Designing Events for Engagement Over Attendance

To consider any event a success, event professionals have to consider more than just the number of seats filled. Attendance matters, of course — seats must be filled before any additional KPIs can be reached. It’s easy to focus on the endless details, from marketing to venues to entertainment to contractors. But each of these elements work together to serve a purpose, and if we lose that purpose as we navigate the details, we’re missing the mark. 

As we sit down to design events, we should build on the foundation of purpose by creating a strategy for event engagement. When we focus on behavior changes that we hope our attendees make, rather than strictly getting x number of people in the door, we can create meaningful experiences for them that help us reach our goals, too. 

The Power of Engagement

Engagement is more than just simple interaction. When it’s done well, engagement actually adds value to your attendee’s experience. This is a good benchmark to keep in mind when you’re setting KPIs for your event. Instead of packing in as many interactive points as possible or opting for the flashiest experience, select experiences that provide a serious value add for your target audience.

If you’re not sure how to clarify which experiences will offer this, here are a few simple questions to ask as you brainstorm: 

• Will this experience engage attendees emotionally? Will they be moved by it?
• Will this experience encourage attendees to take the action you want them to take? 
• Will this experience educate attendees about our brand, product, or initiative? 
• Will this experience make attendees feel valued, understood, or cared about? 

Well-crafted experiences will always touch on at least one of these points: emotional engagement, action steps, education, or personal connection. As you plan your event, check in to make sure your selections fit one (or many!) of these categories. An important note: these answers will change with every event, because your audience will change, too! This is why it’s important to know your audience and keep them in mind — you always want to create an event that your specific audience will love, engage with, and appreciate. ow to

How to Design Events with Engagement in Mind

When we design events for clients here at Redstory, we always aim to incorporate at least one engagement goal that can be measured (in addition to their attendance goal). So, how do we design events and create measurable KPIs that focus on engagement? 

1. Define your audience.
   

   As we’ve mentioned, event engagement can only be strategic when we know who we’re building the event to serve! Create an ideal attendee avatar if you can. This will clarify who you want to walk in the door — and who will walk out the door feeling loyal to your brand.
   
   

2. Determine their values.

   The best way to discover what matters to your attendees? Ask them. If you can, it’s incredibly helpful to interview members of your audience or conduct secondary research to understand what influences their attitudes and behaviors.

3. Set your KPIs.

   Once you know who your audience is and what they care about, you can start to build your list of KPIs based on that. Keep in mind that you’ll want to determine clear attendance and engagement goals with your attendees in mind. 
   
   

4. Design experiences that move the needle. 

   After setting your attendance and engagement benchmarks, explore what elements of the event have the potential to move your audience closer to your desired goals. Make a list of all possible touchpoints throughout the event that can influence attendees’ behavior, and then narrow that list to the experiences that provide the most impact. Remember: focus on the quality, not just the quantity of touchpoints. 
   
   For example, if you’re hosting a fundraiser for a nonprofit, you’ll likely want to choose touchpoints that provide education and engage your attendees emotionally, showing them how they can help you solve the pain point at hand. If you’re launching a new product, you’ll want to educate them on the product itself along with showing them why it was created just for them. If you’re creating an employee retreat, you’ll want to choose experiences that show them how much the company cares about them as employees and as people. 

At Redstory, human connection matters most. People are at the heart of every event we design. If you want to create an experience that engages your audience and makes them feel valued, we’d love to help. Let’s create something that matters together. Get in touch with us today!