Step Up Your Event Game: Boost Engagement with Virtual Photo Booths

Whether you're looking to make your event more sustainable or are expanding your event reach by inviting a global audience to participate, driving attendee engagement should be your first priority. Fortunately, online event platforms now offer a vast array of gamification and engagement tools to keep event attendees connected, and virtual photo booths are one of the most popular.

Virtual photo booths enable attendees to take fun pictures and selfies with other event participants and add digital props, filters, and backgrounds to make the photos more entertaining. And the best part? Virtual photo booths aren’t just for taking pictures. They can also be used to network and interact with other attendees by sharing photos on social media and starting conversations with other participants. Event planners can even incorporate virtual photo booths in virtual contests and challenges. Read on to learn the additional benefits of a virtual photo booth.

What is a Virtual Photo Booth?

According to Snapbar, a virtual photo booth is an app that helps businesses engage audiences with user-generated content during events and marketing activations. No download is required, and users can access the app from anywhere on their own devices. It is also fully customizable, enabling users to add branding, backgrounds, props, and filters and making the experience unique and engaging for event attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers.

Traditionally, photo booths at in-person events allow attendees to capture fun photos to remember their experience. However, in a virtual event, a photo booth assumes a different role - it's a chance for attendees to create a custom picture of themselves to use during the event, so people can easily associate a name with a face. The virtual photo booth is usually conveniently located within the virtual event platform, making it a seamless way to create personalized images to use throughout the event.

With options such as fully custom backgrounds, frames, filters, and stickers, a virtual photo booth allows attendees to create entertaining, branded pictures to use within the event or share on social media. These photos add an element of fun and encourage engagement, making your event more enjoyable for everyone involved. They can also help improve retention rates by creating positive event memories. It’s a win-win!

How Does a Virtual Photo Booth Work?

Virtual photo booths are online platforms that allow users to create custom pictures of themselves using their devices’ cameras. Unlike traditional photo booths, which are physical structures, virtual photo booths can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, making them a convenient option for virtual events.

To use a virtual photo booth, attendees simply need to access the photo booth link within the virtual event platform or website. From there, they can choose from a variety of backgrounds, filters, frames, and stickers to personalize their pictures. They can take the pictures using their devices’ cameras and then save or share them directly from the virtual photo booth platform.

As previously mentioned, virtual photo booths are customizable, allowing organizers to add branding, backgrounds, and more and make the options available to attendees. They are an engaging, convenient way for event attendees to take fun and personalized pictures that can be used during the event or shared on social media. Virtual photo booths are an enjoyable and interactive addition to any virtual event, providing a way for attendees to connect and engage with each other and the event platform.

Types of Virtual Photo Booths

There are a few different types of virtual photos booths, such as:

Selfie photo booth - This is the most common type of virtual photo booth. It allows attendees to take selfies using their devices’ cameras and then apply custom frames, backgrounds, and stickers to the images. This option is great for any type of event you may be hosting.

Virtual headshot booth - Popular at corporate events, conferences, and networking events where attendees may want to update their professional headshots or create a consistent look for their online profiles, a virtual headshot booth is a type of virtual photo booth that is designed specifically for professional headshots. It allows attendees to take a high-quality headshot using their devices’ cameras, which can then be edited and retouched to create a polished and professional-looking image.

GIF photo booth -This is a type of virtual photo booth that allows attendees to create short animated images, known as GIFs. These animated images typically consist of a series of photos or a short video clip that loops continuously, creating a fun and engaging experience for attendees.

These are just a few of the most popular types of virtual photo booths available. When choosing a virtual photo booth for your event, consider your audience and the type of experience you want to create for them.

Want to see for yourself how engaging photo booths can be?

We've teamed up with Snapbar for our annual event tech summit, CNX, to show you just how much fun you can have with photos! 

• Be event-ready with a professional headshot for CNX using Snapbar Studio. No need to for a studio! 
• Network with other CNX attendees with Snapshot. Take a still or animated selfie, and use our custom CNX stickers to let others know a bit about yourself. 

Missed the fun? No worries! Watch CNX 2023 on demand now! 

How Virtual Photo Booths Drive Engagement

Let's talk about how you can use a virtual photo booth to take your virtual or hybrid event to the next level! If you simply add a photo booth and fail to define how it fits into your event strategy, you're missing the potential of this powerful engagement tool. So, here are some tips to help you make the most of your virtual photo booth.

First things first, simply making a virtual photo booth available is not enough to drive engagement. You need to encourage attendees to use it, and you can turn it into an engagement tool in the process. One way to do this is to have everyone at the event create a custom headshot using the photo booth. With its customizable backgrounds and captions, your attendees can create images that represent themselves and use them throughout the event.

Another option is to create photo challenges and contests. People love a good challenge, and it's a great way to motivate attendees to use the photo booth. For example, you could have a social media posting challenge, where participants use a specific hashtag to showcase the event while sharing their images on their social media platforms.

For hybrid events, a virtual photo booth can be a great solution to connect your in-person and virtual attendees. Both groups can take photos using your app or online platform, and the photo booth can be a tool to bridge the gap between the two groups and create networking opportunities.

Most importantly, a virtual photo booth is just plain fun! People enjoy creating their own avatars and photos, and the excitement of the photo booth can create a positive buzz and generate enthusiasm for the event as a whole. So, don't overlook the power of a virtual photo booth to create engagement and connections at your next event!

Tips for a Successful Virtual Photo Booth

First, if you want to make your virtual event a memorable experience, a virtual photo booth is a must-have. But it's not just about setting up any photo booth. You need to make sure it's one part of a complete package of event tech integrations that drive attendee engagement. This is where 6Connex helps. 6Connex offers an open universe, which means you can integrate any apps or technology you commonly use into our virtual event platform and trust the solutions will work seamlessly together. This means your photo booth can work smoothly with the rest of your event tech, making it easier for event planners, ensuring a seamless experience for your attendees, and contributing to your event’s overall success.

Next, make sure to announce your photo booth early and often. Let attendees know a virtual photo booth will be available and generate excitement about the fun they can have with it. Creating sample images of your internal team using the photo booth software and posting them on your social media pages and event announcements is a great way to get people interested and excited.

During the event, make sure your virtual photo booth is easy to find. You can place it on the home page, create a QR code to share, or make it prominent within the navigation bar to ensure attendees can easily access it. Encourage people to take photos by pulling them into the conversation and highlighting some of the contests you have planned.

By following these tips, you can ensure your virtual photo booth is a success and adds to your virtual event's overall engagement and excitement.

Discover the Ultimate Event Tech: Virtual Photo Booths and More with 6Connex

Virtual photo booths are a fantastic engagement tool that will have your attendees buzzing with excitement and talking about your event long after the closing remarks. With 6Connex, you can rest assured that you're getting the very best in not only virtual event solutions but a total all-in-one event management platform, virtual, hybrid, or in-person. Our team of experts will help you create an unforgettable event your attendees will love. So why wait? Request a demo today and see for yourself how 6Connex can take your event to the next level!

Webinar Alert: Raising the Bar for Sustainable Events with MUSE - Let's Go Green Together!

Join us on June 27th at 10 a.m. CST for our webinar "Raising the Bar: Achieving Sustainable Events through Innovative Technologies and Expert Insights." co-hosted with MUSE. Learn from event sustainability gurus as they share tips on reducing carbon footprints and creating events that make Mother Nature proud. Don't miss out on this industry leading, eco-friendly event! Register below.