Engage, Connect, Inspire: Interactive Event Ideas to Make Your Next Event Unforgettable
Kortney Phillips
Jul 31, 2023 11:00:00 AM
When it comes to event planning, it can get complicated. You have to figure out so many unique details. Everything from the guest list to the venue to the event technology has to be perfect. The last thing on your mind is thinking about interactive event ideas.
These days, food and entertainment aren’t enough to satisfy event participants. To boost event engagement, you need to host fun, interactive activities. So, to help you maximize your event's success, we've compiled a list of the top interactive event ideas. We'll also discuss whether these activities work best for a virtual, in-person, or hybrid event. Here's what you need to know.
Interactive event content provides a truly immersive event experience. This type of content requires the attendees’ active engagement, and unlike static content where users read, watch, or listen, interactive content invites attendees to participate. This can lead to higher engagement rates, increased learning retention, and a more personalized experience.
As event trends evolve, attendees now crave immersive experiences. More than cocktail hours and keynote presentations are needed to satisfy attendees. To stay ahead of the game and meet the growing demands of modern audiences, it’s necessary to incorporate interactive content. Here are the top reasons why integrating interactive event ideas is vital for creating memorable and engaging event experiences:
By incorporating interactive content in your event, you create a more dynamic and participatory environment, ensuring attendees remain engaged and invested in the experience.
When organizing an event, effective promotion is critical to maximizing attendance. By incorporating interactive content on your event agenda, you can appeal to a broader audience and significantly boost your registration numbers, increasing event ROI.
Interactive content encourages attendees to interact with each other, fostering collaboration and facilitating networking opportunities. Group discussions, workshops, or gamified challenges create a sense of community, enabling attendees to connect, share ideas, and build relationships.
Without interactive content, attendees may not stay for the event’s duration. However, by using interactive content to promote attendee engagement, you ensure your participants remain throughout your event and fully immerse themselves in the event agenda.
In today's competitive event landscape, incorporating interactive content sets your event apart. Attendees are constantly seeking novel and engaging experiences, and by providing interactive elements, you can deliver the kind of unique and memorable event that keeps attendees coming back year after year.
The level of interactivity and engagement at your event will directly correlate to your post-event “buzz.” The more interactive and captivating your event is, the higher the likelihood that attendees will enthusiastically discuss and share their experiences with others.
By crafting an immersive and memorable experience through interactive content, you create a buzz-worthy event that sparks conversations, fuels anticipation for future gatherings, and solidifies your event's reputation as an unmissable occasion.
Interactive content contributes to a higher ROI by increasing attendee satisfaction, engagement, and knowledge retention. When attendees actively participate and have a positive experience, they are more likely to become loyal event supporters and advocates and repeat attendees, ultimately driving the success of your event.
Incorporating interactive event ideas is no longer just a trend but a necessity to meet the evolving expectations of today's audience.
Immerse your attendees in a whole new world with Virtual Reality (VR). Whether virtual tours, interactive games, or immersive simulations, VR offers a unique and captivating experience that will leave a lasting impression.
For in-person or hybrid events, you can provide the necessary VR equipment to on-site attendees to ensure a controlled and uniform experience. Don't have VR equipment? No problem!
You can still offer an immersive and engaging experience by leveraging platforms like 6Connex. With 6Connex, you can create a metaverse-like experience without headset equipment. The platform offers a range of virtual interactive features that provide attendees with a sense of immersion and interactivity in a virtual environment.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person
Image: https://www.arkadium.com/games/family-feud/?arkpromo=Prev_JeopardyWhen it comes to virtual event planning, preparing interactive and engaging entertainment can be quite a challenge. But fear not! Game shows provide an effortless way to infuse fun and excitement into your event. Here are a few unique options to consider:
Among these options, Family Feud often stands out as an ideal game show for most events. It allows guests to play as a team, promoting communication and cooperation.
Pro Tip: When hosting engaging virtual meetings and including a game show on your agenda, it's crucial to establish ground rules for the game. For example, implement guidelines for mute button use to avoid overlapping responses and ensure an organized flow of communication.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person
Image:https://www.tagvenue.com/virtual-events/activity/virtual-casino-nightEntertainment ideas, like casino nights, are a guaranteed hit. They offer attendees a chance to relax and enjoy the excitement of casino games. Moreover, a casino night can serve multiple purposes, including fundraising.
While casino nights are ideal for in-person events, virtual event platforms like 6Connex enable event planners to extend the casino experience to remote attendees. Using 6Connex’s breakout rooms, planners can seamlessly integrate virtual and live games, creating an engaging and interactive casino night experience that transcends physical boundaries.
Pro tip: Take advantage of 6Connex's customization options to tailor your event and incorporate your brand and event theme throughout the event experience. To provide a cohesive and memorable event atmosphere, you can customize each element, from virtual exhibit halls to interactive networking lounges.
Best For: Hybrid and In-Person
When it comes to interactive event entertainment, trivia games reign supreme, offering unparalleled flexibility and customization. The options are endless, whether you choose to group participants into teams or encourage individual play. You can also opt for a traditional pen-and-paper format or leverage event technology for a more modern experience.
Their ability to cater to specific audiences makes trivia games ideal event entertainment. From hosting a large-scale, in-person conference to a small-scale, virtual meeting, trivia games can be tailored to suit any occasion.
An example of a great interactive trivia platform is Kahoot! With Kahoot!, you can infuse your 6Connex event with dynamic, customizable quizzes that resonate with your attendees. Participants can play using their smartphones or devices. Real-time leaderboards and engaging visuals add an extra layer of excitement and foster healthy competition.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person
When planning event entertainment at a trade show, including a diverse range of vendor booths is essential. You can also offer interactive games at the booths to amplify attendee engagement. Include high-value giveaways and prizes to encourage attendees to participate. These prize-based games create a lively and immersive event atmosphere. Here are some examples to consider:
Pro tip: leverage virtual trade show platforms like 6Connex to transform games into digital experiences.
Best For: Virtual and In-Person
Scavenger hunts have evolved beyond childhood roots, becoming captivating for all ages. To make this event entertainment idea more engaging, consider the following approaches for virtual or in-person:
Inject excitement into your scavenger hunt by tailoring it to a specific holiday or theme. For example, create a sustainability-themed search, and ask attendees to collect items such as a paper straw, a recycled tote for groceries, etc.
Transform the traditional concept of scavenging physical items and instead host a participation quest. Rather than find objects, attendees can ask others to perform specific tasks, adding a delightful twist and encouraging participant interaction.
Unleash attendees’ creativity. Instead of locating objects, ask attendees to think outside the box and find an unconventional solution to problems on a list, stimulating their problem-solving skills.
One of the benefits of scavenger hunts is their versatility, as they can be easily adapted for in-person and virtual events. Hybrid event software allows you to effortlessly blend both options, ensuring that all attendees, regardless of their physical location, can participate and enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
If you manage a remote team across the globe, you might want to team up with a technology company that specializes in events, such as 6Connex, to create a perpetual environment for your employees. This way, you can organize theme-based scavenger hunts every quarter to keep your team invested. You could also add a leaderboard and offer prizes to promote healthy competition.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person
Regardless of the nature of your event, incorporating surveys is an intelligent move. Surveys are a valuable tool for assessing audience sentiment and engagement, providing essential feedback to refine your event planning for future occasions. When designing your survey questions, consider including the following to extract valuable insights from event attendees:
You gain insights into what resonated most by asking attendees to identify their preferred activity. This information helps you understand which aspects of your event were engaging or successful, allowing you to emphasize those elements in future event planning.
Directly seeking suggestions on improving the interactive content allows you to tap into attendees' perspectives. Their valuable input can provide fresh ideas and insights, enabling you to enhance and tailor the interactive elements to meet audience expectations better.
Asking attendees about their intent to return for a similar event gauges overall satisfaction. Their response allows you to measure the event's success and determine whether there are areas for improvement or necessary modifications to attract repeat attendees.
To infuse interactivity into your surveys, consider leveraging Eventory by 6Connex’s features for prizes and giveaways. You can easily select random respondents and reward them for participating with exciting incentives, motivating a broader range of attendees to participate. This ensures you gather comprehensive and insightful feedback to enhance your event further.
With Eventory by 6Connex, your interactive surveys become potent tools for data-driven decision-making. Use our Eventory mobile event apps and seamlessly integrate surveys into your
in-person and hybrid events, leverage real-time data reporting and uncover valuable insights that shape the future success of your events.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person
Social walls allow you to collect posts with your event hashtags across most social media platforms and display them in a unified feed. The social wall is then embedded into your event's virtual environment or displayed at the physical venue. Here are some interactive practices you can run with a social wall to encourage content exchange:
Some social wall solutions also support live polling and lead generation and can be integrated with virtual photo booths to help create an immersive event experience for physical and virtual attendees alike.
Pro Tip: User-generated content (UGC) can transform attendees from passive bystanders to active content contributors. Creating an event hashtag and leveraging the right event technology will help you capture UGC and increase attendee engagement.
Best For: Virtual, Hybrid, and Live Events
Engaging, interactive event ideas and content know no bounds and promise an event experience that will have your guests talking for weeks to come.
Are you ready to level up your event agenda? Schedule a live demo and discover the transformative power of 6Connex. See how we can take your event to new heights and create unforgettable moments for your attendees. Let the excitement begin!
Dive into the future of events with our insightful webinar, "Embracing AI in Events: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges,". Join our esteemed speakers: Dahlia El Gazzar - Founder of DAHLIA+ Agency, Stephen Kaufman - Chief Product Officer at Inriver, and Henry Tran - CTO at 6Connex
Explore the transformative potential of AI in event planning, and engagement, and the challenges it may bring. Stay informed and inspired as we navigate the thrilling opportunities and challenges that AI brings to the dynamic world of events.
6Connex is the leading provider of in-person, hybrid, and virtual event technology for enterprises worldwide. Our cloud-based product portfolio includes event management tools, in-person event apps, virtual venues, webinars, learning management, and more.
From internal meetings to large scale conferences, we allow you to engage and transform big ideas into real-world results.
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