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Vedha Sayyaparaju

Go beyond digital-only engagements and deliver unforgettable in-person experiences with Zuddl's new Gamification feature. Learn more.

Recently, in one of our favorite online communities, we were deep in a lively discussion about unforgettable event ideas. That’s when Steve Murphy, Director of Marketing at PayNearMe, shared a gem: “Hide Where’s Waldo figurines around the show floor, and let attendees redeem them for high-value prizes at your booth. If someone takes a demo, give them a hint on where to find one.”

Sounds wild, right? But as event marketers, we know that these ideas can transform an event into an experience. With Zuddl’s new gamification feature, you’re not just dreaming up challenges like this—you’re making them a reality. Forget digital-only engagements; it’s time to bring your event to life in ways that are fresh, interactive, and unforgettable.

Gamification just got so REAL!

Why Gamification for In-Person Events? Why Now?

The global event management software market is projected to grow to $18.4 billion by the end of 2029. (Source: Globenewswire)

As this industry expands, event attendees expect more than just passive participation—they crave memorable, interactive experiences. According to the Journal of Conventions and Event Tourism, events that incorporated gamification saw a 29% increase in attendee satisfaction, making it clear that gamification has a powerful impact on event success.

In-person events often suffer from low engagement outside of scheduled sessions. Attendees may have downtime but aren't sure how to use it productively. Zuddl addresses this by turning these unstructured moments into opportunities for engagement, networking, and exploration. Attendees now have fun challenges to complete, sponsors get more foot traffic, and organizers can drive engagement across the event.

How does Zuddl’s Gamification Work?

Zuddl’s latest gamification feature elevates attendee engagement by gamifying in-person and hybrid events. Whether it’s a scavenger hunt around the event venue, encouraging photo submissions, or rewarding participation in sessions or sponsor booths, this feature makes in-person events more engaging.

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Organizers can create customized games and tasks for attendees, and participants earn points or badges for completing these tasks. To enhance the competitive spirit, Zuddl also provides event, game, and task level leaderboards, where organizers can declare winners and offer prizes like gift cards or swag, completing the gamification cycle.

See it in action

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What’s in It for You?

Zuddl’s gamification feature isn’t just about fun and games—it delivers tangible value for attendees, event sponsors and organizers:

Enhanced Attendee Engagement
By encouraging real-world activities, Zuddl makes in-person engagement more dynamic. Attendees are more likely to stay involved throughout the event, creating a more immersive experience.
Boost ROI for Organizers and Sponsors
Gamification helps organizers and sponsors maximize their event investment. By driving attendees to visit specific areas, attend sessions, and interact with sponsors, the entire event becomes more interactive and valuable for everyone involved.
Competitive Differentiation
While other platforms may offer gamification, they often focus on app-based interactions, like answering polls or submitting questions. Zuddl’s feature is different because it extends beyond the app to engage attendees in real-world activities like scavenger hunts and photo challenges—offering a deeper, more memorable experience.

See it in action

How Gamification Fits into Zuddl’s Platform

Zuddl’s gamification feature is available as an add-on module, designed specifically for hybrid and in-person events. While fully integrated with the broader platform, this module operates independently, giving organizers the flexibility to incorporate fun, real-world activities that naturally draw attendee participation.

Organizers can easily define the tasks, personalize them for different audience groups, and offer interactive experiences. With more options on the way, the module continues to evolve, offering even greater opportunities for engagement.

The Future of Gamification

Zuddl’s gamification feature will continue evolving. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and add new task types to keep up with the evolving needs of event marketers. The future is bright for in-person engagement, and Zuddl is leading the charge in making it all possible.

Ready to engage your audience? Click here to explore Gamification further.

Zuddl’s Universal Lead Capture: Maximize Event Lead Generation

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Zuddl’s Universal Lead Capture: Turn Every Event into a Lead-Gen Powerhouse

Vedha Sayyaparaju

Transform your events into lead-gen powerhouses with Zuddl's Universal Lead Capture. Capture, enrich, and manage leads seamlessly. See how it works.

In a recent study by Kyle Poyar, founders and revenue leaders highlighted a key theme for building pipeline through the rest of the year: Bet on events—both large and intimate.

"Folks are seeing fantastic ROI from virtual events, dinners, happy hours, and sporting events—including a 40% conversion from attending a dinner to becoming a sales opportunity," the study revealed.

But here’s the thing—events are far from a new strategy. It’s just been an operational nightmare to go from event to opportunity.

So why do they still feel like running a marathon in quicksand?

Event marketers are buried under a mountain of tactical tasks—data entry, outdated tech, and the pressure to deliver ROI. Sales teams, on the other hand, are stuck waiting for accurate lead data to follow up, watching the clock as the moment slips away.

At Zuddl, we’ve seen this play out time and time again. Event marketers and sales teams share the same pain: slow, manual processes, disjointed systems, and missed opportunities.

That’s exactly why we built the Zuddl Universal Lead Capture (ULC) App.

Our mission is simple: create true alignment between marketing and sales by streamlining the lead capture, enrichment and routing process. With Zuddl’s ULC, every lead counts—literally.

No More Lost Business Cards or Missed Opportunities

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there—jotting down lead info on the back of a business card, only to lose it later in the chaos of an event. With Zuddl’s Universal Lead Capture (ULC), you can kiss those frustrating moments goodbye.

Whether you’re at a large trade show or an intimate networking session, simply scan badges with a few taps. No badge? No problem. Snap a picture of a business card, to capture the data. If the event offers a registration API kit, Zuddl integrates seamlessly, pulling lead details directly from the source. In the absence of an API kit —Zuddl’s AI-enabled enrichment fills in missing details automatically. And if you need to manually adjust the information, that’s possible too. No matter the method, Zuddl ensures every lead is captured accurately and effortlessly.

No more running around playing catch-up later—Universal Lead Capture ensures that no lead is left behind.

Prioritize the Leads That Matter

Post-event, you’re often staring at a mountain of data, wondering, “Who do I follow up with first?” Enter Zuddl’s ULC. Instead of spending hours sorting through leads, ULC lets you qualify and score them in real-time—right there at the event.

With fully customizable intake forms, you can ask the questions that matter. Prospects can be tagged as hot, cold, or VIP, allowing you to focus on the most promising leads before you’ve even packed up your booth.

Oh, and did we mention you can also record voice notes, assign star ratings, or schedule follow-up meetings—on the spot?

Enrich Leads in Seconds

Picture this: You’ve scanned a badge, but the contact info is incomplete—phone number missing, email nowhere to be found. Cue panic. But don’t worry, no need to pull an all-nighter on marketing ops tracking down missing details.

Zuddl ULC’s AI-powered lead enrichment swoops in to save the day, pulling data from 20+ top enrichment providers and filling in the blanks (emails, phone number, title, company) within a few minutes. While this magic happens, you can continue capturing leads or manually enter any details—ULC updates the rest automatically.

By the time you’re done with one conversation, the next lead is enriched and ready to go. No more chasing after half-complete leads. Now, you can actually focus on actual business—like following up!

Engage Beyond the Booth – Build Deeper Connections

Lead capture shouldn’t end when someone walks away from your booth.

Imagine, it’s the end of a long conference day. Instead of just collecting business cards, you invite key prospects to a private dinner or happy hour—right from the app. Sounds way better than a post-event debrief, right? Plus, it doubles your chances of engaging meaningfully with your leads.

With ULC, you can easily send invites, book meetings on the spot, and even integrate your calendar. You can also create after-hours activations and side-events within the app, keeping the conversation going beyond the event floor.

Building deeper connections with your leads? Now that’s a win-win.

See it in action

CRM Integration – No More Spreadsheet Nightmares

Ah, the dreaded post-event spreadsheet nightmare. You wait days for the conference organizers to deliver your leads, only to find them in a messy format that requires hours of cleanup. And by the time you’re ready to follow up, your leads have grown cold.

Not with Zuddl’s ULC. The app integrates directly with your CRM and marketing automation tools, syncing lead data in real-time. No more reconciling spreadsheets or dealing with clunky imports. You can start following up with your hottest leads while they’re still excited, giving your team a huge edge in closing deals.

With ULC, there’s no lag time—just smooth, streamlined lead management.

Ready to Turn Your Events into ROI Machines?

From effortless lead capture to real-time enrichment and deeper post-event engagement, this app will take the 'vent' out of event marketing and make your life easy!

6 types of virtual events for associations that members love

Your association might host some popular in-person events every year, but they can have their limitations. The cost of renting a venue, catering, and decorating can strain your budget. Plus, traveling to your event might pose challenges to members who live far away or have busy schedules.

Because of this, it’s important to design a balanced event calendar by incorporating a variety of virtual events throughout the year. Virtual events are cost-effective to plan and convenient for members to attend. This means that you can organize more of these events, charge less for tickets, and keep members engaged with your association year-round.

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top virtual events that associations can plan, along with some tips for success.

1. Workshops

It’s a common misconception that virtual events are purely passive experiences for audience members. By hosting virtual workshops, your association can engage its members in direct interactions with industry experts and hands-on practice activities to develop new skills—all from the comfort of their own homes.

Keep these tips in mind to ensure that your virtual workshops run smoothly:

Tips for associations that want to host a virtual workshop, as explained in more detail below.

Equip the tools you need. Prepare tools and materials as you would for an in-person workshop. For example, you might want an online whiteboard, breakout room capabilities, chat functionality, and polling features.
Start with an icebreaker. Since attendees won’t be meeting face to face, focus on building a close-knit and comfortable environment early. Brainstorm an icebreaker activity or two to encourage participation from the get-go. If your workshop is about creating social media content calendars, for example, you could ask attendees to describe how their week has been using emojis or come up with catchy hashtag ideas for your event.
Incorporate gamification. While workshops involve learning serious skills and best practices to support your members in their personal or professional development, this doesn’t mean they have to be all work and no play. Add short quizzes, timed challenges, digital badges, and leaderboards to infuse your virtual event with a sense of friendly competition. You could even up the ante by providing a small prize to challenge winners, such as a gift card or a piece of branded association merchandise.

After each workshop, send a short survey to attendees asking them to rate their satisfaction and share what they most enjoyed about the experience. Use their responses to adjust your future workshop planning to improve attendance and engagement.

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2. Career Fairs

Many people join associations to advance their professional goals. A virtual career fair can represent an exclusive and compelling opportunity for any member looking to take the next step in their career journey.

If your association wants to provide more value to its members and position itself as an industry leader, follow these basic steps to set up a virtual career fair:

Choose an event hosting platform that comes with features for virtual booths, breakout rooms, and live chat.
Plan your activities and offerings, such as introductory presentations, meet-and-greet sessions, and Q&As.
Reach out to relevant employers in your association’s industry and invite them to set up a virtual booth.
Promote the virtual job fair on your website, social media pages, and email newsletters, encouraging members to register and submit their resumes.

Following your virtual career fair, make it easy for attendees to take action by sharing session recordings and providing a list of additional, relevant job listings they can browse.

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3. Award Ceremonies

Your association likely has many talented members who are all contributing to your industry in their own ambitious ways. By organizing a virtual award ceremony, you can celebrate members for their accomplishments, boost their engagement, and establish a culture of success across your organization.

Follow these steps to make your virtual award ceremony just as engaging as an in-person one:

Decide on award categories. Your ceremony can recognize specific achievements and member milestones. For example, you could present awards such as “Lifetime Achievement,” “Rising Star,” and “Member of the Year.”
Design a detailed agenda. Come up with ways to add some entertainment to your award ceremony. Consider producing an opening sequence with snippets of member interviews and upbeat music.
Determine how you’ll deliver awards. Encourage attendees to dress up to create a prestigious atmosphere for your virtual award ceremony. Enlist an energetic host to present the awards and plan ahead for how you’ll deliver them to members after the ceremony.

To make attending your virtual award ceremony even more appealing, consider sending an event kit with celebratory items such as gourmet chocolates, wine, and virtual video backgrounds.

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4. Webinars

Members are constantly looking to learn about the latest industry trends, best practices, and breakthroughs. Because of this, hosting educational virtual webinars is a surefire way to pique their interest and keep them engaged with your association. Plus, you can even record these events and offer them to members for later viewing.

Set your association’s next webinar up for success by:

Surveying members in advance to understand which topics they’re most interested in learning about.
Adopting a webinar platform that allows screen sharing, live chat, polls, and breakout rooms.
Enlisting qualified experts or thought leaders to speak during the webinar.
Encouraging speakers to use stories to make their content more relatable and applicable.

Don’t let the momentum stop once your webinar ends! Keep your members engaged by inviting them to complete post-webinar activities, such as sharing their top takeaways on social media or joining a follow-up Q&A session.

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5. Conferences

Compared to in-person conferences, virtual conferences allow your association to reach a wider audience, save on expenses, increase accessibility, and promote environmental sustainability. Modern technology has opened up so many ways to engage attendees during a multi-day virtual conference, so you’ll never run into a dull digital moment.

To prepare for a virtual conference, use these basic steps as a checklist to guide your efforts:

Invest in a virtual event platform. The platform should be easy for both your event team and attendees to use. Look for features such as livestreaming, polling, breakout rooms, leaderboards, and virtual booths to support all of your engagement opportunities and ensure that everything runs without a hitch.

Create an agenda. Fill your conference with activities such as a keynote presentation, panel discussions, live demonstrations, meet-and-greets, and roundtable discussions. Depending on the purpose of your conference, you could create multiple “tracks” so attendees can build their own schedule around sessions that fit their interests and niches.
Secure sponsors. Nurture mutually beneficial relationships with sponsors by allowing them to host a virtual booth or participate in one of your panel discussions. Additionally, you can offer to feature sponsors in your online marketing materials, from social media posts to your event landing page.

To maximize attendance at your virtual conference, simplify the registration process. Consider providing early bird discounts or benefits to inspire members to take action and allow multiple payment methods for their convenience.

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6. Networking Sessions

Remember that your association is a community that can accomplish a lot together. Foster lasting connections between members by organizing virtual networking sessions throughout the year.

Provide ample opportunities for members to get to know one another with virtual ideas such as:

Speed networking
Happy hours
Mentor meetups
Escape rooms
Watch parties
Event breakout rooms

Give members the chance to connect outside of your events, too. Use your association software to maintain a searchable member directory with detailed profiles and online forums for members to interact on. Some solutions might even integrate with a mobile app that allows members to post on real-time activity feeds and engage with content shared by other members.

By planning virtual events, you can create an ongoing sense of excitement and community around your association. Recap your events in blog posts, send follow-up surveys, and track key event metrics to keep the momentum going and improve your strategies over time. Note the events that yield the highest attendance, engagement, and return on investment (ROI) to pinpoint which types to prioritize going forward.

Crafting a Cohesive Event Brand: 3 Tips for Associations1

Branding gives your association’s events a professional look and feel while reinforcing its values. Learn how to create a cohesive event brand in this guide.

Crafting a Cohesive Event Brand: 3 Tips for Associations

No matter what type of event your association is planning, it’s essential to consider what type of atmosphere you want to create. The overall mood and environment of your event can make or break whether attendees have a positive, memorable experience that makes them want to engage with your association long-term.

One of the best ways to enhance your event’s atmosphere is through consistent branding. Not only does branding give your event a cohesive, professional look and feel, but it also reinforces your association’s identity and values for new and returning participants.

In this guide, we’ll discuss three tips to help your association craft a cohesive event brand that elevates the attendee experience. Let’s get started!

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1. Consider Your Brand Holistically

When you hear the word “branding,” the first things that come to mind are probably the visual elements of a brand, such as logos and color palettes. While these are critical aspects of effective branding, your association’s brand actually extends beyond visuals into your messaging strategy.

Let’s dive deeper into both sides of your association’s brand so you can apply it holistically as you plan events.

Visual Brand Aspects

The visual side of your brand is what gives your event a consistent look and feel. The most important aspects to consider here are:

Logos. Your association’s logo is the visual representation of its identity and values. During events, it should serve as a constant reminder of your organization and its goals. While you might create a few different versions of your logo—both event-specific and more general variations (such as a black-and-white iteration that is easier to print)—they should all be built around the same basic design to cement your brand.
Colors. Most brand palettes consist of one or two main colors that represent the organization, plus a few secondary shades to make content more visually appealing. Color psychology also applies heavily to branding—for instance, many associations incorporate blue into their brand palettes because it’s associated with professionalism and trust—so keep this in mind when choosing your brand and event color scheme.
Typography. In addition to expressing your association’s personality (for instance, bold fonts convey seriousness and rounded fonts are more playful), your brand typography needs to be legible. For example, sans serif fonts are easiest to read on a screen, which is a key consideration if your association does mostly virtual or hybrid events.

Branding Through Messaging

As you define the visual aspects of your brand, you should also ensure consistency in event messaging by establishing your association’s:

Tone. How do you want attendees to perceive your organization after reading content related to your event? Are you welcoming, optimistic, driven, or something else?
Word choice. What terms will you use to describe your association’s mission and the different aspects of your event? For example, are the social portions of your event “networking sessions” or “meet-and-greets”?
Mechanics. Does your association follow an established style guide that is familiar to your audience, such as the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style? Or do you have your own rules for capitalization, punctuation, and other technical aspects of writing?

Compile all of the visual and messaging elements of your brand into a single digital style guide so that anyone at your association involved in the event planning process can reference it and ensure consistency in every aspect of your branding.

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2. Feature Your Brand in Your Event Marketing Materials

Cohesive event branding should begin long before your event actually kicks off. Catch potential attendees’ attention and start building trust with them by featuring your brand across all of your association’s marketing channels, including:

The Events page, calendar, and signup form on your website
Email blasts and newsletter sections about the event
Social media posts on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Print communications like flyers and direct mail invitations

Consistent branding across all of these channels is vital regardless of your event’s target audience. If you’re primarily targeting new or prospective members, your brand serves as an introduction to your association and sets the tone for what to expect at the event. For audiences of seasoned members, branding reinforces their existing relationship with your organization and (hopefully) brings to mind past positive experiences that encourage them to sign up for another event.

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3. Brand Your Event Space

For your brand to contribute to your event’s atmosphere, you need to feature it throughout the space attendees interact with during the event. Of course, this will look different depending on the event format, so let’s look at how to brand event spaces for both in-person and virtual events (for hybrid events, use applicable tips from both sections).

In-Person Events

In-person events provide the opportunity to physically surround your attendees with your association’s brand. Include relevant visual and messaging elements across your:

Event signage and maps
Name tags or badges
Attendee information packets
Presentation handouts

You may also need to promote event sponsors’ or other presenting organizations’ brands in these materials. If this is the case, include your association’s logo alongside theirs and create a distinction between your organization as the host and theirs as sponsors or presenters. This way, you’ll reinforce your association’s brand identity while still providing these other organizations with the free publicity you likely promised them in your sponsorship agreements.

Virtual Events

During virtual events, create a branded digital space where attendees will spend most of their time. This can include branding the:

Waiting room that participants initially arrive in when they join a session
Mobile app where attendees can interact with each other and engage more deeply with presentations
Presentation slides for various sessions—if outside speakers create them, make sure they include your event name and association logo alongside their organization’s branding

To make your brand tangible for event participants, consider mailing out your attendee information packets, or at least upload them in a printable format so anyone who wants to print them at home can do so easily.

Promoting your association’s brand doesn’t end when your event is over! Connect with attendees after the event by developing branded follow-up messages thanking them for attending and letting them know about other upcoming opportunities. Additionally, if you send out a post-event survey, include some questions about how participants perceived your brand so you can hone your strategy for future events.

Event Marketing

4 Steps for creating blog content from association events

Make the most of your association events by incorporating event content into your organization’s blog. Use these tips to develop a strategic blog approach.

After your association wraps up an event, don’t let your valuable event content go to waste! This content can have a second life on your organization’s blog, allowing you to engage members and share valuable insights from your event with individuals who may not have been able to attend.
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Let’s review four steps to create blog content after your association’s events.

1. Review your event and brainstorm content ideas.

First, review each day or session from your event. What are the stand-out moments that would make for the most intriguing blog content? Use these strategies to brainstorm initial content ideas:

Pinpoint the best moments. We define this as “identifying the gold.” What were your event’s most special interactions, valuable information, engaging sessions, and unique presentations? Focus on the elements that made this event distinct from similar events you’ve hosted.
Consider your blog audience’s interests. Your blog audience might have slightly different interests than the audience of individuals who attended your event. Consider their needs when choosing content to highlight.
Review attendee feedback to see which moments stood out the most. Send surveys to event attendees to gather their input on the event. Ask participants to share their favorite moments, such as the best session they attended, the most memorable speaker they heard from, or their best networking experience.

This exercise should give you a better sense of direction for the experiences and sessions from your event that you want to highlight on your blog. Remember: if your attendees loved a particular element at your event, they’ll probably be interested in seeing a recap after the fact.

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2. Gather multimedia elements.

Now that you know which aspects of your event you want to highlight in blog content, it’s time to gather media elements to bring the experience to life. Research supports the idea that blog readers love to see multimedia embedded throughout content:

Articles with images receive 94% more views than those without images.
89% of customers want to see more videos from brands in 2024.
Infographics are 30x more likely to be read than written posts.

To tap into these trends, create a media library from your event to pull from when creating blog content. Upload the following types of content to a shared drive or platform:

Videos
Photos
Infographics
Audio clips
Direct quotes from attendees
Social media posts published during the event
Slideshows
User-generated social media content

Incorporate these media elements throughout your blog content to engage readers on multiple levels and appeal to different learning styles. For example, you could create an event recap blog post with photos and videos of attendees interspersed throughout the written content. Or you could create an infographic highlighting your event’s logistics, such as how many attendees and speakers participated.

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3. Create a blogging calendar.

The next step in the event blogging process is to get down to brass tacks by defining content creation roles and creating a content calendar. It’s worth it to nail down a productive blogging schedule because you can stay organized and replicate your strategy for future events.

Take these steps to get your content live:

Assign roles. Who will write, edit, and upload the content to your website? Who will promote the content across marketing platforms? Determine whether one or multiple individuals will take on these roles.
Determine your content frequency. You’ll likely want to post event content more regularly in the days and weeks after the event when the experience is fresh in members’ minds. This allows you to ensure all audience members have access to the need-to-know content and insights shared at the event.
Plan out your content schedule. Get out your calendar and create a detailed content schedule for your event blog posts. Whether you post every other day for two weeks or once a week for a month, write down your plans using a shared calendar platform. Ensure every entry includes the individual(s) responsible for getting the content live and marketing it to your audience. If content has to be moved to a different day for any reason, ensure all team members are notified of the change.
Evaluate metrics. How will you track the success of your event blog content? Plan to track engagement metrics like time on page, bounce rate, total pageviews, traffic sources, and conversion rates for content that includes calls to action. Schedule recurring meetings with your content team to assess your progress as a group, address any negative metrics, and create a game plan for maximizing your successes.

Here’s an example of a content calendar you might use to keep the content creation and metrics review processes organized:

An example of a content calendar with content creation and promotion tasks on Mondays and metrics review on Fridays‍

Celebrate key milestones with your content team, too, such as reaching a specific page views goal or number of email click-throughs to your blog posts. Consider offering incentives for reaching certain goals, such as prizes or a small one-time bonus.

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4. Prioritize accessibility and inclusivity.

Making events more inclusive and accessible has been a major focus in the association space, and your blog posts should be no different. Make accessibility a top priority as you create event blog content by taking these steps:

Include captions for video or audio clips.
Incorporate alternative text for images that accurately describes the content of each image.
Make your site’s navigation keyboard accessible so users can easily navigate using assistive technology.
Ensure infographics and typography have sufficient color contrast—you can check your site’s color palette using WebAIM’s free Contrast Checker.
Make blog content available in multiple languages depending on your audience’s needs.
Facilitate fast load speeds by compressing images and optimizing code.
Prioritize mobile accessibility by ensuring all forms can be easily accessed and completed on mobile devices.

Test your blog content for accessibility using tools such as Lighthouse or WAVE. In addition, you should manually test your site using your keyboard or by enlisting the help of real users with a variety of disabilities (User Interviews has a great resource for advice on connecting with these individuals). Fairly compensate those who help you for their assistance, as they’re offering their skills and time to support your efforts.

Assistive technologies and accessibility best practices are constantly evolving, so keep an eye out to ensure your website offers the highest-quality experience possible for all visitors.

Additionally, make your blog content more inclusive to everyone in your association’s audience. For example, let’s say you’re creating a healthcare content strategy after a recent conference for your medical association. Perhaps your conference was tailored to new grads in your field, while your online audience contains everyone in your target market, including long-time professionals. Highlight aspects of your conference that interest all audience members, such as new research developments in your sector.

Your blog can serve as an effective audience stewardship tool after your association’s events. Event-related blog content can help keep members informed and updated on need-to-know information coming out of your events. It can also bring your membership community together by recapping a valuable shared experience. These steps will help bring your event content to life on your blog so that it can continue benefiting attendees and non-attendees alike.

A team puts their hands together in a show of collaboration.

User Conferences

Boosting Conference Success with Cross-Sector Partnerships

The most innovative and valuable conferences amplify new voices from across fields that your attendees might not expect. Inviting and featuring speakers from outside of your usual target sector welcomes a diversity of perspectives, giving your attendees a more well-rounded and unique experience. Cross-sector partnerships also help your conference gain widespread recognition, encouraging sign-ups and strengthening your brand identity.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to create a successful conference experience powered by participants from across for-profit and nonprofit sectors in multiple phases. As we explore these ideas, consider the assets your conferences already have and how you can leverage them to build cross-sector partnerships.

Tips for boosting conference success with cross-sector partnerships at different stages of the planning process (as explained below).

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How to Identify and Facilitate Ideal Partnerships

Bringing organizations together for your conference is most effective when they already align on values, interests, industry, or offerings. You can identify and engage potential partners by following these easy steps:

Use standard matching criteria. It can be challenging to find the exact right fit for each organization given the variety of traits and motivations that can shape the partnership. However, by using standard matching criteria, you can objectively score and find the right matches without making it a guessing game. Gauge elements such as:some text
- Topic interests
- Values
- Competitors
- Desired outcomes of the partnership
- Resource contribution
- Schedule
- Audience overlap
- Commitment to the collaboration
Score the potential partners. Once you’ve determined the matching criteria, create a survey and send it to potential partners. For some questions, include a scale of one to five so you can easily calculate which responses were closer to each other. For more detailed information, ask them to write short answer responses — you can read and match these manually.
Set up touchpoints between the organizations and businesses. Match partners according to your survey results and release the results to your participants. Act as the mediator for setting up touchpoints between new partners, especially if they don’t know each other already. For instance, you could organize a coffee chat for the partners to get to know each other and discuss their ideas for the conference.

Keep in mind that using a standard scoring system can provide a good foundation for your partnership strategy, but you might need to collect more information before making a firm decision. You can thoroughly match partners by conducting interviews, allowing them to expand upon their survey results, or discuss topics that weren’t covered in the survey.

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How to Engage Partners in Conference Planning

Once you’ve forged logical partnerships, it’s time to start planning your cross-sector events. It’s important to make the planning process as easy and engaging as possible for partners — otherwise, you run the risk of mismanaged events or losing your conference contributors before the big day.

These tactics can help you shape the planning process with cross-sector partners in mind:

Create collaborative event briefs. This format simplifies event planning, laying out exactly what you hope to achieve and how you’ll achieve it. Create a standard event brief for your partners based on the type of event they’d like to run together, whether that be a webinar or a keynote speech. Then, facilitate collaboration by setting deadlines for points of contact from each team to complete it together so everyone’s on the same page.
Allow partners to decide on roles and responsibilities. Remember, your speakers and panelists are busy with their own organizations and personal lives, meaning they have varying commitment levels for external events. Allow them to take the lead in assigning roles and responsibilities for the collaboration and offer your help wherever needed. This ensures that everyone has enough on their plate to feel motivated without getting overwhelmed.
Set regular check-ins. Even if you don’t take the lead creatively, you’re still the event organizer, so you should be looped into the planning process. Establish a regular check-in cadence leading up to the conference so you can answer any questions, approve any changes, and keep the creative process on track. In the months leading up to the conference, you might meet once a month, but in the weeks leading up to it, you might ramp it up to weekly check-ins.

As you help partners shape their contributions to your conference, remember to highlight the cross-sector dynamic. After all, it’s a marketable element of your event that can help you draw more attendees for their unique perspectives.

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Example of a Cross-Sector Partnership

Let’s put all of this information together to create a hypothetical cross-sector partnership so you can see these tactics in action. For example, let’s say you’re hosting a conference about making corporations more environmentally sustainable.

A natural way to facilitate a cross-sector partnership for this event’s focus is by creating discourse about corporate social responsibility (CSR). Sustainability efforts are a popular and important CSR focus, making it a great potential topic for your events.

After you’ve scored and matched participants from across sectors, you might ask corporate leaders who are committed to reducing their companies’ carbon footprints to speak on a panel with environmental nonprofits. This event provides a unique blend of perspectives from environmental experts and those who want to improve their sustainability efforts, drawing a diverse audience.

Even after your event is finished, your work isn’t over! Reach back out to the participating organizations and businesses and ask them what they thought of the entire experience, from filling out the matching survey to planning the event to executing it on the big day.

Ask questions gauging how well your organization supported both parties and request advice on how to improve going forward. Also, inquire about how accurate and effective your matching criteria were so you can add, keep, or remove items for future use. These insights can help you continually level up your conferences and provide truly memorable and meaningful experiences for your attendees and cross-sector partners.

This guide shares insightful conference marketing strategies

Event Marketing

User Conferences

4 smart marketing strategies to boost conference attendance

You’ve planned a killer conference, lined up speakers, and created a balanced event schedule filled with amazing opportunities. Now, it’s time to spread the word!

Marketing can mean the difference between a successful conference and a forgotten one. If you’ve hosted a conference before, you probably already have a standard event marketing strategy. However, there might be opportunities to drive even more registrations than you already are.

If you’re ready to transform your next conference into the must-attend event of the year, let’s dive into some innovative marketing strategies.

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Review your past events

You don’t have to start from scratch with your marketing plan. In fact, looking at past events’ successes and shortcomings will provide a valuable foundation for your marketing plan. Here’s what we recommend:

Analyze attendee data. To understand what worked and what didn’t look at who attended your past events, what sessions were popular, and feedback from post-event surveys. Doing so can help you determine and reach your target audience.
Gather reusable content. For example, share recap videos or photos from past conferences to get attendees excited about attending your next one. Quotes from previous attendees, speakers, and sponsors can also be powerful marketing tools.
Analyze channel engagement metrics. Examine which marketing channels (such as email, social media, and paid ads) were most effective in driving registrations. Look at metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and cost per acquisition for each channel.

Remember, the goal is to learn how to recreate successes and avoid past mistakes. Armed with this knowledge, you can plan and execute valuable conferences and marketing plans that exceed the expectations of attendees and sponsors.

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Design a standout conference website

Think of your event website as the virtual hub for all conference-related details. It’s where people will go to learn more and register to attend. Plus, it enhances your event’s visibility and professional image.

Make sure your conference site is as effective as possible by including these elements:

Clear details: Present any must-know details, such as your conference’s date, location, agenda, speaker bios, and ticket prices. Accurate and clear details ensure potential attendees know exactly what to expect.
An easy registration process: Feature a streamlined signup form that only requires essential information. This will reduce barriers to entry.
Appealing design: A compelling website design not only attracts attention but also presents your conference as a professional and high-quality event. Use an eye-catching color scheme, consistent branding, intuitive layout, and typography to enhance readability and aesthetic appeal.
Mobile optimization: Many people browse the web on their smartphones. Make sure your website is mobile-optimized, so it’ll function on all devices and won’t turn potential attendees away.
Engaging multimedia: Multimedia content conveys your conference’s atmosphere, showcases highlights like key speakers in a dynamic way, and increases the time visitors spend on your website. This is a great opportunity to reuse past event content, like videos and photos, you’ve gathered.

After you launch your website, share links to it in all event communications, including your emails, social media posts, and texts. Broad sharing maximizes exposure, drives traffic, and turns interest into registrations.

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Create event invitations

Personal invitations issue a direct call to action, set the tone for your event, and create a first impression that can influence attendees to register. At the very least, they provide enough information to intrigue recipients to either reach out or visit your event site to learn more.

An example event invitation that says, “Join Us at NextTech Con!”

Using an online event invitation platform, here’s how you can create effective invitations that capture attention and drive registrations:

Design with your brand in mind. Your invitation’s design should reflect your event’s branding and theme. Use your event’s color scheme, logo, and relevant illustrations or photos. The sentiment in your design should be short. Let’s say you’re hosting an event focused on emerging technologies and innovation in software development. Like the example above, your sentiment might say, "Join Us at NextTech Con!”
Include essential details. Craft a clear message to send in your invitations. Include details like the event’s purpose, date, time, and venue. Highlight unique selling points, such as speakers, special sessions, and exclusive opportunities for attendees to make your conference seem like a can’t-miss event.
Add a clear call to action (CTA). Your invitation should feature a prominent CTA, such as "Register Now" or "Reserve Your Spot." Make sure this CTA directs recipients to where they need to go to take the next step, such as your event website or registration page.

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Send invitations well ahead of your event to give attendees enough time to clear their schedules. You can even allow attendees to send invitations to others, so they can invite their colleagues. The easiest way to do this is to embed your invitations into your conference website and provide sharing capabilities.

Host a giveaway

Generate pre-event buzz with a giveaway. The chance to win a valuable prize can motivate potential attendees to register and spread the word about your conference. This is especially effective if the giveaway is exclusive to registrants.

Here’s how to host a successful giveaway that drives event registrations:

Select the right type of giveaway. Host a referral contest in which attendees gain an additional entry in a random drawing for each person they convince to register for your conference. Or, try a social media contest in which contestants engage with or share a specific post promoting your conference with their followers in exchange for entries into your giveaway. Both of these approaches will expand your conference’s organic reach.
Choose prizes your target audience will enjoy. This could be conference swag like mugs, water bottles, tote bags, or tech accessories. If you run a business, you might offer your products as a prize.
Set clear rules. Establish who can enter your giveaway, geographic or age limitations, and how long you’ll accept entries. Setting rules ensures fairness, transparency, and legal compliance.

Remember, the key to a successful giveaway is how you integrate it into your overall event promotion strategy. Not only will you motivate potential attendees to act quickly, but you’ll also spread word-of-mouth enthusiasm that is invaluable for growth.

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Overall, your conference’s success hinges on how well you promote your event and connect with your audience. Leverage your event platform, and pay attention to which strategies drive results. Finally, be sure to thank everyone who attended your conference to close out your marketing efforts on a positive note. In the end, you’ll leave a lasting impression on your attendees, making them eager to attend your next big event.

Product

Enhancements for Seamless Experiences: Speakers, Sponsors, and Attendees

Vedha Sayyaparaju

Just in time to kick off the summer event season, we’re adding more to the platform to increase ease of use and speed to go live. Enhancements include speaker and sponsor workflows for event content, updates to the attendee mobile app, and new event invite communication options.

Take a look at what’s new in Zuddl:

Task Resubmission for Speaker and Sponsor Portal

Don’t you hate the back-and-forth when it comes to tweaking documents, images, slides, etc.? It’s so easy for the latest version of “all the things” to get lost in a spreadsheet, Slack, or email. That’s where this update comes in.

Managing tasks between your team and speakers or sponsors is easy with our enhanced resubmission feature. Now, when items need review, you can easily add comments and request sponsors or speakers resubmit their work. This ensures that all deliverables meet your standards before the event goes live.

Real world example: Your event requires all presentation files to follow a specific format for consistency with the master deck. With this enhancement, you can leave comments for speakers to reformat their session files and resubmit them so you can maintain your event's formatting across all event materials. Goodbye, spreadsheets and lost content in your inbox!

Easy File Publishing to Attendees

Let’s face it: everyone wants a swipe file when they go to a conference or event - slides, ROI calculators, examples, templates, session decks - the list is endless.

So, we’ve made sharing even more straightforward. We’ve simplified the process of sharing files with attendees – the swipe file has been activated. Once you approve files from sponsors or speakers, you can tag them to sessions to share. These files go live on the event mobile app, giving attendees instant access to documents and resources.

Here's a practical example: Let's say you have a keynote session with takeaway slides and handouts. With our new feature, it's as simple as approving these materials, tagging them to the keynote session, and sharing them directly with attendees via the mobile app.

Speaker Directory for the Mobile App

Building an event that inspires connections and community just got easier—introducing the Speaker Directory – a customizable page for your event attendee mobile app.

Attendees can view a comprehensive list of all the event speakers. When they click on a speaker’s name, they’ll see detailed profiles, giving them all the information they need to connect and network.

Use Case: Attendees at your user conference want to learn more about the speakers – especially a few panelists. With the Speaker Directory, they can easily browse through speaker profiles, find the experts relevant to their interests, and plan to attend their sessions or reach out for one-on-one meetings.

Real-Time Stage Management

Our stage management just got a major “stress reliever” upgrade.

In the Studio, you can now see what’s live on stage at a glance - no extra clicks. The “What’s on Stage” panel shows everything from slides to videos, banners, and speakers, all in real-time. You can easily add or remove elements, making stage management more intuitive (and less stressful) than ever.

Real-world example: If you’re hosting a live event with speakers, visuals, or multimedia elements, this feature gives you control to seamlessly switch between content, ensuring everything runs smoothly—no freezing, wrong screens, or panic attacks. For example, you can instantly pull up a speaker’s slides, play a video, or display a sponsor’s banner without missing a beat.

Rich Text Editor for Session Descriptions

Small update with a big impact.

Take control to fully format text, add links, and create a visually appealing session overview that captures your audience’s attention. This tool gives you the flexibility to create event content that stands out and is on-brand for webinars, field marketing events, and user conferences.

Use Case: Suppose you are organizing a multi-track conference with various workshops and presentations. You can use the rich text editor to create detailed and attractive session descriptions, including speaker bios, session highlights, and links to additional resources. This will make it easier for attendees to decide which sessions to attend.

Resume Previous Session in the Registration Flow

It’s 2024: don’t lose potential attendees due to incomplete registrations.

Our new enhancement allows users who drop off in the middle of the event registration process to pick up where they left off. If someone exits after two steps of a five-step registration, they’ll receive a prompt to resume their session, ensuring they complete their registration with ease.

Use Case: An attendee starts registering but gets interrupted and doesn’t finish the process. Now, when they return, they’ll be able to continue from where they left off, seriously reducing the chances of incomplete registrations and helping more people finish each step of registration without the frustration of starting over.

Invitation Improvements

Never miss a beat when it comes to managing your event invite list. Enhancements to our invitation process include:

Profile Information Autofill: Attendees’ information now auto-fills from their profile to the registration form, reducing friction and speeding up the registration process.
New Email Template for Declines: When an invitee declines, they’ll receive a customized “We’ll miss you at the event” message, maintaining a positive touchpoint even for those who can’t attend.

Use Case: If you’re sending out hundreds of invitations, keeping track of responses can be daunting. With these improvements, you can easily manage responses, streamline the registration process with autofill, and maintain positive communication even with those who can’t make it. Try these new enhancements for your next event – happy event planning!

User Conferences

In-Person Events

4 hacks to scale your user conference without compromising on quality

Kishore C S

As your user conference grows, it's not just about having a bigger audience; it's also about maintaining the same quality of event experience as you scale. Here are 4 hacks to do just that.

Scaling your in-person user conference from a modest gathering to a large-scale event is a remarkable feat, when done right. One of the most critical aspects of this transformation is maintaining the quality of both content and speakers.

Luckily for all of us, Lauren Olerich, Sr. Director of Events at Gainsight, has shared some super-important insights on how she’s been consistently delivering quality content at Gainsight’s user conferences right from the time they had about 300 attendees to their now massive 20,000+ attendee base.

The challenge of growing events

As your user conference expands, the task of curating high-quality content and securing exceptional speakers becomes increasingly challenging. Lauren acknowledges that there are no easy hacks for this process. Instead, it requires a significant investment of time and careful planning.

Here are 4 hacks that are essential to getting this right.

Hack 1: Build a strong foundation with tracks

To maintain the quality of your user conference, start with a solid track plan. Select new tracks that focus on forward-thinking topics, avoiding repetition from previous years. This approach ensures that the sessions align with the conference's goals and provide fresh insights.

Hack 2: Go the extra mile with speaker outreach

Speaker outreach for your next user conference

The way you carry out your speaker outreach matters a lot. While you can always conduct a call for speakers, don't hesitate to sometimes deviate from the submissions,

Balance the use of a call for speakers with proactive outreach to highlight exciting industry developments and customer stories that may not come through formal channels.
Maintain a balance between solicited speaker submissions and the insights provided by internal teams like product marketing and customer success.

Hack 3: Balancing personas and diverse content

caters to the interests of diverse audience personas attending your user conference

Consider the diverse audience personas attending your conference, from executives to individual contributors and different professions. Ensure that your agenda caters to their interests, offering options in multiple tracks and sessions. Nobody wants to leave your event feeling like you just scratched the surface on a certain topic of keen interest.

Hack 4: Get leadership to review your sessions

Review and provide feedback on each session of user conference

One striking insight that Lauren shared was around how Gainsight follows is a thorough session review process. They review every single session multiple times, even involving their CEO in the process. This commitment to detail demonstrates their dedication to delivering top-notch content.

Whether it's an internal subject matter expert or a leader who can provide valuable insights, having someone review and provide feedback on each session ensures the highest quality content. It'll require extra coordination and a few back-and-forth moments, yes, but is it worth it? Totally!

Summing up...

Maintaining the quality of content and speakers as your in-person user conference grows is no walk in the park, but the payoff is unmatchable!

With diverse tracks, effective speaker outreach, and meticulous session reviews, you'll be able to ensure that your conference continues to provide valuable experiences to attendees, regardless of its size!

Virtual and Hybrid Event Planning: Best Practices and Strategies for B2B Event Marketers

Zuddl Staff

In the current era of digitization, virtual and hybrid events have become the norm for B2B event marketers. With the ongoing pandemic, the trend of conducting events virtually has increased, and it is no longer a temporary solution but has become a permanent fixture. B2B event marketers must stay ahead of the curve and embrace the new reality of event planning by understanding the best practices and strategies for virtual and hybrid events.

Best Practices for Virtual and Hybrid Event Planning:

Define your goals:

The first step in planning a successful virtual or hybrid event is determining your goal. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Determine the key objectives of your event, such as lead or demand generation, brand awareness, or thought leadership, and align your event plan with your goals.

Identify your target audience:

Knowing your target audience is crucial in planning a virtual or hybrid event. Consider demographics, job titles, industries, and buying behaviours to tailor your content and outreach to the right people.

Choose the right platform:

Many virtual event platforms are available, and choosing the right one is essential to ensure a successful event. Consider factors such as cost, ease of use, accessibility, and features like video conferencing, networking, and content sharing to ensure you choose the best platform for your event.

Develop engaging content:

Virtual and hybrid events require a different content creation approach than in-person events. The content must be engaging, interactive, and relevant to your target audience. Consider using visual aids, such as slides, videos, and graphics, and interactive elements, such as Q&A sessions, live polls, and breakout rooms, to keep your audience engaged.

Promote your event:

Promoting your virtual or hybrid event is crucial to ensure its success. Use email marketing, social media, and paid advertising to reach your target audience. To increase attendance, utilize creative marketing strategies, such as influencer marketing, content marketing, and lead magnets.

Measure success:

Measuring the success of your virtual or hybrid event is essential to determine its impact and inform future event planning decisions. Use metrics, such as attendance, engagement, lead generation, and ROI, to determine the success of your event and make data-driven decisions.

Strategies for Virtual and Hybrid Event Planning:

Offer a hybrid experience:

A hybrid experience offers the best of both virtual and in-person events. Consider offering a combination of virtual and in-person elements, such as pre-recorded content and live sessions, to provide attendees with a unique and engaging experience.

Personalize the experience:

Personalizing the experience for attendees is vital to a successful virtual or hybrid event. Utilize chatbots, personalized email campaigns, and interactive elements to create a customized experience for each attendee.

Utilize technology:

Technology is a critical component of virtual and hybrid event planning. Consider using advanced technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, to enhance the event experience and engage attendees.

Foster networking opportunities:

Networking opportunities are a vital component of B2B events, and virtual and hybrid events are no exception. Consider using virtual networking tools, such as video conferencing, live chat, and social media, to provide attendees with opportunities to connect and engage with each other.

Invest in high-quality production:

Investing in high-quality products is crucial to ensure a successful Virtual and Hybrid Event.

Conclusion:

Virtual and hybrid events are the new normal in B2B event marketing. By following the best practices and strategies outlined in this article, B2B event marketers can deliver successful virtual and hybrid events that are engaging and memorable. The key is to focus on providing a personalized experience, encouraging attendee interaction, and measuring and analyzing event success to improve continuously.

As the world adapts to the new normal, virtual and hybrid events will play a crucial role in B2B event marketing. By staying ahead of the curve and incorporating the latest best practices and strategies, B2B event marketers can deliver events that are not just relevant but also engaging and memorable for attendees.

Use this link - https://www.zuddl.com/events/spotlight to access the "SPOTLIGHT ON FUTURE OF B2B MARKETING EVENTS" landing page and learn more about how to plan and execute successful virtual and hybrid events.

Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

In-Person Events

Bonfire 2022 - A glimpse of the vibrant life at Zuddl

Kishore C S

Zuddl recently held the second edition of its annual offsite, Bonfire 2022. Here's a firsthand account of the experience plus some cool pictures from the event!

Earlier this month, Zuddl concluded the second edition of its annual company offsite event, Bonfire, and this time around, the team was much bigger, and so were the festivities!

For a remote workforce like ours, the annual offsite is a rare chance for each of us to get to know the people we’ve otherwise only interacted with virtually.

A four-day event, Bonfire 2022 had all the ingredients of a power-packed event, starting from leadership and strategy sessions to cultural activities, sports and a whole lot of surprises! Now, for someone like me who has been at Zuddl for about six months now, meeting my remote team (and the extended Zuddl family) in person was a very unique experience.

Initially, I didn’t know how it would be; there was this slight anxiety, or curiosity rather, as to whether our smooth virtual relationship with each other would translate seamlessly when we all shared the same physical space and picked up on each other’s non-verbal cues. To my surprise, we seemed to hit it off as if we’ve known each other for years.

Once the event concluded,I thought about how that happened. What have we been doing right to see this beautiful outcome? And, what has been the company’s role in helping us achieve this.

Here's why I feel Bonfire 2022 was proof of a company that has managed to establish a healthy culture in this remote reality!

A sense of belonging

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The first sign that you organically fit into a community is the fact that you don’t have to make a visible effort to fit in. This seemed to be the general vibe at Bonfire; a genuine ‘coming together’ of people rather than a forced one.

A self-driven team

Whatever session or activity that was handled by a particular team was done with a very authentic flair; there wasn’t an instance where it felt someone was compelled to take up a chunk of responsibility. That speaks volumes of how Zuddl, as a company, has built an environment that doesn’t introduce a sense of distance between different working elements of the company, or the classic ‘hierarchy’ if you will.

‍Palpable trust

Let’s admit it, we’ve all been to many professional events or gatherings because we were told to be present - almost like the company in question was ‘taking attendance’. In this aspect, Bonfire 2022 was a breath of fresh air because at no point did anyone ever compel any of us to be present for a session or event; they trusted that we would show up on our own. It’s this element of trust that automatically builds a sense of ownership in an employee. I’ve always felt that when there’s a sense of freedom in the environment, it actually induces employees to respect and uphold the liberty harbored.

‍A joyful environment

Just like every place has a mood, every community does too. The one thing that struck me overall was that there was a shared experience of happiness when awards were announced and a collective sense of celebration when party time set in. Now, I may be more introverted than the normal individual, but I think even the most extroverted butterfly would agree that there are some crowds you click with, and some you don’t.

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Thankfully for us, we just clicked - and that’s what made Bonfire 2022 a memorable one!

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4 tips for running your virtual hiring event the right way

With the virtual world opening up a bigger talent pool to recruiters, supply is high. But how can HR professionals run hiring events efficiently to leverage this opportunity? Read more to find out.

Thanks to the pivot to remote working over the past two years, recruiters now have the freedom to hire the best candidates they can find regardless of where they are. In other words, the entire world is now the new talent pool. “With a typical office you have a 50 mile radius before potential hires need to relocate,” comments Jenny Bloom, CFO of Zapier (a company with 500+ people in 38 countries). ”With remote work, there are no boundaries.”

However, this ease of access to talent hasn’t necessarily translated into an easier recruitment process.

The same lifting of geographical boundaries that allows recruiters to have more choice in hiring talent, has also meant that candidates have more choice than ever before in finding a new role. This means that recruiters have to go the extra distance (pun intended) to promote their company amongst candidates, make their employer brand stand out, and influence candidates' decisions about who to work for.

That’s where virtual hiring events come into play.

What’s a virtual hiring event?

Virtual hiring events, or virtual career fairs, are a way for recruiters and HR professionals to easily and efficiently connect directly with potential candidates from all around the world. Through the capabilities and features of the virtual event platform used for the occasion, organizers can showcase company branding and quickly and easily find the talent you need. Here’s how:

1. Show off the best and unique aspects of your company

Shine a spotlight on your brand

Via a virtual event platform, you can showcase your EVP to potential candidates in a variety of ways - of which, the virtual Expo Booth is one of the best.

An example of a Zuddl virtual expo booth — A Zuddl virtual expo booth

Organizers can use booth widgets to highlight company USPs and get candidates excited about working at the company:

Upload videos that showcase company culture, introduce prospective teammates, or give candidates a glimpse into what a day in the life at work would be like
Share media - blogs, photos, infographics - to give candidates insight into the organization's vision
Staff the booth with a company representative to answer questions
Use a ‘register interest’ button to build a pipeline of passive candidates for future roles

To make recruitment even more personalized, organizers can invite teams or departments to set up their own virtual booths to give candidates a deeper understanding of day-to-day operations.

You can also leverage virtual Stages to show candidates exactly why they should want to join the company! You can play pre-recorded videos speaking to your mission and goals throughout the event. If possible, you can arrange for a keynote from the CEO to kickoff the open house and arrange for leadership in the company to hold sessions throughout the day to give your event a truly personal touch.

2. Speak with candidates 1:1

Recruiting is all about building relationships but HR professionals often do not have the time to get to know a candidate at a level that is deeper than their resume - simply because of time constraints. Using a virtual event platform like Zuddl can help address this issue.

Leveraging platform capabilities, organizers can set up virtual rooms and meetings - to have simple introductory chats that make candidates feel welcome early in the process, hold more intensive interviews, and host group conversations that bring to light a candidate's teamwork, communication and management skills.

Smart networking: Organizers throwing an open house can use Smart Networking to connect recruiters with the right candidates for 1:1 meetings.

Virtual breakout rooms: Recruiters can host small group discussions or collaborative assignments within Rooms to help candidates put their best foot forward.

3. Make the entire experience fun, exciting and inclusive!

The application process can be downright boring and/or a nerve-wracking experience, so making your virtual event an experience that attendees will remember for all the right reasons is just one way to make your company stand out from the competition. To do so, organizers need to blend their creativity with the capabilities of the virtual event platform. Here are some ways:

Bedazzle the virtual venue: Thrill potential candidates from the get-go by playing a welcome video when they join the event, and create a branded immersive virtual venue that candidates will have fun exploring. For instance, you can create a professional looking company lobby that helps candidates navigate through the venue, networking zones and breakout rooms as well as add some fun elements like virtual photobooths and gaming zones.

Gamify the event: Introduce a fun spirit of competition into the proceedings by rewarding points for activities completed during the event and giving prizes to those who top the leaderboard! Try to come up with activities that are educational and memorable such as a virtual scavenger hunt (with items like take a picture at the virtual photo booth or connect with 2 team leads), or a trivia sheet (where candidates must talk to senior employees to learn the answers). Winners can receive exclusive company swag.

Use live-captioning and translation integrations: Make candidates from different geographies feel comfortable and supported at your event by making your content and communications easily understandable for all.

4. Leverage data for effective follow-ups

Data driven decisions — Data-driven decisions

One of the biggest advantages of hosting a virtual event as compared to its in-person counterpart is the difference in data collection. In using a virtual event platform for your event, you’ll be able to obtain engagement and lead data that’ll help you:

Keep the conversation going with qualified candidates
Stay in touch with passive candidates for future pipelines
Refine subsequent events

‍To sum up…

Virtual hiring events give recruiters an incredible opportunity to source and build relationships with talent from all around the world. However, this opportunity can be squandered if event organizers and HR professionals are unable to get all aspects of the event right.

The first step is for organizers to understand how to leverage the capabilities of the virtual event platform chosen for the event to its utmost potential, and second, to ensure that all aspects of the event are as human and customized as possible. Keeping the candidate experience at the forefront - making sure every interaction makes them feel comfortable, supported, and good about joining your company - will distinguish your event and organization from the competition.

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5 virtual event platform issues that need to be solved ASAP

Here are the top 5 grievances organizers have with virtual event platforms - and one single way to solve them all.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Over the past two years, event organizers have had to quickly adapt to the changing times, and embrace two years' worth of digital transformation in about two months. This has meant figuring out how to use broadcasting software, and streaming platforms like GMeet, Zoom, Skype and more to host conferences, summits, sales kickoffs and more literally overnight.

This had led to many great boundary-pushing virtual experiences being held, such as Tomorrowland Around the World which had eight stages for performances by artists, chat rooms, games, and interactive meetings, and was attended by more than one million people. Another example is Salesforce Live: Australia and New Zealand that had keynotes, interviews with industry leaders and partner product launches, which was held for over more than a month.

As a result, organizers are now fully aware and appreciative of the benefits that only virtual platforms can afford such as increased reach, improved engagement and better analytics.

But that is not to say that it's been all smooth sailing. In many cases, organizers find themselves compromising on event vision or messing up on event execution because of the platform they are using.

Here are the top 5 grievances that if solved would make life so much better for organizers.

1. Not being able to prefigure sessions

When you create a live session at your virtual or hybrid event, you pull together speakers and content, make choices, react to changes, and generate a professional livestream in real time.

The classical way to achieve this is to familiarize your speakers with the platform, create transition videos, prepare content to share during the session etc, and then pull it all together on the day of the event, praying that nothing goes wrong.

But today’s event organizers need a better option than relying on crossed fingers.

https://giphy.com/gifs/RosannaPansino-ro-rosanna-pansino-8GmUS2rjYl3aZ6e3vy

2. Getting it done yesterday

So much to do, so little time. With each event - regardless of size - consisting of 100 and more moving parts, event organizers are always pushed to the maxim, especially since B2B companies typically spend only 5-8 weeks planning events.

Organizing virtual events can add to this stress because organizers - besides confirming the line-up of speakers, overseeing registration and email follow ups, and promoting the event on social media - have to set up the entire virtual venue on their virtual event platform of choice. For organizers unfamiliar with this type of technology, it can take weeks to set up their event - time that they just don’t have.

An ideal solution? A platform that enables virtual events to be set up in minutes instead of days or months, so organizers can concentrate on finessing rather than implementation.

3. Customizing your event without coding

Coding is ubiquitous; it is used everywhere, from the website you are on right now to the app you use to order your groceries every week, and is central to many essential services and online solutions offered today. This is why many event platforms too require some knowledge of coding - to make the virtual venue look a certain way for instance, or to create online forms for attendees to fill during the event.

However, coding is not as ubiquitous as literacy - as yet. Many people just do not know how to code - as yet. So to make coding a requirement of building and customizing a virtual event is just another source of frustration for event organizers.

In a perfect world, a platform would not require event organizers to become amateur coders in a span of a month in order to create a virtual event exactly the way they envision it.

4. Making the event look professional and high-quality when you have a small budget

All event organizers want their hybrid and virtual events to have professional production quality but unfortunately often end up with PowerPoint visuals.

This is because it usually takes a team of studio professionals or requires the hiring of expensive tools to produce an experience that is polished, cohesive, and sleek - think branded backgrounds and sharp graphics, different stage layouts to present speakers - similar to TV news segments.

So if event organizers were ever granted three wishes by a genie, we’re sure one of them would be spent wishing intro reality a way to create a high-quality professional livestream without having to break the bank ie. a solution that democratizes production like a pro, just like how Canva made beautiful design accessible to everyone.

5. Dealing with a 30 second lag

It is a truth grossly unacknowledged that lags or delays are part-and-parcel of most streaming platforms used to host virtual and hybrid events. 30 second delays between speakers and attendees is simply considered the norm - when they really shouldn’t be. These delays mean that your virtual attendees will only be able to consume and react to content later than in-person attendees…

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… which can make them feel like second-class citizens, and which contributes to a negative event experience.

One of the most critical needs for an event organizer is a zero-latency live streaming platform that seamlessly connects remote and in-person audiences in real-time.

So what’s the solution?

Event professionals like you will be pleased to hear that there’s no need to rely on prayer, wishes, crossed fingers or anything of the like anymore.

Zuddl’s new solution ‘The Zuddl Studio’ is here to address all your virtual and hybrid event woes and fulfill all your event needs. From ZERO LAG to NO CODING REQUIRED, it’s guaranteed to be your new favourite go-to for virtual and hybrid meetings, conferences, sales kickoffs etc.

The best part? It’s fully compatible with all manner of streaming platforms, from Microsoft Teams to Zoom and Hopin to Hubilo.

Curious? Sign up for the beta launch of the Zuddl Studio before spots run out.

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The 4 types of people you'll meet at virtual events

Have you encountered DOVEs at a virtual event? How about PEACOCKs? Dive into the 4 types of attendees you'll meet at virtual events and also learn how to come up with a strategy that ensures that they all have a great experience at your virtual event.

Know your customers.

Know your attendees.

Know thy audience.

It’s basically the first commandment of good marketing.

In fact, where there is a marketing team, a blog about the importance of understanding your target audience is sure to be a stone’s throw away (case in point: there are over 38,70,00,000 results on Google about this topic).

But when it comes to understanding the make-up of attendees at virtual or hybrid events, it’s a little more complicated.

But before you keep reading, let’s pause for a moment. Why exactly is it important to know your audience?

Why it’s important to know your virtual event audience

Today’s virtual event attendees come in all shapes and sizes, and of different ages and countries. They have different pain points, challenges, goals, and desires. And critically, some are digital natives whilst others are digital immigrants. That’s why you can’t treat all of them in the same way.

Going the traditional route with stereotype-based alliterative-named personas might not help because you’ll need to go way beyond basic demographics. Virtual attendees have a complex mix of needs that they’re looking to satisfy at your event, and online and digital behaviours that they expect will be accommodated. More than ever, the name of the game is different strokes for different folks.

But the reality is that while they’re all unique individuals, it’s simply not possible to cater to your attendees at an individual level. Instead, you identify several types of attendees based on their behavioral patterns, and then plan in spaces and content that really resonates with them.

So, what are the different types of attendees you can expect at your virtual event?

We’ve done the work for you. Keep an eye out for these formidable virtual attendee types’ (we were inspired by Dean Peter’s ‘Dangerous Animals of Product Management’ and make sure you have a strategy in place for each of them.

The different types of attendees you’ll find at your virtual event

OWL (Obsessed With Learning)

Like their figurative namesake, OWLS are knowledge seekers who value information. They’re at your event to update their professional knowledge and upgrade their skills. They want to delve deep into topics of interest with knowledgeable experts, learn about industry best practices and pick up new tips and tricks that they can put into practice right away.

‍How to cater to OWLs:

Leverage the capabilities of your virtual event platform to help attendees gain as much knowledge as they hoped. A fantastic line-up is the first step but there’s plenty more you can do:

Give attendees the ability to “talk” during sessions! Chat, Polls, Emoji Reactions, and ‘Raise Hand’ have democratized participation. Both introvert and extrovert OWLs can ask questions and chat in real-time with speakers to learn more about topics.

Nurture more focused conversations. Set up virtual Rooms for some good ole’ fashioned group discussions, brainstorms, or workshops so that OWLs can ask other attendees about their insights or solutions and further cement their understanding of the topic.

Accommodate busy lives and different learning styles. Your OWLs may have a range of learning styles so share content in different formats so everyone can engage with them. For instance, besides sessions and group discussions, set up Expo Booths with videos and downloadable material like guides and checklists so that attendees can absorb content as per their preferences. Also, make video recordings of the sessions available for attendees to watch whenever their schedule allows it.

MACAW (Most Active Conversationalists At Work)

MACAWs are excited about and effective at building relationships and making connections. You’ll generally find them around or actively participating in group discussions, easily and impressively making conversation with people they’ve met only a few minutes earlier. So the MACAWs at your event want plenty of opportunities to meet and connect with attendees who can help further their business and career. They have a specific aenda and will actively search for the right people at your event.

How to cater to MACAWs:

Give your attendees an easy way to connect with other attendees (right from their couches!) by organizing plenty of interaction opportunities. And even better if you find a way to help MACAWs meet the right people who can help them reach their goals: Here’s how you can do this:

Create different ways for attendees to connect with each other. From small discussion groups to ice breaker networking sessions, plan in small activities during the event that’ll give MACAWs a foundation for easy conversation.

Make networking more effective. Leverage AI-powered matchmaking to maximize the chance of MACAWs being paired with relevant professionals who share similar interests and complementary goals, for conversations that ultimately lead to business leads or employment opportunities.

DOVE (Distracted Online Very Easily)

Distractions abound for the DOVE. As there’s so much to do at home and work, they’re often found glancing quickly in every direction at tasks that require their attention. You’ll spot them with plenty of tabs open on their screens, switching easily from answering their email to purchasing something on Amazon to working on a office task to replying to a message on their phone. This means that keeping a DOVE’s attention on your event will be challenging.

How to cater to DOVEs:

Use the features of your virtual event platform to the utmost to grab and retain a DOVE’s attention and improve ‘virtual event stickiness’:

Customize your virtual event venue with plenty of bells and whistles. Create a stunning branded virtual venue with different zones that DOVEs can explore and enjoy. From a lobby to breakout Rooms, Stages to Photobooths and even a gaming section, there are plenty of ways to make your venue so beguiling that the <name of bird> won’t want to leave the platform. (Click here for more ideas and real-life examples of how to customize your virtual event)

Use gamification to make participation fun! Gamification is a fun and powerful way to nudge <name of birds> towards taking part in more activities at your event by rewarding their actions. For instance, for each poll answered or each question asked, DOVEs can win points or prizes, which will then encourage them to keep participating. Hopefully, over time, you can use gamification to turn these actions into habits, resulting in sustainable engagement.

PEACOCK (Prefers Exclusive And Customized On-brand Content + Keepsakes)

The PEACOCK is a brand fanatic. They’re passionate about all things involving your brand and are the biggest supporters of your business. They’re proud of being a customer and enjoy the status or prestige that comes with it. So when attending your event, they’re expected to be “wowed” by the brand experience you provide. And they’re also looking to be rewarded for their loyalty.

How to cater to PEACOCKs:

Create a unique event experience that is rewarding, share-worthy, and memorable. Here’s how you can do that:

Customize your virtual venue to be completely on-brand. Completely brand the Stages, networking areas, breakout rooms and Expo Zones with your designs and colours to amplify your brand and reinforce your messaging. And play your attendees an amazing Welcome Video that looks and feels like a movie trailer to get PEACOCKs excited from the get-go.

Give them something to crow about. Share exciting and exclusive news first with PEACOCKs at your virtual event or give them access to high-profile brand ambassadors (imagine setting up a virtual cooking workshop with Nigella Lawson or a virtual meet-and-greet with Rafael Nadal!)or let them be the first to purchase a product from your Expo Booth with one-time-only discounts.

Make them feel appreciated. Gamify activities or actions at the event to let PEACOCKs win brand merchandise or experiences that reinforce brand loyalty. Giveaway little extras like virtual swag to make them feel special and valued.

Key takeaways

Your virtual event will be full of all kinds of people, each with their own reasons for attending. Some may not fall into any of the four categories mentioned above, while others may fall into more than one. Nevertheless, being aware of these possible types of attendees, knowing what each type wants and how to create a fantastic experience for them will make your event more welcoming, valuable and memorable for everyone. More than ever, it’s different strokes for different folks.

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How to be an eco-friendly event planner

Do your bit to address the climate catastrophe by following the 4 tips in this piece to host a more eco-friendly event.

2022 is expected to become the eighth hottest year on record according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - which really shouldn’t surprise anyone anymore.

Humanity has been continually chipping away at the climate catastrophe for decades now, spurred on by record-breaking levels of atmospheric CO2 generated by the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of natural ecosystems. And while there have been small steps towards tackling the climate crisis - the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, COP26 for instance - we can all agree that there’s a lot more that can be done.

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While most of this effort does need to come from governments around the world, businesses, NGOs and citizens can do their part as well - that includes the humble event organizer too. It may seem like a challenge to host an event that is sustainable while not compromising its quality. Right off the bat, you’re probably thinking you need to limit the number of attendees or even cut down the length of your event. But there’s no need to do any of that. Instead, just follow these effective tips to host a more climate-conscious event post-pandemic.

‍1. Add a virtual component to reduce your event’s carbon footprint

Adding a virtual element to your event reduces the carbon footprint

If there’s one action you can take to make your event more sustainable, it’s adding a virtual component to your event. In fact, research by Cornell University shows that the carbon footprint of in-person conferences might be reduced by an incredible 94% if held entirely online instead. Here’s how:

‍No flights necessary: The EPA found that 29% of greenhouse gasses emitted in 2019 came from the burning of fossil fuels by cars, trains, ships, and planes. So the first and perhaps the most obvious outcome from hosting a virtual event or making virtual attendance to your event possible is the huge reduction in resource consumption in travel to the venue. As your attendees and speakers no longer need to take a flight, train or cab to your event, this drastically reduces the total carbon emissions created by your event. The University of Michigan found this to be the case when they compared their May 2020 AirMiners virtual conference to previous iterations, noting that their online conference “produced 66 times less greenhouse gas emissions than an in-person gathering in San Francisco would have.”

‍A reduction in accommodation and catering costs: Did you know that the famous music festival, Coachella, generates 107 tons of solid waste each day. To put that in perspective, that’s the weight of a space shuttle when it goes into orbit. And to make things worse, only 20% of the waste created at the event is recycled.Virtual attendance lets organizers cut down on or completely eschew accommodation and food for attendees, which means fewer or no electricity, heating, food and beverage emissions which can rack up depending on the length of an event. To illustrate, let’s assume that one attendee will use 6 single-use plates and cups over a 2 day period, and drink 2 bottles of water per day. Multiply this by 2000 attendees. This results in 12000 plates and cups and 8000 plastic bottles that will be thrown away. And this is just what would result from one conference in a million happening every year.‍

‍Going digital means less paper waste: By encouraging attendees to use a mobile app at an event to check in, navigate the event schedule, interact with speakers and connect with other attendees - both those at a venue and those tuning in virtually - you can avoid a lot of paper waste. There’ll be no need to print out paper tickets, or put up a lot of signage.

2. Host small-scale hybrid events

If you’re intent on having some part of your event be in-person, consider hosting a hybrid event setup for a limited number of attendees. This means that instead of one large gathering, you can hold smaller regional events connected via technology. Remember that long distance travel is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Giving attendees the option to travel shorter distances helps to therefore offset this.

Vlad C. Coroamă and Friedemann Mattern, in this article, give the example of the 2009 World Resources Forum to illustrate this. Conference organizers successfully reduced intercontinental travel by hosting the event at connected hubs in Davos, Switzerland, and Nagoya, Japan. Attendees were able to make short trips within their own continent.

3. Offer carbon offsetting options for attendees

Carbon offsetting is a way for individuals and companies to compensate for their emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere; for instance, investing in the installation of wind turbines or in the planting of moringa trees (they absorb C02 at a 20x higher rate than any other tree). It’s important to keep in mind that carbon offsets are not a carte blanche to act as environmentally unsustainable as you’d like. Instead, it’s a way to help mitigate the harm you are causing when there’s no other way around it.

So if you are hosting a hybrid event that involves your attendees flying in, you could give attendees the option to invest in an environmental project to cut down their footprint, and offer to match any donation they made as part of your initiative to go greener. For example, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2020 decided to financially support the Jacundá project which helps protect 95,000 hectares of native Amazonian forest to offset the emissions caused by their event.

The 2021 G7 Summit will be carbon-neutral.

We will:
🥔 use locally sourced produce
🥤 eliminate single-use plastic where possible
♻️ use recycled and sustainable products#G7UK #WorldEnvironmentDay pic.twitter.com/VpduEn4tfJ
— G7 GER (@G7) June 5, 2021

4. Choose eco-friendlier options for venue logistics

Reduce, reuse and recycle should be at the centre of logistics

When planning the logistics for your hybrid event venue, go as green as you can. Here are a couple of simple ways:

- Choose green hotels (look for sustainability accreditation) for attendee accommodation

- Use reusable or biodegradable cutlery at the event instead of plastic utensils

- Set up water drinking stations as an alternative to bottled water

- Encourage attendees to recycle their waste by setting up recycling bins at the venue

- Offer sustainable food options for consumption

But what about the emissions generated from virtual events?

In most cases, virtual events generate a smaller footprint than in-person events.

Global CO2 Initiative researchers at the U-M College of Engineering found that 60% of emissions generated from a virtual event comes from network data transfers ie. uploading and downloading data such as video calls, and streaming.

So to make your virtual event more sustainable, organizers can look for virtual event platforms or tools that do not require attendees to have their webcams on during event sessions (this can reduce the environmental footprint in that meeting by 96%), and which enable text-based communication.

And this is where Zuddl can help.

Stages: Speakers take centerstage with their videos on so that they can talk directly to hundreds of virtual attendees. Attendees do not have their video on and can interact with speakers via our easy engagement tools.

Live engagement tools: Text-based functionalities such as Chat, Q&A, Emojis & Polls let attendees ask questions to speakers, comment on the event proceedings, respond to Polls and interact with other attendees. You can effortlessly get your event buzzing with participation without making video mandatory.

‍To sum up…‍

With the climate clock counting ominously down, every little action we can take now can help. For event organizers, that means actively looking for ways to be more sustainable. Pivoting to virtual events is the first step.

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A quick look at some ways that HR teams can use online events to boost mental health for their remote workforces.

4 virtual wellness activities for remote teams

A quick look at some ways that HR teams can use online events to boost mental health for their remote workforces.

Stress.

Burnout.

Isolation.

Anxiety.

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This vocabulary has been seeping into our lives over the past two years.

The new and multifold challenges brought about as a consequence of the pivot to remote work and lifestyles - of balancing work and childcare, working longer hours, or feeling socially isolated to name a few - have been brutal.

People are unable to focus and are unproductive, they’re lonely or are utterly exhausted. Employed workers are 3 times as likely to report mental health problems now than before.

Fast forward to today and most lockdowns have been lifted, businesses are reopening and people are returning to offices; a new era of a hybrid mode of life is being ushered in. People are bouncing back, but as the world confronts new waves of COVID-19 variants, ongoing political disruption and uncertainty, the struggle will continue to be real.

That’s why HR teams cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to creating a supportive employee mental health environment for hybrid workforces or remote teams. It’s easy to slip into an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach but you risk a brain drain if you do, especially considering most companies are beefing up their approach to wellness.

So how can you keep your remote team from becoming too fried, frayed, and frazzled?

Let’s dive in.

1. Organize a mental health awareness online training session

Whilst this may seem quite basic, it is probably the most important activity you can carry out.

Being able to talk about mental health is a must.

Employees who experience unanticipated mental health consequences may be unable to describe their challenges and can be uncomfortable discussing them with colleagues. They may not know when to ask for help. And as with a remote team, when video-on calls are rare and most communication happens over Slack, it’s entirely possible for a team member to appear well, but struggle with these issues internally. Team members may not be aware that a person needs help.

Hosting a virtual training session that’s led by a mental health professional will:

Reduce stigma
Help employees better understand a) risk factors and triggers of mental health issues b) how to recognize signs and symptoms
Provide insight into different assistance and accommodation measures
Leave team members better equipped to know how to offer support to each other

Protip: If you’re using a virtual event platform to host the session, gamify the event to make the event a lively conversation-filled one. Set points for questions asked, Polls answered, and any other activity you can think of, and then reward those on top of the leaderboard. This is a simple but effective way to gently encourage and embolden your team members to speak up and clear their doubts.

2. Host well-being Mondays

Or any other day that ends with a y during the work week, actually.

On each wellness day, plan activities or workshops that give employees a chance to take a break from work, and which helps boost their morale and workplace attitude.

There’s no end to the different kinds of virtual activities you can plan; a blend of stress-relieving activities, energy boosters, and positive self-motivation would give employees something new to look forward to each week. And if there’s an overwhelmingly positive response to any activity in particular, you can offer it weekly. Here are some quick examples:

Morning yoga flow to settle into better posture
Mid-day meditation to refocus and get back to a calm mental space
An evening Zumba break to lift team spirits

The more your employees feel looked after, the happier and more engaged they will be.

3. Launch team fitness challenges

We all know we should probably exercise more even though we don’t want to hear it. But just to illustrate, 50% of remote and hybrid workers have reported an increase in lower back pain, 48% in shoulder pain, and 52% in eye strain as a result of a more sedentary lifestyle.

So a fun and smart way to get your team to stop being a bed/desk potato and to get up and move around more is to launch a team fitness challenge. Simply set some fitness goals that the team can work towards together within a specific timeframe, and introduce a lighthearted sense of competition through gamification.

Using a virtual event platform, you can set and award points for different goals from step challenges to squat challenges and reward those with the most points on the leaderboard! Remember that the goal is not to turn your team into fitness freaks. It’s all about building mindfulness about living a healthy lifestyle and building camaraderie along the way.

Protip: Physical fitness challenges might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so plan for different kinds of micro-challenges that remote employees can work towards. This can be anything from getting 7 hours of sleep each night to doing kind things for team members or even drinking enough water.

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4. Use virtual booths as gratitude hubs

Just so we’re on the same page - a virtual booth that you set up on a virtual event platform looks exactly like it would at an in-person event.

A zuddl virtual booth that you set up on a virtual event platform looks exactly like it would at an in-person event.

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You can customize the booth as per your needs and requirements, with company branding and signage. And you can equip the virtual booth as per your use case. For example:

Information booth

So for instance, you could create a central on-demand hub for employee mental health awareness information, you could upload any relevant documents to the booth, such as company policies to the latest health advice. You can upload a video of your mental health awareness online training session. And you can upload videos of team members taking part in the activities you’re holding as well as a leaderboard tracking the progress of employees engaged in team or company-wide challenges.

What’s great about this is that all the employees in your organization will have easy access to important information and constant motivation to prioritize their mental health any time they need it.

Gratitude booth

We’re all a little needier than we’d ever state. In fact, a Deloitte study found that a whopping 85% of workers want to hear a simple thank you in their day-to-day interactions. At the most basic level, being appreciated makes us feel valued; it’s validating and energizing.

Using a virtual booth to share gratitude and appreciation is perfect for teams of all sizes, but could also work great in a conference setting or company offsite. Then all you need to do is ask employees or teammates to write down notes of appreciation to each other, and upload them to the virtual booth. There’s something very uplifting and binding about being able to look at a collection of thank you notes written between your team.

To sum up…

As you can see, there are a variety of activities you can incorporate into a virtual mental wellbeing program for your remote team. Whichever you choose, empathy is key.

When employees have the ability to openly talk about their challenges and struggles in a safe work environment and management puts in the time and effort to make sure that everyone feels taken care of and valued, it builds trust and keeps them healthy and engaged. And this will result in a healthier and happier organization.

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Virtual event organizers, here are the 4 new key skills you need to know