Gamification Gets Virtual Attendees in the Game

Tags: Hybrid | Event Planning | Event Design

One of the key components of putting on a successful hybrid event is creating unique and engaging experiences for both your in-person and virtual audiences. Engaging virtual audiences can be especially challenging as there’s often an element of disconnect between the in-person versus on-screen experiences.

Focusing on the virtual element of hybrid events, there are several ways to encourage increased participation from your remote attendees, including gamification. Gamification is an underutilized aspect of hybrid and virtual events, yet it’s one that can elevate the experience for people who are unable to attend in person.

What Is Gamification?

Gamification involves creating game-like systems to support your event’s content and boost attendee participation in the virtual festivities. People are more likely to engage when there’s something to be won, and with gamification, you can implement a weighted points system to reward attendees who complete specific actions. These actions include, but aren’t limited to, attending a session for a specific amount of time, interacting with another attendee or sponsor, submitting a form, posting a topic in the event forum, and sharing a link. Ideas for creative games you can incorporate in your system include trivia, scavenger hunts, puzzles, polling, icebreakers, and virtual escape rooms.

Apps that enable gamification for your hybrid or virtual event often include an option to display a leaderboard so that attendees can see where they rank against the competition. Of course, attendees will be more inclined to interact and build their scores when there’s something to play for. One of the aspects that will determine how engaged virtual attendees will be with your gamification system is the prize at stake.

Gift cards offer a simple prize option and one many people will appreciate, but there’s room to be creative when determining what the prize(s) will be. We’ve also seen highly competitive environments where the prize is nominal, like a t-shirt or branded merch! Just be sure to outline what the grand prize is, whether there will be second and third place prizes, and the guidelines for eligibility. This can be done using a dedicated static page in your event platform, a popup, a widget, or another method.

The Benefits of Gamification

Once you get your virtual attendees in the game, you’ll begin to realize the benefits gamification can have on your events, including:

Increased Audience Engagement: As previously outlined, gamification offers interactive and unique possibilities for keeping your audience entertained while they immerse themselves in your event’s content and activities. See more ways to increase event engagement.

Better Support and Return on Investment for Sponsors: Part of the effective gamification of an event is incorporating activities with sponsors and vendors into the points system. Assigning points for visiting a vendor booth or interacting with a vendor’s product gives attendees incentive to interact with them and ensures a worthwhile investment for your vendors. And, of course, the game itself could be a sponsor opportunity for branding and frequent mentioned throughout the event. Check out more ways to engage with sponsors.

Expanded Networking Capabilities: Gamification is a great way to encourage attendees to connect with one another and break through the awkwardness of virtual introductions. Networking will come effortlessly to your attendees as they’re visiting booths, attending sessions, and popping into the lobby to introduce themselves to fellow attendees and rack up points so they can win the grand prize! Learn more about other ways to create networking opportunities.

Check out how we incorporated gamification into our fifth installment of our Plan V series!

Gamify Your Next Hybrid Event

The LAI Live team members are experts at gamifying hybrid and fully virtual events to entice your remote attendees to join in on the fun with the chance to win big. Still not sure what a hybrid event looks like? Read our blog on navigating the world of hybrid events. Looking for creative ways to gamify your next hybrid or virtual event? Get in touch with us by: