Hosting a hybrid event can get overwhelming, considering it’s a new format. It requires a lot of planning, coupled with hard-work and dedication, to host a grand show similar to an in-person event. To add to it, integrating a remote audience could need some hand-holding for the uninitiated. But in the post-COVID world, hybrid events have already proved their value with numerous event organisers worldwide. The hybrid event format is here to stay and a surge of events are in-line.
Be it enterprises, associations, startups, small business or well-established household brands – everyone is gearing up to embrace this new format and take advantage of increased reach. In this article, we explore 19 ways an event app can help ease out operations, engagement and impact at your hybrid event.
Before we go any deeper, here is a brief word about event apps, and their use in hybrid events.
What is an Event App?
Over the last couple of decades, the world of technology has evolved significantly. Smartphones are at the core of this tech upgrade – the father of all gadgets, to perform an array of tasks. In a few taps you can shop online, play games, watch movies, pay bills, catch up on news and even get fit these days. Today, there are dedicated Android & iOS apps that bring great conveniences to our lives. Not only on the personal front, but smartphone apps are aiding small and large businesses to promote their brands. Event engagement apps are no different – they help drive greater attendee engagement and build your event brand.
An event app is a powerful channel to drive attendee engagement at your public conference or event. These event apps come with a host of functionalities, spanning from marketing the event to letting your attendees access your conference on the move. Modern event apps are power-packed with a broad spectrum of valuable features for assuring attendee convenience and improved attendee engagement. One of the event app’s primary objective pre-event is to provide all the necessary information concerning the event, making it readily accessible for your target audience.
Here are a few pointers to help you focus on certain objectives, when planning your event:
- Formulate your goals and objectives
- Decide a budget with buffer for the event
- Select a theme and branding
- Pick a physical location & venue if there is an in-person event
- Pick a robust virtual event platform that allows you integrate your brand
- Decide on the date for the event. Cross-check for conflicts with holidays
That’s quite a bit already! Once you have devoted a great deal of time and effort in organising every detail of the programme, it is time to think about audience generation and attendee engagement. This is where event apps can play a huge role.
Promote your Event
Sounds strange, right? How can a mobile app help promote an event? There is nothing more valuable than brand authenticity and showcase. In today’s world there are very few brands left who don’t have a mobile app. Millennials download and ask for mobile apps – it has become the new must-have similar to websites 10 years back. Your event is your brand, so think like a modern business – promote your event using the mobile app besides other digital marketing strategies. Mobile apps will build credibility to your event promotion. Build trust with your target audience with information and engagement on the move.
Sell Event Tickets
Everyone is on the move today and spend the majority of their time on their mobile device. It is a channel that you should not ignore to sell tickets. With easy-to-use payment apps it helps your attendees make purchases seamlessly. Event apps powered by our platform ensure secure OTP authentication to make sure that your audience feels secure.
Targeted Marketing
Your marketing will definitely be more precise and rich with event apps. Potential attendees who download the app indirectly express interest in your event. With easy to use attendee engagement mobile apps you can completely tailor it to suit your bespoke needs and requirements. During onboarding your attendees on the app you can easily create and customise guest lists based on the interest levels of the participants.
Drive Pre-event Engagement
A capable event app should have many engagement features that transform your public meet into a highly engaged event. With an event app your engagement can start much before event day. Using push notifications and our engagement features attendees can start interacting digitally much before event day.
Push Notifications
This is the most powerful feature of the event app. Gone are the days where you needed to send an email for every change in the event schedule. Send out quick updates to engage your potential attendees via push notifications through your event app. With advanced deep linking within event apps in our platform, you can even link polls, contests, surveys and more in a push notification. Driving engagement up is as easy as a tap on the screen.
Effective Communication
An event app lets you develop dedicated channels to engage attendees at your hybrid event. Those who are interested can sign up for different sessions on the agenda. This helps automate niche content and notification to help promote specific sessions. By investing in an attendee engagement event app, you can conveniently connect all event stakeholders – exhibitors, sponsors, attendees. This establishes efficient communication; saves time and money.
Establish An Attendee Network
An event app provides you with the ability to create an attendee network, where your participants can connect with one another and share their thoughts. The attendee engagement application will help you establish a community. Attendees can post on the event wall, chat with each other, participate and compete in contests and take advantage of the matchmaking functions of the event app.
Custom Branded Event App
With a dedicated event app, you can have as many modules as you want to have, in line with the needs of the event and the kind of show you are hosting, such as celebrity events, rock events, etc. The event app will provide the organiser of the event with a wealth of features that make the customisation of the event easy, helping them engage their attendees with a razor sharp focus. With our drag and drop event app builder, customisation of the app on the fly is a breeze and changes reflect in the attendee’s event app instantaneously.
Instant Content Updates
Whether your event is a product launch or a multi-track conference or internal corporate event, last minute changes are inevitable. Sometimes its event schedule or a speaker switch, so you need to keep the participants of the event informed “on-the-go.” With instant updates on the branded event app, you don’t have any difficulties connecting with your audience. With the event app, content can be updated instantaneously and without the attendees having to update their apps.
Multi-track & Personalised Agenda
Event apps allow attendees to save their favourite sessions to create their own personalised agenda. This helps attendees be focused on their interests with personalized reminders before their session starts. Any changes to the agenda is updated in a snap on the event app. Using notifications it becomes easy to inform too.
Social Media Integration
A majority of the event apps come with social media integration. This allows user generated content in the event app to be posted to popular social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It results in further promoting your hybrid event brand.
More Organised
With an attendee engagement app, you can get more organised; it acts as a single platform that lets you store vital information about the event. This involves agenda information, speaker onboarding, venue details, sponsors & exhibitors. With just one glance you and your attendees can find the information easily, avoiding any sort of confusion.
Manage Multiple Events
When you are handling a number of events over a period of time, an event app is worth the investment. With just one click, you could find the list of participants and track message threads easily. An event app will give you the power to keep a tab on each and every event with just a few clicks. After the event has concluded, you can post event activities for greater customer engagement, especially for your upcoming shows.
Better Feedback
Feedback is integral to improving event experiences. But more often than not, the reviews and ratings go into the trash bin. Therefore, an event manager is required to find a way to collect and manage data in a systematic manner. Event apps are the answer. Once the participant attends the event, they can go back to the event app to rate their experiences. The feedback you get should be analyzed for a better event edition next time
Live Polling
This feature gives attendees the power to have their say in the event through live polling. Publish targeted polls to gauge the sentiment of the attendees at the push of a button. Advanced event app builders even let you project the responses on a screen or stage.
Event App Gamification
What better way to drive engagement than a leaderboard of top contributors at your event? Grant points and badges to attendees that post on the wall, participate in polls and surveys, play treasure hunts and visit exhibitors. It’s all possible with event apps. A few good prizes for top contributors will go a long way to boost engagement at your event.
Exhibitor Lead Generation
Some event apps come with built-in features to facilitate business lead generation. Our event app builder has a built-in personal QR code for each attendee and exhibitor. A simple scan of a potential lead’s QR code via the app adds them to your contacts and the system sends you the entire list you have collected at the tap of a button. No more lost business cards!
Monetize Your Event
WIth a new channel in mobile you can increase your event revenue by providing spaces within the mobile app for sponsorship. Our platform allows sponsor ads, sponsor banners, sponsor splash screens and most importantly sponsored notifications. This showcases your sponsors to their potential customers and facilitates conversation and engagement between the two.
Event Analytics & Reports
You can do so much with an event app to study how your customers have engaged with the app. This includes analysing the virtual poll results, the likes, speaker ratings and much more! This will help you create more impactful and engaging content for your next event.
To summarize, it is an inarguable fact that an event app is an essential part of your hybrid event strategy. So, don’t think, or rethink its use any further!