable experiences for your attendees with Pigeonhole Live
12. AR/VR branded experiences
Create a multi-sensory environment to make more shareable and memorable moments for your attendees. Work with brands to build 3D interactive models of the booths on the exhibition floor like what this real estate group did. Exhibitors promoting AI technology can sponsor an AI art wall where people can interact with generative AI to co-create their portrait or a scene on a wall.
How to get started:
- Develop a clear brief for exhibitors, outlining the potential of AR/VR experiences and how they can enhance brand engagement at the event
- Implement a user-friendly AR app for the event that attendees can easily download, allowing them to access various branded AR experiences throughout the venue
- Create shareable AR filters or effects branded to your event, encouraging attendees to post their experiences on social media and increase the event's online visibility
13. Strategic swag and giveaways
Ditch the generic bags, pads, and pens. Encourage vendors to put more thought into their swag to augment the attendee experience and boost brand recall. Provide tips on how to tailor giveaways to their brand’s personality and target audience’s vibes.
How to get started:
- Share attendee data, such as demographics and preferences, to help exhibitors narrow down ideas—think vouchers for local experiences for visitors who flew in or branded wellness kits for fitness enthusiasts
- Suggest virtual options like offering lifetime memberships to digital products or novel ones like planting trees on behalf of attendees who complete a purchase (we’ve tried and highly recommend both examples 👍)
- Streamline swag distribution by allowing attendees to order and ship swag and track their shipments via your event management app
14. Attendee surveys and feedback mechanisms
Craft powerful, in-the-moment surveys to gauge people’s interest in sessions or gather feedback on their overall experience. Launch surveys during the event to make effective last-minute improvements. Meanwhile, collect post-event feedback to shed light on the issues and opportunities you might want to look at in your next event.
How to get started:
- Generate surveys before and during the event to inform every stage of event management
- Redirect attendees to session-specific and post-event surveys, instantly capturing their attention and compelling them to submit their feedback
- Keep your questions short but sweet, use rating-scale or open-ended questions, and tell attendees your survey will take only a few minutes
15. Push notifications and reminders
Done right, pushing messages through your event app and other channels ensures your attendees do not miss anything. Broadcast essential information—including big changes like a new venue or schedule—through well-timed notifications or quick alerts.
How to get started:
- Identify the type of content you want to push onto your attendees’ devices, which can include brief updates on upcoming talks or delays, online polls, and health and safety announcements
- Schedule announcements ahead of time and send alerts during breaks—avoid bombarding everyone with a stream of notifications, even the speakers(!), while a presentation is ongoing
- Consider pushing notifications containing links to follow-up Q&A, relevant materials, and the speaker’s website after a major talk
16. Social media integration and event hashtags
Connect attendees to the online world via social media to boost on-site engagement. Remind them to use your event hashtags on their favourite platform, which will help raise your event’s visibility. You can also tap into their desire for attention by featuring some relatable or humorous posts about a session or topic.
How to get started:
- Brainstorm unique hashtags that represent your event, its theme, and your brand
- Stick to around three social media platforms, considering where your attendees and target virtual audiences hang out the most
- Partner with a few vendors in handing out some prizes for attendees sharing the best tweets or photos
During our stint at Event Tech Live London, Chief Business Officer Joon Yeng Hew picks the lucky winner of a lifetime Pigeonhole Live licence from among booth visitors who left their business cards in our 6x6 grid
17. Event spirit days
Reminiscent of spirit weeks in school, set a spirit day to break the monotony and enhance your event’s memorability. Spirit days involve themed activities ranging from Comic-Con-inspired dress codes to charity days where attendees can volunteer for a cause for a day. Whatever your theme is, align it with your event’s overall tone and audience’s needs.
How to get started:
- Match the activity with attendee demographics, goals, and preferences, such as a ‘dress as your favourite artist’ day for those in the creative industries and a mentorship day for those in business, finance, or technology
- Share examples of how to interpret more creative themes
- Be inclusive and respectful of all cultures and backgrounds
18. Wellness and relaxation stations
Incorporate wellness activities into your conference to invigorate the minds and bodies of attendees. Provide a space for them to take a breather from sitting indoors, absorbing a lot of content, and networking with other delegates.
How to get started:
- Host yoga sessions before and after each day’s programme
- Designate spaces for on-site seated massages, providing guests with a way to relax
- Include a screen-free breakout session to amplify retention or set up a screen-free zone to bolster awareness
19. Interactive art installations
Mesmerise your attendees with modern creations, inspiring creativity and innovation. Let them paint on large blank canvases or walls, contributing to a collective mural. If possible, invite the artists behind the immersive art to conduct a guided tour of their work.
How to get started:
- Create a cohesive experience by putting together art installations that fit your event’s theme
- Put a QR code near the art experience and invite attendees to engage directly with the creators, ask questions, and gain deeper insights into the artwork
- Capture people’s interaction with the installation in photos and videos, which you can share post-event or use to promote your next event
20. Pop-up labs
Create temporary, interactive spaces where attendees can experiment with new technologies or concepts related to your event theme. Pop-ups also offer a refreshing break from traditional sessions while educating prospects and customers on the inner workings of a product or service.
How to get started:
- Keep the input short and sweet, allowing attendees to enjoy themselves
- Partner with tech companies or innovators to showcase cutting-edge products or prototypes
- Rotate exhibits throughout the event to keep the content fresh and encourage multiple visits
21. Real-time insights and data collection
Leverage advanced tools to capture real-time data on the attendee experience. Event apps and audience engagement tools have built-in analytics capabilities. Use them to understand user behaviour or track your attendee engagement metrics so you can make decisions on the fly.
- Determine the data you need, such as which sessions people interact with, speakers they resonate with, and activities they prefer
- Assign staff members who will analyse and relay the information to those making the calls and those working on the ground
- Choose the right tools for your purpose, e.g. using Pigeonhole Live’s Insights to track attendee sign-ins, engagement, sessions, and drop-offs and Analytics to view reports on participant engagement, session performance, and audience interactions
Host events that will make attendees say ‘Take me back!’
Prioritise attendee engagement in your next event with these in-person engagement ideas. Whether you choose a couple or combine multiple strategies, focus on giving lots of value to your delegates or guests.
The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll master them and see results. Continue with your exceptional work and look forward to hearing someone say they loved the Q&As, networking lounges, and immersive booths and are sure to be back in your next event.
Create engaging, memorable experiences for your attendees with Pigeonhole Live
Frequently asked questions about attendee engagement
What is attendee engagement?
Attendee engagement, also known as event engagement, refers to the active and meaningful participation of attendees in an event. This includes activities such as asking questions during presentations, offering insights in discussions, maximising networking opportunities, and sharing experiences on social media.
Why is engagement important in an event?
Engagement is important because it leads to better retention of information, creates lasting memories, and improves interactions among participants. This leads to better attendee satisfaction, which in turn contributes to overall event success.
How do you engage people in an event?
Engaging people at an event involves a mix of strategies, including:
- Hosting interactive Q&As
- Launching live polls
- Implementing gamified sessions
- Creating themed content tracks
- Offering personalised networking opportunities
- Designing diverse networking formats
- Setting up irresistible exhibition booths
- Using strategic swag and giveaways
- Conducting attendee surveys for feedback
- Integrating social media and event hashtags
- Incorporating wellness and relaxation stations
- Displaying interactive art installations
- Ensuring high-quality AV production
- Collecting and analysing real-time insights and data
- Organising collaborative workshops
- Implementing crowdsourced sessions
- Using immersive storytelling techniques
- Offering live interactive product demos
- Creating AR/VR branded experiences
- Utilising push notifications and reminders
- Organising event spirit days
- Setting up pop-up labs for hands-on experiences