1. Relevant information at a glance
Whether a person participates in an event or not, is usually determined by the quality of the online presence. Therefore, all important event information should be available at a glance on the homepage. In doing so, special attention should be paid to the appropriate visual presentation and a flood of information should be avoided.
We therefore recommend the use of a pre-event page, which is most of the time independently of the organizer’s homepage. This pre-event page gives information about the agenda, speakers, location, download possibilities of the event app as well as the registration for the event.
2. Ask for all important details directly at the registration
If you want to keep track of the participants and collect necessary information such as diet or hotel bookings without writing an e-mail to each individual guest, the use of a registration tool is practical.
By using an event registration, you know exactly who is attending the event and who has cancelled in advance. By creating questionnaires, you can inquire about hotel rooms and flights or if the participant plans to attend the evening event. With this you are always up to date and can calculate everything ad hoc, so that the participant doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore.
3. Digitalize the check-in process
Long waiting times due to printed participant lists are a thing of the past. Since the first impression of an event is already created during check-in, the digital solution eliminates the complicated procedure at the entrance. By using a check-in app, your staff is flexible. Hardware and scanners are no longer required to ensure a smooth process. The participant himself only needs his digital or printed QR code to check in. This makes your event more sustainable and provides more comfort for your staff and participants.
4. Use an event app only if you actively promote it
By using an event app, you can increase the interaction of the participants, e.g. through live voting, live Q&A or a quiz. Information such as the agenda, speaker profiles, exhibitor lists and floor plans are available at any time through an app and changes can be implemented in a matter of seconds.
Use a newsletter or an invitation mail to indicate, that there is a special app for the event and where it can be found. Increase the number of downloads with meaningful screenshots. Enlighten your guests about the advantages of the app and how to get started without any problems. An active communication, which already starts before the event, can then be continued successfully via the event app.
5. Keep your participants up to date
Sending push messages before the event, is an essential feature to advertise the content of the app. Even during the event, your participants will always be up to date thanks to push messages. They will receive information about the next presentation or the link to the live survey promptly, without searching the app for a long time. Changes to the presentation or transfer times can also be passed on to all app users quickly and without any loss of information. After the event, the messages can be used as thank you notes or as an indication of new documents and images available in the app. Therefore, make active use of the possibilities and advantages offered by the push messages in your event app.
6. Increase participant interaction
Use interactions to bring your app to life. Show the participants, that using the app offers much more than just a program booklet! Through the in-app chat with other participants, the push of polls, votes or possible uses of the Wall of Ideas (Selfie-Wall, Questions Feed or similar) you increase the interaction between the participants. Actively use push messages and news to remind all attendees to get their smartphone out of their pocket. Or motivate participants for a complex topic through gamification combined with a raffle.
7. Use networking tools
Especially at larger, non-company-internal events, it is difficult for visitors to network with each other. The Matchmaking Tool of the event app is an ideal help to establish new business contacts. A matchmaking list is created by selecting tags that were previously defined in the CMS. In this list, only the relevant persons based on tags are displayed. This means that the participant knows exactly who he should network with at the event.
8. Familiarize participants and speakers with the app
Especially by using a live voting it’s important that the speakers and participants feel comfortable using the application. As the organizer, play through the live voting with the speakers in a rehearsal round and explain to them, where the survey can be found and how the results are presented. If the speaker feels confident in using the app, they can motivate the attendees to participate in the interaction and explain the necessary steps to them. Unpleasant intermissions in discussions between the speakers and uncertainties in operation can thus be avoided.
9. Ensure a stable internet connection
As the participants become more and more digital and write e-mails, receive WhatsApp messages, check their social media accounts and surf the internet on their smartphone, next to an event app, it is important to ensure a stable internet connection for a large number of participants. If the event is also attended by international guests, they cannot access the LTE of their smartphone, but are dependent on a Wifi. Therefore, communicate the access data already at the entrance and clarify the required Wifi speed with the technical team in advance.
10. Set up a helpdesk
A Helpdesk can be a contact point for all questions regarding the event app. Trained staff will help with setting a password, operation and download of the app or similar problems. If you are more broadly based, other employees can help with questions about shuttle times or change of reservation.
11. Everything from a single source
If you use various technical tools such as an event app, a registration tool and a check-in program, it makes sense to book all products from a single provider. On the one hand, the effort for you is reduced, since different products from one provider often have a common administration area, so that you only have to enter the content once. On the other hand, the use of one provider guarantees a smooth use of the product interfaces, so that no data is lost.