Why Focused Events Will Always Result In Highly Engaged Audiences

We’ve all heard this before: Event technology is the key to engagement.

But we’re about to tell you that savvy event technology isn’t all you need to keep your attendees engaged.

Let’s clarify this with a food analogy: You have all the ingredients to make a perfect meal BUT you don’t have a recipe! Will you still be able to make that meal? Well, you could try but no chance you get it done perfectly without the right measurements or knowing when to add what ingredient!

Events are the same way. You cannot throw event tech at your attendees and expect them to just… engage. You have to set them up for success with the right people around them and an event theme that screams “hey this was made just for you!”

So how do you do that? The answer = niched down hyper focused events

Events with a specific theme that resonates with your target audience can be a lot better than hosting mega events without a focus segment. This way, your attendees stay invested feeling like they belong, and you also amplify your message.

Now you know the ‘what’ behind event success but you can’t execute without the ‘how’.

Don’t worry we won’t leave you hanging. We’re sharing a few tips for planning a niche event and how to add event tech into the mix.

• Build communities around a shared interest. You need to find people who have a shared interest. Let’s say your niche is AI; find people who have an interest and want to learn about this. Then, host an event for that specific audience in mind with interesting sessions around AI and its use cases and how your product helps with it. Post event you can ask you attendees to join a Slack or WhatsApp channel or a discussion group.
  We recently had Liz Lathan on our podcast who shared tips on building communities, listen to the podcast to learn more.
• Keep your attendees in mind while designing your event. From the content down to the food (we’re not still talking about food, are we? ) – curate the experience specifically and intentionally for your attendees according to their interest.
• Gamify the theme of your event. To ingrain it even further with your attendees, you can plan games around the theme of your event so it’s easier to digest (a food pun was the only thing missing ).
• Smaller can mean better. More attendees doesn’t mean more engagement. Instead, focus on inviting people with shared interests even if that means a smaller head count.

An Example from Our Playbook: vFairs Dinner in NYC

We practice what we preach! vFairs hosted an exclusive dinner for our customers and prospects in NYC last week. The event was intimate, casual, and a lot of fun. The food was absolutely fantastic, but the conversations were even better! (we admit, food might be the running theme of this newsletter )

Why it works: People buy from people, not brands. Our team including the CEO, Muhammad Younas, sits down with 10-15 customers and prospects. The guests have direct access to the man driving the vFairs vision forward. They chat about their events, their problems, plans for upcoming events, what they’re seeing at other events and so much more.

As for us, we get the perfect opportunity to share our expertise, give specific advice and of course, convince them about how our tech can make their lives easier. These kind of interactions are extremely personal and create an affinity between vFairs and our guests. They are more inclined to consider us for their next event.