Your event strategy should not revolve around only one event. 

If it does – that’s ok. You can fix it and accelerate your results. However, if an annual conference is all you have, you are missing out, especially in this age of virtual events and virtual conferences. 

Here are four ways to engage your attendees year-round, including a few ideas on a content reuse plan! 

Social media groups

Social media groups are an incredible tool for continuing the conversation after the event. There’s only one problem. 

Most people stop using them after their virtual conference. 

Event organizers often use social media groups to communicate easily with attendees before the event and generate buzz leading up to the conference. Then, once the event is over, they let their foot off the gas and let the group decay until everyone forgets about the event, and all of the excitement generated is gone. 

Rather than allowing this to happen, continue posting to your group! Here are some ideas to get you started: 

• Recaps about the event. Remind people about their experience with the best moments and highlights. Read on for more ideas on recap content and videos! 
• Blog posts are a great way to generate more interest. After your event, you can review data to see what your attendees are the most interested in learning more about. Take that information and generate quality blog posts!
• Generate more excitement about your events, including any future events that you may have. This group has already expressed interest in the content you provide – so let them know when there is more to be had! 

Host contests or giveaways

Contests and giveaways are great ways to re-engage with your attendees during the ‘off-season of your events. They can build excitement and virality into your brand, and nothing is better as an attendee than getting something for free! 

To hold a successful giveaway, you’ll want to ensure that you have a quality prize they can win. Here are some great options for awards: 

• One-year Membership fees are waived for your organization.
• An iPad or other tablet device
• Wireless headphones personalized with your brand on them.

Giveaways are engaging and shareable, which will help generate more leads, follows, likes, and engagement on your social media content. They are also great for creating a low-effort way to collect emails, build lead lists, or even generate press attention if the giveaway is large enough! 

Recap content and videos

The best time to build interest for your next event is when attendees are still enjoying your event or a few days after. Events generate a special aura for your attendees where they focus on your brand and content, so take advantage of that time! Don’t let the excitement die. 

Social media can help you bridge the gap, and tools such as HootSuite or Later can allow you to schedule posts far in advance to make it as easy as possible for your team to post consistently. 

Here are some ideas on what to begin posting shortly after your event: 

• Share stories and testimonials from your attendees. Let your audience know about the people from around the world who visited your virtual conference or virtual event! This goes a long way toward creating a community linked to your organization. 
• Share information gleaned from your event. What was the most retweeted bit of information? What was the most popular post with your conference’s hashtag? What was the most attended session? Interesting information like this can help keep your attendees engaged with your content long after the event. 
• Share short videos recapping the highlights or best moments of your virtual event. Share a quick recording of your platform showing all of the interaction in your conversation hall or the chat exploding when a particularly salient point is made in a session. 

The last thing you should make sure to do is to thank your attendees! Without your attendees, the event wouldn’t be possible. You could have the most fantastic content, the greatest virtual exhibition halls, and the most remarkable features, but there is no point with no attendees. Make sure to show your gratitude for them! 

Content reuse strategy

You should take the content that you already have optimized for virtual attendees and reuse it. You have many options available, but you need to have a plan. Only 43% of B2B marketers have a documented content reuse strategy. While 60% of the top B2B marketers have a documented process, a considerable number of organizations are missing out on a tool they already have access to. 

Here are four ways that you can create a solid content reuse strategy today to help engage your attendees year-round: 

• Sell your content as an On-Demand add-on! Your virtual event platform should be able to support different ticket types natively, and by leveraging that, you can dramatically increase your revenue. Take advantage of this and continue marketing your event’s content! 
• Alternatively, you could create a webinar series using the content you already have. If you have three sessions from your recent event around topic A, offer a webinar series you can market. This will help promote your brand’s thought leadership and increase your revenue from created content. 
• Take advantage of preview events to allow you to maximize the marketing for your next virtual event. This will help generate a considerable buzz while also allowing your attendees to get used to a virtual event platform if you end up changing platforms or if they are new to your virtual conferences. 

Now that you know some great ways to keep your attendees engaged year-round, it’s time to put them into action. With the help of vConferenceOnline’s skilled team, you can become your organization’s Event Hero and create unforgettable experiences for participants. So what are you waiting for? Become your organization’s Event Hero today!