Similar to conventional conferences, virtual events can also be highly engaging when you have the right tools. So, with most of the in-person events still on hold, many businesses have this renewed focus on digital alternatives. They acknowledge that online activities and events can be as good, or even better, than the real thing. 

It’s a no-brainer that building a good sense of customer engagement is one of the key elements to a successful event. That’s why according to Markletic, 81.8% of virtual event organizers use event polling to improve interaction. 68% of B2B companies hire external moderators for their virtual round table discussions. And, 61% of marketers use videos as an interactive element to keep people engaged. It is so important to maintain this positive interaction because it can contribute to an improved customer relationship, brand value, and later on, revenue.

With the help of a live group chat, online events are transforming the way communities interact. Here are 5 reasons why virtual events are more successful with a live chat on them.

It’s scalable and flexible with multiple virtual booths

Unlike physical venues, your online event is much more lenient when it comes to the number of people allowed in. Virtual events make it easier to scale. So, you can host more participants to expand your reach in a way that physical events can’t.

Aside from the free plan, RumbleTalk offers a flexible package that you can tailor to fit your need. You can customize your plan based on the number of participants, the number of rooms, and the number of administrators.

Instead of a physical booth, you can send your customers to a virtual booth where you can accommodate them in a safer way. RumbleTalk allows you to create hundreds of virtual events chat rooms that will serve as your virtual booth or your private meeting room. This is where exhibitors can accommodate inquiries, send photos of a product, send videos for demonstrations, collect payments, and more. 

It has more engagement tools to create an interactive experience

Did you know that people are 30% more likely to speak to another person in a virtual setting? This is because the online environment removes the intimidating barrier of face-to-face interaction. We have been comfortable with a little sense of anonymity. 

RumbleTalk group chat offers a multitude of opportunities to engage and connect with your potential clients. So, here are some of the engagement tools you can use during your virtual events:

• Polls – Let your audience weigh in on the topic by getting their opinion through live polls
• Question and Answer – Collect valuable insights through a Q&A session
• Multimedia Sharing – Share files, images, videos, or links to the group chat
• Copy and Paste Images in the chat – Instead of saving an image on your device before uploading it on a group chat. You can just copy an image from anywhere, and paste it on your chat.
• Export Transcript – Download your chat history for future reference
• Send text messages, audio, and video messages
• Take video and audio calls

It’s convenient, anyone can join with just one click

Virtual events remove geographical barriers, meaning, there’s no traveling involved. Anyone can join at the comfort of their homes, without limiting the opportunity to connect with suppliers, colleagues, and prospects from around the globe. 

With RumbleTalk, you can make it even simpler for everyone to enter your group chat through a QR code. All they need to do is scan the QR code with their smartphone, then they will be redirected to your online event. No need to install anything. As a result, this will significantly increase your attendee count, leading to more visitors and more opportunities to market your business.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to generate your chat QR code:

RumbleTalk group chat for virtual events

What’s great about online events is that they are customizable and can be tailored to your business needs. So, it’s best to invest in the right online communication and engagement tool that aligns with your goals. 

May it be for a virtual job fair, a trade show, a business conference, or a community event, RumbleTalk has thoughtfully designed a group chat plugin to make your next virtual event more fun and interactive. 

Create your free chat or customize your own plan HERE.

If you’re already a long-time user of RumbleTalk, you would know that we have a WordPress chat plugin. The RumbleTalk WordPress chat plugin is constantly improving its user interface. Therefore, here are some WordPress tips that might be useful for you.

One of the features available is the display name feature. This gives a personalized user experience as you can change what name will show in the group chat. Here’s an overview of the feature and a guide on how it can be used.

WordPress Tips: What is the display name feature?

The display name feature is a simple way to control what usernames will appear in the user list. Since the names are taken from the WordPress database, you will need to enable the members chat option on WordPress. Here are the following options and combinations you can try:

• Display Name
• Username
• First Name
• Last Name
• Nickname/Alias
• Last Name + First Name
• First Name + Last Name
• Display Name + Bio
• Username + Bio
• Nickname + Bio
• First Name + Bio
• Last Name + Bio

You will see all of these in your WordPress profile. To see your WordPress profile, click your username in the upper right corner.

In there, you will see the different settings that you can change, from color themes and the names aforementioned.

Just scroll down and you will see the Name category.

In there, you will see the following: Username, First Name, Last Name, and Nickname. You can also choose which of the following names show publicly in WordPress.

When you scroll a bit more, you will see the About Yourself category. In there, you will see the Biographical Info section. This is what Bio stands for in the combinations.

A user must have a biography typed in for it to work in the RumbleTalk chat plugin. If not, only the name will show up even if Bio is included in the options.

Here’s an example of how the Display Name + Bio combination would look like in the chat if we used the sample above.

How does it work?

After installing the RumbleTalk chat plugin, next to the Members field, you will see an arrow. This is a dropdown where you can choose the option you like or ignore if you want to use the default name.

What are the steps you need to do to set up the feature?

Just like other plugins, having a lot of features is not enough. You need to know how to set it up, use it for your convenience, and integrate it into your membership site. So, let’s see what you need to do to take full advantage of the feature:

1. When you click on the Members checkbox, this activates a code in your WordPress site where it will integrate your userbase with the RumbleTalk chat plugin. 
2. After checking it, any user that’s logged in to WordPress will be automatically logged in to the RumbleTalk chat room.
3. Change the desired display name next to the Members checkbox.

The feature presents maximum flexibility to let chat owners decide what names will appear. This depends on what you use your chat room for. For example, if this is for a job fair, the First Name + Last Name combination would be appropriate. If used for community chats, then regular usernames or nicknames would work. It’s up to the chat owner what he deems appropriate for the scenario.

NOTE: If you don’t want to use the RumbleTalk chat plugin, you can also manually integrate your site userbase to the standalone RumbleTalk chat.

WordPress tips you can use in the future

If you’re using the RumbleTalk chat plugin, then you might want to go to the knowledge base or blog and check other WordPress tips.

• How To Use RumbleTalk WordPress Chat Plugin
• Set a Members Only Chat with WordPress RumbleTalk plugin
• How to Create a Chat Moderator using your WordPress RumbleTalk Chat plugin
• How to set your WordPress Users to Auto Login with RumbleTalk Chat

Engagement is key to making a live stream successful. A live stream group chat can provide you with the necessary medium to connect with your audience.

Live streams are what’s trending in today’s digital world. When you start a live stream, the audience will be flocking in. This is why you should create a live stream chat next to your chosen live stream platform to interact with your audience.

Why do we need to engage with the audience?

It’s simple. Without the audience, your live stream will be not impactful. When you create a conversation with the participants, you give them a reason to stay. When they stay, there is a higher chance that they will invite other people to the live stream.

Another thing is that some stay for the live stream chat. They love interacting with other people who have the same interests. So, seeing a live chat can pique their interest.

Prepare for questions beforehand

Questions are always included in live streams. The moderated chat allows you to host a Q&A session through the live stream chat. The audience can ask you about the product, next topics, follow-up, or more. This goes the same for you. If you want to ask the audience a question, they can send in their answers in the live stream chat.

However, sometimes there are too many people in the chat. You could overlook questions and not be able to answer them. In this scenario, you should bring backup. Backup means appointing administrators to become moderators.

With the help of the moderated chat, moderators can choose which messages will be approved or not. Therefore, only relevant questions and answers will be seen in the chat room.

This makes it easier to keep with the conversation. At the start of the virtual event, don’t forget to introduce them. They will be the contact persons of the participants and they can alert the moderators if something happens.

As they are going to man the conversation, you should also keep a side chat open to communicate with them if anything happens.

To create a moderated chat, follow these simple steps.

1. On your admin panel, click Settings > General & Logins.
2. Under Chat Type, select Moderated chat.
3. After choosing your chat type, when you login as an admin in the chat room, you will see that messages will have check and cross boxes.

Now, moderators can easily check the chat for spam, irrelevant questions, and trolls. It will be a hassle-free chatting experience for everyone.

Engage with the audience through the live stream group chat

Don’t forget to talk to your audience when hosting the live stream. It’s what they came for. When you forget the most important thing, it defeats the purpose of having a live stream chat.

Users like to feel valued. To talk to your audience, mention them in the chat room. You can use the Mentions feature to capture their attention.

Use the media and file sharing feature to share interesting videos and images that are still on topic. It’s a great way to disperse relevant information without having to leave the chat room.

Lastly, to make your audience feel welcome, add a welcome message. A welcome message pops up when the participant first enters the chat room. You can type up to 1024 characters, so get creative!

This little extra work can make a huge impact on your audience. Once you follow these tips, you’ll see an improvement in both brand loyalty and audience participation, which are the keys to a successful live stream.

Create more moments like this when you add a live stream group chat via RumbleTalk. It only takes a few minutes to set up.