Once your attendee numbers are locked in, audience engagement is the single biggest challenge for event marketers.
But in the age of overflowing inboxes and endless webinar invitations, itâs easy to feel like itâs all been done before. If you really want to increase time in session and keep your attendees in the event, youâll have to get creative.
Thatâs where event gamification can help.
By tapping into the spirit of competition in all of us, you can go beyond stellar attendance rates to drive your best engagement scores yet. These six virtual event gamification ideas are a great place to start.
So, are you ready? Game on! đź
Event gamification is the process of using game-like elements to engage your event attendees.Â
From something as simple as collecting badges, all the way to complex point scoring systems and digital leaderboards â thereâs a game for every type of session and audience.
Event and field marketers love event gamification because by introducing awesome digital rewards and incentives into the mix, gamifying your virtual event helps motivate attendees to interact, engage, and of course, stay inside the event.Â
But gamifying your event does take resources. Youâll need to invest time, creativity, and quite possibly a chunk of your virtual event budget if you want to get it right. So there better be some pretty impressive benefits in return, right?
Here are some of the biggest perks virtual event gamification has to offer:
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As another major bonus, greater attendee activity can also mean increased interaction with your brand and sponsors, which can have important knock-on effects for your bottom line.
Clearly, gamifying your event has some awesome benefits for event marketers.
But whatâs in it for your attendees?
For some attendees, the internal gratification of winning is all they need. But for most, theyâll want something tangible they can put their hands on at the end of the event.Â
Thatâs where the rewards come in. Whether itâs e-gift cards, experiences, branded swag, or donations from partners and sponsors, youâve got to offer something of value that can also be gifted virtually.
Points systems are an awesome way to keep attendees engaged in your event games.
To figure out how to structure and award your points, start with these questions:
Each event element or action should have a set number points assigned to it. One way to do it is to set the number of points based on how important each action is in achieving your event objective.
For example, you could put your attendee feedback survey, form, or poll on the screen and get invaluable, on-the-day feedback in exchange for a few extra points.Â
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A solid points system is key to any event gamification strategy, as are the juicy prizes and rewards that go along with them.
But believe it or not, gamification isnât just about points and prizes. At the end of the day, event gamification is all about the experience.
âVirtual events are all about the experience you can provide. Gamification is becoming huge because it gets people to have a bit more fun,â says Nick Bennett. Director of Field, Community, & Partner Marketing at B2B gifting platform Alyce.
We couldnât agree more. When you lead with the goal of creating an awesome experience for everyone involved, thereâs no limit to the event gamification ideas you can try.
Here are a few ideas to help get your wheels turning.
If you want to really up your excitement factor, integrated gaming solutions like Drimify and Engamio allow you to design and launch interactive games within your virtual event.
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But self-produced scavenger and treasure hunts can be just as fun too. Hide clues, points and prizes in all the areas you want your attendees to visit.Â
Some areas of the event you may want to gamify include product tours, branded pages, and important speaker sessions. Keep in mind, the right event gamification strategy lets you guide the attendee journey.
As long as you keep it fun and engaging, the attendees are sure to follow.
There are a ton of different types of virtual events out there and itâs important to choose an event gamification idea that fully aligns with your unique format and mission.
But regardless of the size or shape of your event, the right icebreaker is almost always a great fit.Â
Whether itâs splitting attendees into teams for a specific challenge, competing in an event-wide virtual game, or sharing their best workplace story to win a prize, use your gamification strategy to break the ice and encourage attendees to get to know each other from the very first session.
Youâve heard it before: Flattery will get you everywhere.Â
People want to know when theyâve achieved something, and they usually want others to know too (even if they wonât admit it). Create a leaderboard in your event and ask the event moderator to give regular shout-outs to the top players.
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With the right virtual event platform, you can even use real-time event data to send notifications to participants and let them know how theyâre doing.Â
And if you canât manage scoring during the event, no worries. Just send an email immediately after the event to let everyone know who the winners are. đ
Whether itâs PokĂ©mon or baseball, collectible cards are a longstanding fan favorite.Â
People love the challenge of collecting a set, beating the competition and trading to get the best deck. And itâs easy to adopt this gamification strategy within your event.
For example, you could award a special badge to anyone who answers a live poll or trivia question or attends a specific session or booth. You can even allow attendees to swap collectible badges or âcardsâ as a way to organically boost the amount of live networking exchanges.
Sponsors typically want one thing from your event: leads.Â
With the right event gamification strategy, you can help incentivize sponsors while putting some clear parameters around their participation by attributing points to specific sponsorship levels.
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The more attendees they engage, the higher their points, and the greater their return on investment (ROI) will be.
Once theyâre within the exhibitor or virtual booth space, you can attribute points to either sponsors or attendees for certain sponsor-related actions: visiting a booth, speaking with them, registering an email address, engaging in a demo, etc.
Teamwork really can make the dream work. Especially if the dream is to give the attendees a networking experience theyâll never forget.
One or two days before the event, split your registration list into groups and send out team sheets via email. By letting your registrants know theyâve got a team counting on them, youâll also help keep those attendance rates up. After all, no one wants to let the team down!Â
From there, set up each group with a list of engagement-focused tasks, then sit back and watch the organic networking commence. đż
Whether itâs a digital scavenger hunt, an exclusive gift for the first 50 attendees, or extra points for attending your hottest networking session, event gamification gives you endless opportunities to boost event attendance, increase time in sessions, and achieve your best engagement scores yet.
But remember, no one likes cheap tricks or clichĂ© icebreakers.Â
If you really want to fight back against virtual event attrition and keep your attendees with you for longer, focus on creating an event gamification strategy that lets you guide the journey, while keeping it fun and value-packed the whole way through.
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