Virtual Event Engagement Strategies: 10 Expert Tips To Keep Attendees Hooked

Are Virtual Events Relevant in 2025?

With in-person gatherings taking place like before, you must be wondering if virtual events are still relevant. The reality? 73% of B2B marketers and sales leaders view webinars as the most effective approach for generating high-quality leads. (Demand Sage 2024) Businesses recognize that virtual events and hybrid events remain crucial for engaging global audiences. However, you need some intelligent virtual event engagement strategies to keep attendees actively engaged throughout the event.

Do we even need to discuss why attendee engagement matters? Let’s answer this by saying that the success of your event is directly proportional to the audience engagement.

Before we learn about virtual event engagement strategies, let’s quickly see some of the most common challenges in keeping attendees engaged:

• Screen Fatigue
• Lack of Interaction
• Distractions
• Technical Glitches
• Limited Networking Opportunities

Top 10 Virtual Event Engagement Strategies

Times have changed and so should your strategies! Here’s how to engage attendees in virtual events in 2025:

1. Leverage AI-Powered Personalization

Starting with one of the most in-demand virtual event engagement strategies. AI-powered personalization is transforming virtual events in ways more than one! AI analyzes participant behavior, preferences, and interactions to help deliver tailored experiences that keep attendees engaged. Here’s how:

• AI-powered chatbots provide instant responses to attendee queries, improving the user experience. You can use tools like Drift and Intercom.
• AI curates custom event schedules based on an attendee’s job role, industry, and interests. Event platforms like Brella and Grip can help you do this.
• AI analyzes attendee profiles and engagement patterns to connect them with like-minded peers. AI-driven matchmaking tools like Bizzabo analyze attendee profiles and engagement to recommend relevant connections.
• AI can push relevant content (videos or whitepapers) based on what attendees engage with most.
• Tools like Slido help identify recurring themes in attendee questions and highlight the most popular discussion points.

2. Integrate AR and VR Elements

This is the most important way you can try to replicate the feel of a physical event in your virtual event. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can take virtual events beyond just screens, making them interactive and immersive. Let’s understand how you can integrate AR and VR in different aspects of event.

• Venue: Instead of a standard webinar or Zoom call, you can make attendees enter a 3D virtual venue where they can navigate booths, interact with speakers, and do so much more. You can use tools like Virbela, MootUp, AltspaceVR, or EngageVR.
• Speakers: You can enhance speaker sessions with 360° VR presentations that transport attendees to real-world scenarios. You can enable speaker-audience interactions via avatars. For this purpose, you can explore EngageVR, Spatial, or AltspaceVR.
• Networking: Instead of chat windows, enable attendees walk into virtual rooms, interact via avatars, and join spontaneous discussions. Provide VR meeting rooms for breakout sessions.

Read our blog on The Power of Immersive Experiences in Marketing: AR and VR Innovations

3. Create a Selfie Photo Booth

Yes, you must do that in a virtual event too! A virtual selfie booth is a fun, interactive way to increase participation in virtual events. Tools like Snapbar and OutSnapped let attendees take selfies, add event-themed frames, and even use AR filters or branded overlays. To maximize participation, send access links via email and event chat, and enable instant sharing to LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

4. Encourage User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) keeps attendees engaged while extending the event’s reach.  Here’s how you can integrate it into your virtual events:

• Create a unique hashtag and ask attendees to share their experiences, insights, and selfies on social media using that hashtag.
• You can also use tools like Walls.io or TINT to display attendee posts in real-time during the event.
• Encourage attendees to submit questions, vote on topics, or share feedback.

5. Plan Surprise Giveaways

Nothing grabs attention like unexpected rewards! Giveaways and incentives keep attendees engaged and encourage them to stay till the end. Here are some ideas for you to incorporate surprise giveaways:

• Best Question Reward (Prize for the most insightful or creative question during a live session)
• Poll Participation Lucky Draw (A lucky draw for people who participate in polls)
• Feedback Submission Lucky Draw (A lucky draw for people who complete the feedback form)
• Networking Incentive (Prizes for those who actively participate in networking rooms)
• Quiz Rewards (Rewards for the first correct answer in the quiz contest)

6. Collaborate with Industry Leaders & Influencers

Teaming up with industry leaders is a powerful way to boost credibility, expand your reach, and enhance engagement at virtual events.

For example, a cloud computing summit featuring a keynote by a senior AWS or Microsoft executive instantly makes the event more appealing to IT professionals. What will be even more appealing is when you highlight that their questions will be answered directly by the industry leader.

Partnering with influencers is also one of the trending virtual event success strategies. Say you’re hosting a tech conference, instead of a regular emcee, try having a tech influencer moderate a panel discussion or host a fireside chat with live audience participation. Their expertise and engaging style will make sessions feel more interactive and relatable.

7. Gather Feedback in Real Time

Gathering real-time feedback make attendees feel valued and involved. Live surveys help you adapt to audience preferences in real-time, whether it is to do with adjusting pace, improving interaction, or adding more explanation.
For example, you’re hosting a virtual summit on AI & Cloud. During a session, you launch a live poll asking: “What’s your biggest challenge with AI adoption?” As responses come in, you address the top-voted concern in real-time, making the session more relevant and engaging

You may also ask a general question like “How engaging do you find this session so far?” If the feedback shows that the session is too long or not interactive enough, moderators can quickly add a live discussion.

8. Gamify the Experience

Gamification in events can never get old for the most obvious reason- it taps into human motivations like achievement, competition, and status. You must try and incorporate challenges, leaderboards, and rewards in your next virtual event and see for yourself how fun and competitive the environment gets. Here are some really cool ideas for gamification in virtual events:

• Digital Passport Challenge – Give attendees virtual stamps for engaging in sessions, networking, and visiting booths.
• Mystery Guest Challenge – Make participants solve clues to identify a hidden VIP guest, with prizes for the first correct answer.
• Virtual Escape Room with Industry Puzzles – Here teams solve industry-related challenges in a timed escape room format to win.
• Gamified Q&A and Polling Battles – Attendees earn points for engaging in live polls, Q&As, and discussions, competing on a leaderboard.
• AI-Powered Digital Twin Competitions – Here each attendee gets a digital twin—an AI- avatar that evolves based on their level of participation. The more they interact, the more their digital twin levels up or gains rewards.

Some tools that can enhance gamification in virtual events are Kahoot, Scavify, Slido, Bizzabo, and Virbela.

9. Have a Strategic Start, Middle, and End

Your virtual event should follow a strategic flow to maximize engagement from start to finish.

In the beginning, you must use interesting visuals, interactive icebreakers, and clear event roadmaps to capture attention.

The middle phase is when maximum dropouts happen, and this is where your virtual event engagement strategies will come to play like live polls, interactive Q&A sessions, gamification elements, AI-driven networking, and surprise giveaways.

To ensure lasting impact, the event should conclude with a strong closing, where you recap key takeaways, offer exclusive post-event content, and provide clear next steps for continued engagement.

10.  Keep Sessions Short and Impactful

While we are discussing some latest audience retention strategies for virtual conferences, you must always remember the basics! Keep your event content short and relevant. That may sound obvious, but it’s tempting to pack a virtual event with as much information as possible. And that can overwhelm attendees.

Average attention span in virtual settings is 8.25 seconds only.⁽¹⁾ So, try to avoid lengthy, information-heavy presentations.  Break content into bite-sized segments and have interesting visuals. Structure sessions as TED-style talks, interactive panel discussions, or rapid-fire discussions that deliver key insights quickly.

Make sure you allow time for Q&A or audience interaction to maintain engagement.

Measuring Engagement Success

As we said in the beginning, the success of your event is directly proportional to the audience engagement. Just as you can’t afford to overlook these virtual event engagement strategies, you also can’t ignore the key engagement metrics. Here are some points you must review:

• Track the number of attendees, peak participation times, and drop-off rates.
• Measure engagement through live polls, Q&A submissions, and chat activity.
• Analyze AI-powered matchmaking success and direct messages exchanged.
• Monitor leaderboard activity and reward redemptions.
• Assess how many attendees revisit recorded sessions and resources post-event.
• Track the online event-related content like event mentions, hashtag, and user-generated content.

Conclusion:

Virtual Event Marketing in 2025 is not just about delivering content—it’s about creating dynamic, interactive experiences that captivate attendees. If we had to sum up the tips to keep virtual event attendees active in three words, they would be technology, creativity, and personalization.

By continuously innovating and measuring engagement, you can ensure that virtual events remain a powerful tool for connection and growth.

If you are not considering virtual event as standalone and looking for hybrid event engagement tactics, read our blog on Maximizing The Impact Of Hybrid Events: Blending In-person and Virtual Experiences Effectively.

FAQs:

What are the best practices for keeping a virtual audience engaged?

To keep a virtual audience engaged, follow the below best practices:

• Use AI-powered personalization
• Integrate gamification
• Leverage AR/VR elements
• Keep sessions short and impactful
• Enable real-time interaction

How do you make a virtual event successful?

A successful virtual event requires the following elements:

• Have a clear agenda
• Choose the right platform
• Engage top industry speakers
• Offer networking opportunities

How do you increase engagement over zoom?

Zoom events can be highly engaging with the right strategies:

• Use breakout rooms
• Use live polls and Q&A tools
• Host interactive icebreakers
• Use chat & reactions actively

How to make a virtual conference interactive?

To make a virtual conference interactive:

• Start with an engaging opening
• Use AI-driven networking
• Introduce gamification
• Incorporate AR/VR experiences
• Encourage user-generated content