How to use interactive quizzes to keep attendees engaged before events

It’s a question as old as the profession of event planning itself: how to engage my audience before, during and after my event? 

Audience engagement is a critical consideration at every stage of the event life cycle. While most event planners give a lot of thought to how they will engage their audience during the event, often we neglect the critical pre-event stage! There may be a long wait time between when attendees first register and when the event happens, so it’s important to build up excitement (and keep the audience engaged) leading up to the event. 

This article walks you through the benefits of using interactive content – interactive quizzes specifically – to segment and engage attendees (or potential attendees) before a big event.

What are the benefits of pre-event quizzes?

Marketing specialists know there are numerous benefits of using interactive quizzes to engage an audience. They have been proven time and again to increase conversions rates, because they enable deep audience segmentation.

The second key benefit of pre-event quizzes is that they will help to keep your audience entertained and focused in the lead-up to the event. More engaged attendees are more likely to provide positive word-of-mouth to their social networks if they are having a great pre-event experience, which can help drive further event registrations.

Let’s take a look at these two benefits in greater detail now.

1. Capture leads and segment audiences

Interactive quizzes are an extremely effective lead capture tool. The overall conversion rate when people start a quiz is 40.1%. This means that just over 4 out of 10 people will become a lead (on average), when you use interactive quizzes. So, if you’re hoping to build a greater list of prospective attendees, maybe try out a pre-event quiz. 

A quiz is also a simple way to segment people and send messages they’re interested in. In its most basic form, segmentation means grouping your overall audience into sub-groups or clusters based on factors such as demographics, behavior and more. But how, exactly, does this contribute to greater engagement with your audience?

The theory behind segmentation is straightforward: when you personalize the experience for each segment, you can create frictionless customer experiences. Less friction equals more sales, as well as greater loyalty and return business.

The following four-step process offers event planners a simple way to get started with lead capture via interactive quizzes:

1. After answering a series of questions, the quiz taker opts into your mailing list and is shown an outcome that’s personalized to them.
   
2. Once they’ve been shown their results, they enter an email nurturing sequence specific to their outcome.  An email nurturing sequence is a series of emails designed to show you understand the outcome ideal they want to achieve. It also shares your credentials and the next steps to take.
   
3. In your sequence, highlight interesting information as well as specific ways the event is in line with their goals. You can also give them a sneak peek at the experience you’re designing for them.
   
4. Continue to send relevant emails until the event starts. This is ideal for both registered attendees, and even prospective attendees as you’re really providing a sense of FOMO if they don’t attend. 

2. Keeps the audience entertained

Interactive quizzes and other gamification techniques are an excellent way to get attendees and potential attendees engaged and invested in your event. You could even consider competitive quizzes (albeit friendly competition!), which encourages attendees to interact with one another.

With the right tools, you can easily create a leaderboard that keeps track of scores in the lead-up to your event. Prizes can also be offered to those who score the highest, providing extra motivation to engage with the event.

Gamified community engagement strategies, including interactive quizzes, offer attendees a unique and engaging experience that they won’t find elsewhere. And by encouraging attendees to share their experiences on social media platforms, you’ll drive your event marketing efforts into unchartered territory.

Types of interactive quizzes

There are so many different types of interactive quizzes that can be used to engage your audience in the lead-up to an event. The possibilities are really only limited by your imagination! Here are five of our favorite types of interactive quizzes that we’ve seen used successfully in the pre-event phase. 

1. Trivia quizzes: Trivia quizzes are used to test people’s knowledge on general topics, or specialist topics related to your event. 
2. Timed quizzes: People have a set amount of time to answer a question, with the first correct answer winning a prize.
3. Brainteaser quizzes: Brainteaser quizzes ask users to spend time solving a problem or a riddle.
4. Icebreaker quizzes: Icebreaker quizzes allow your audience to get to know you and each other in the lead-up to an event.
5. Event-related quizzes: Last but not least, you can create all sorts of quizzes related to your event and use the feedback to help shape the experience itself.

Conclusion

Many event planners struggle with the age-old dilemma: “how to engage my audience in the lead-up to my events”. We’ve outlined just one strategy – interactive quizzes – that will help you keep your event attendees and prospects engaged right up until you open your doors.

There are numerous benefits to using interactive quizzes in the pre-event stage. They’re a fun and welcome distraction. They will also help you segment your audience and build engagement based on information they’ve shown they have an interest in. By the time your event rolls around, they’ll be almost as excited as you. 

How can our event technology and data solutions help to improve your next event?

At EventsAir, we understand the importance of selecting the right event technology partner – someone who can help turn your valuable data into information gold, and improve the overall experience for your attendees. 

We have one simple mission: to help event planners deliver the WOW in their events with the world’s most powerful event management technology. We’ve delivered some of the world’s biggest events, and we’d love to help you too. 

If you would like to understand how powerful event data can maximize your event planning and delivery then schedule a demo with one of our team members today.