Attendee engagement is perhaps the most telling marker of your event’s success. But if attendees enter your event venue and feel lost among a sea of faces, they’ll withdraw, go through the motions, and not return next year. Make your event’s attendees feel seen by going the extra mile to create a personalized event experience. In this article, we’ll show you how you can use event personalization to increase attendee engagement.
What Is Event Personalization and Why Is It Important?
Event personalization is the art of tailoring your event to acknowledge attendees’ individuality. Rather than making the attendee adjust themselves to fit into your event, you adjust the event to fit better with the attendee.
Personalizing your event means:
- An introvert doesn’t need to take on an extroverted role to participate.
- An extravert doesn’t need to sit through long sessions.
- A person with dietary restrictions doesn’t need to go hungry.
- …and much more.
Personalization is important because it increases attendee engagement. It helps attendees feel like they belong at your event and, consequently, helps them participate in and engage more fully with your event.
Below, we have ideas for incorporating personalization into five key areas of your event: gamification, badges, event apps, event communication, and accessibility.
Gamification
People have an innate love for games. The excitement of competition and the thrill of rewards engage attendees and help them bond with their fellow attendees. For these reasons, you likely already incorporate games into many of the events you plan. Take your gamification techniques up a notch when you use these techniques to personalize games.
1. Use leaderboards so that attendees’ names become a focal point.
2. Start with icebreakers so that attendees can get to know each other.
3. Create collaborative activities that benefit from a variety of skill sets so that even the quiet introvert is inspired to contribute her unique talents.
4. Let participants express their preferences by offering a variety of rewards.
Badges
If there is one event element that is personalized by its very definition, it’s the event badge. But just as there’s more than one way to cook an egg, there’s more than one way to personalize an event badge. Try these suggestions.
5. Include more information than just the attendee’s name, such as company or title.
6. Include a fun prompt or conversation starter on the badge to serve as an icebreaker.
7. Gamify your badges with QR codes that allow attendees to earn points for attending speaker sessions or other activities.
8. Include the attendee’s business card information with the QR code to facilitate networking.
9. Include the attendee’s social media handles to encourage online connections.
10. Create a way to designate first-time attendees and instruct event staff to greet and engage with these newbies.
Event Apps
Event apps are game changers for the event industry. The ability to collect attendee data, measure engagement, and consolidate event information are just a few of the reasons event apps are popular. Event apps increase your ROI and the value attendees get from your event. You can further personalize the event experience using apps with these tips.
11. Let attendees bypass the awkwardness of approaching a microphone by allowing them to type questions to the presenter within the app.
12. Allow attendees to input their preferences and interests so they can receive notifications for events and information they care about the most.
13. Provide the ability to create a personalized agenda within the app.
14. Facilitate networking within the app by matching the user with attendees with similar interests or backgrounds.
Event Communication
Long before the event takes place and, indeed, even before attendees purchase their event tickets, you can personalize their experience by personalizing your event’s communication. And we do mean more than just inserting their name in a blank field at the top of an email, which comes across as disingenuous without a sincere attempt at personalizing event communication.
15. Segment your distribution list and create custom email communications for each segment.
16. Use an autoresponder that is triggered by attendee actions so that attendees receive the messages that correspond to their immediate needs.
17. Offer multiple guest communication channels, such as text, social media, email and within the event app.
Accessibility and Other Considerations
Personalizing your events is all about recognizing your attendees as individuals. Nowhere is personalization more important than when it involves ability, identity, and dietary needs.
18. Go above and beyond disability rights laws and provide ample options for disabled attendees, such as dedicated space in the presentation room for wheelchairs, sign language translators on hand, and accessible areas clearly marked in the event app’s map.
19. Create an inclusive event for the LGBTQ+ community.
- Provide the option to choose pronouns that can be printed on name tags.
- Use gender-neutral language, avoiding terms such as “salesman” and “ladies and gentlemen.”
- Invite diverse speakers.
20. Provide balanced food options for everyone, including gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and vegan options.
Personalization Is the Key to Attendee Engagement
Attendee engagement is the crowning achievement that defines a successful event. But your event’s attendees won’t enjoy themselves, much less be engaged, if they feel invisible. Personalizing your event shows attendees they matter and inspires them to fully participate. The tips above will get you started in creating personalized events which attendees can’t wait to experience.
Learn more event planning tips and unlock the full potential of your business with insights from the top experts and unparalleled networking opportunities at The Event Planner Expo 2024. Get your tickets today and ensure you’re part of the event that will transform your year!
