A great event occurs when attendees are engaged. However, engagement doesn’t have to be confined to the event itself—communicate with attendees before, during, and after. And that’s true whether the event you’re planning is virtual or not.

“Whether you’ll be face-to-face, all online, or some combination of the two, keeping attendees informed and engaged is imperative to event success,” says MemberClicks’ Colleen Bottorff.

Communicating before the event helps build anticipation and facilitate connections. During the event, meanwhile, give attendees the information they need.

“If you’ll have a TV or screen (or virtual waiting room) where you can share a slide presentation, put one together that’ll loop with important information,” Bottorff says.

In your post-event communications, thank attendees for coming and share any highlights—photos, videos, information about prize winners. Then, lead them to any relevant material you have, such as blog posts, white papers, and e-learning courses.

“Be sure you make a regular practice of thinking about your attendees’ experience—that means their entire journey from registration to the weeks following—and what they might need to know about before, during, and after the event,” Bottorff says.

Keep the Digital Transformation Going

https://twitter.com/4enterprisers/status/1271160529369907202

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for organizations to keep their digital transformation efforts going. How can they stay on track? Make progress visible to employees, argues Eeva Raita, head of strategy and culture at Futurice, on The Enterprisers Project.

“Starting with ‘why’ gets people excited and engaged, but making progress visible keeps them going,” Raita says. “Focusing not only on what you have created but also what influence it has had will help satisfy the team’s sense of accomplishment.”

Other Links of Note

How can you mobilize volunteers to combat societal challenges? Make volunteering more accessible, says Erin Halley on VolunteerMatch.

Back to normal: Know Your Own Bone’s Colleen Dilenschneider looks at what would make people comfortable going to cultural entities again.

Are your e-learning courses ready for the death of Adobe Flash? A recent Learning Solutions post breaks down what you can do about it.

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