Explore gamification strategies for virtual events, including interactive photo booths, creative quizzes, and custom leaderboards, to boost engagement and participation.
In this post we’re talking gamification examples, looking at the different ways that you can increase engagement in virtual events!
For those not in the know, event games are one of the simplest ways to increase participation and engagement at your virtual events. They are made to be interactive, taking those challenges you see in real world events to the next level through activities like digital photo booths and competitive arcade tournaments.
Which you choose to include will depend on the type of event you’re running. With corporate virtual events, for example, you might be better suited with some form of trivia-based game that includes facts about the business or those who are speaking. You know, something a little more informative.
There’s incentive to keep coming back to events that are gamification-optimised too. It’s not one of those ‘play once and never again’ type of things. Implementing a custom leaderboard is a great counter to those who ask: “where’s the incentive?” (more on that later).
Event gamification is an area we know all too well here at iVent. We see the benefits that come from gamifying elements of a virtual event to make it more engaging. And you should too, if you’re looking to be as effective as possible with your online event goals.
Speaking of benefits, let’s start there before looking at some event gamification examples.
The best thing about event gamification is the fact that they’re incredibly engaging for event attendees. But let’s not ignore the other benefits that come with varying up your events in such an interactive way.
Here are the benefits of virtual event games:
Basically, event games add to the overall experience of your event, making it a lot more memorable vs not including these activities at all. Let’s not forget that event gamification also provides an edge against your competition too!
And let’s face it, if your attendees are participating remotely, then the odds of them being surrounded by distractions is pretty high. With event games, you are significantly increasing the chances of having everyone’s attention.
Should we look at some gamification examples to show you?
Understand that the term ‘gamification’ has multiple applications. Brands shouldn’t feel limited by what is or isn’t possible as there are event games for every type of virtual event.
Remember, by appealing to the competitive nature of your audience, you encourage them to remain hyper-focused on the topics covered in your event! For example, this is rather effective in virtual events where training new staff is the main focus. Gamifying certain topics could make understanding what you’re saying a lot easier.
Now, let’s take a look at a few examples of event gamification that will, no doubt, enhance your engagement regardless of the industry you find yourself in, or the purpose of your events.
Just because it’s virtual, doesn’t mean that your audiences can’t grab a selfie or two. The fact that almost every computer has a camera fitted these days tells us that it’s actually easier to grab pics to serve as a souvenir of sorts. It’s how you show friends and family that you were there and a quick way to spot if someone is at the event.
Gamification examples tend to skip over the fact that selfies exist for some reason. Organisers often forget how engaging a virtual photo booth can be. Selfies, in line with a snappy hashtag, can generate impressions for your event and your brand.
If you wanted to take it a step further, you could create photo challenges. These challenges are great for social media as it gives you a lot of content to reshare, which in turn could cast more eyes on your events.
A custom filter/photo booth can go a long way in making your audience feel included in what’s going on, and it’s quite simple to set up too. We should know, we’ve made enough of them!
It’s one of the easiest ways to market your virtual events and encourage audience interaction.
What brand wouldn’t want to capitalise on this?
Creative quizzes are one of the first things people think of when the words ‘event’ and ‘game’ are mentioned in the same sentence.
Splitting your audiences into different teams to compete puts them in a situation where they have to interact with people who they wouldn’t usually associate themselves with. This makes it great for team building.
You can also tailor quizzes around different topics that apply to the business or things outside of it. A general knowledge quiz is a total morale booster, and a quiz with questions tied to the event itself is another way to encourage your audiences to retain the information presented — or get them to give you their complete undivided attention.
With virtual quizzes, you have the opportunity to shake up the rounds. Adding puzzle-based rounds is a great way to do this instead of a generic ‘20 questions’ style quiz.
Mix it up a bit and get creative!
Just because a virtual event is digital, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the thrill of treasure hunting. Some would refer to it as scavenger hunting, but there aren’t any real differences between the two.
Both are event games that encourage people to complete challenges and hunt objects. It sounds fun because it is fun — there’s treasure involved after all!
So, how do you get involved with virtual treasure hunts?
With the iVent platform, you can host treasure hunts with ease and encourage your audience to compete with one another to chase prizes. To begin, simply scatter clues across your virtual event platform and provide any prize you like to those lucky few who solve the puzzle.
As far as gamification examples go, treasure hunting is certainly up there with the best of them. If this is something you’re interested in, get in touch.
Competition equals engagement, and we have the facts to prove it. There are leaderboard templates on the web for you to use, although you might want to avoid those as they are a tad generic. To be clear, it is possible to implement a custom leaderboard in line with your virtual event/brand.
At least, it is with our platform.
The benefits are pretty self-explanatory: you give attendees/delegates a reason for participating. Some will play for the fun of it, but seeing a potential colleague above them in the rankings could be a reason for them to revisit the event once again! Creating competition can add a lot to your games and how people engage with you.
A custom leaderboard works in tandem with the games you offer, not to mention most of the gamification examples you can find scattered about this post. You’re essentially doubling down on the success of your virtual event games when you give attendees something to chase!
It’s possible to create hype before an event has even begun with gift bags — be it physical or virtual (yes, virtual gift bags are totally a thing). What’s included in a virtual gift bag? Anything from exclusive discount codes to general information surrounding the event.
Traditional gift bags, on the other hand, typically consist of custom lanyards, caps, pens and notepads. All of which could be used to gamify your virtual events in one way or another.
For example, asking attendees to wear their caps in a virtual photo booth is a sure-fire way of increasing engagement! This could also affect leaderboards, as additional points could be awarded to those that wear the cap vs those that don’t.
If you wanted to take gift bags a step further, you could send attendees ingredients to certain recipes that they can make themselves (be it food or drink). Having a professional show your attendees how to make a dish/cocktail together is a real treat, and quite the incentive to participate in the event leading up to this point.
Of course, this won’t apply to every type of virtual event, we’re simply giving you an example of how a gift bag applies to virtual event gamification. We’re sure you have other ideas of where this can come in handy?
Highlighting sponsors, providing brand facts, and highlighting speakers, are all examples of the strategic trivia questions you could be asking your audiences. Placing these questions before, after, and in between sessions on a livestream can create a sense of immersion.
Doing this will create hype before and between sessions. It will also encourage audiences to tune in early. You could even use this space to showcase product demos or preliminary designs — anything that is relevant to your brand and the topics at play. This will also come in handy if you’re running a hybrid event.
Strategic trivia questions are cool, but there are other options to explore if you’re looking to keep your audiences entertained before and between sessions. If you’re looking for something a little more trendy, a custom fidget spinner could be a great shout!
Event gamification like this is simple yet effective.
Appealing to people’s competitive nature is very easy when you add a skill-based component in there. Enter skill-based virtual event games, a challenge for anyone looking to climb your custom leaderboards and do it in style.
Everyone is a retro-gaming fan deep down. Which explains why a Pac-Man-like game works really well for our clients. In case you didn’t catch that, our platform — a platform that we can optimise for you and your brand — is capable of running classic arcade games!
More of a Tetris fan? No problem, we can create something like that for you too. There’s not a lot we can’t do, so feel free to pitch whatever! All are entirely customisable, and we’re all for experimenting with new ideas.
Talk to us to get your virtual event games off the ground and in the hands of your audiences.
Virtual events and event gamification go hand-in-hand.
Event gamification is tried, tested and a sure-fire way to keep your audiences focused. These event games are universal and playable no matter where your audiences are in the world. It’s why brands are capitalising on it now, given the shift towards virtual and hybrid events.
Event games like treasure hunts and interactive photo booths are perfect examples of how you can gamify your events. And don’t forget about the benefits of a leaderboard (don’t settle for a standard leaderboard template)! Expect participation to increase even further should you offer rewards/prizes.
We craft a variety of event games, all fully customisable to fit around your brand. Our platform is built to host all kinds of off-the-wall activities, the kind that can really grab the attention of those attending your events.
Enhancing your engagement has never been simpler. Contact us to find out more!
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