This time last year we were on the cusp of transitioning to working from home. Today, the novelty of virtual meetings has faded – as has engagement from attendees.

How can you enhance attendee engagement and make the virtual meeting a home run?

The answer is in the technology you’re already using. Tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoTo and others have built-in features to make virtual presentations more engaging – the key is to know how to use them.

It’s not likely the Zoom window is coming to a close any time soon. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 54% of working Americans want to continue to work from home even after the pandemic is over.

Even in a virtual environment, attorneys and law firm marketers can optimize client engagement and make these events even more effective.

Before the event:

• Grab a colleague to test out the buttons and settings you have been afraid to click during a live meeting
  • Polling, whiteboarding and annotating are easy ways to engage the audience and underscore key points of the presentation
• Review the RSVP list for top clients and prospects to make connections in advance and mine for questions. Your contacts will appreciate the outreach
  • Don’t forget to reach out to your weak ties too
• Plant questions with friendly faces or firm colleagues to kick off the discussion
  • No plant? No problem. Have a question ready to go that someone “just happened” to chat directly to the speaker
• Establish good virtual camera practices: purchase a ring light to ensure you are well-lit no matter the time of day; elevate your camera so it is eye level, and close pop-up prone apps that may ding at the worst possible time

During the event:

• Put the features to use and engage your audience with polling, breakout rooms and drawing directly on slides to emphasize key points

After the event:

• Review the chat and search for specific questions or topics
  • Wait. The host can pull the chat? Even direct messages? Yes!
  • Use this information to your advantage as a host by following up with individuals who may have business needs related to their questions. If you’re not the host, be mindful of what you chat
• Send an actionable mass thank-you message including presentation materials, options to sign up for topic-appropriate mailing lists and save-the-dates for future events
• Send individual personal notes to clients and prospects who attended the event as an extra client touchpoint

Builden Partners collaborated with ACC Chicago in a virtual presentation to discuss these and other techniques attorneys can use to best engage an audience during virtual CLEs, and how to maintain positive engagement going forward.

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