What Attendees Are Looking for in an Event App
Events play an important role in any marketing effort and a successful event means higher ROI and an increase in attendee engagement. In order for events to be successful, the right strategies and support need to be in place, whether it’s new event tech, Event Automation, or a great venue. But what’s an event’s best friend? An Event App.
However, only 30% of event professionals are using an event app today. That means that 70% of events are lacking a very crucial tool for success, hindering any attempts to optimize the attendee event experience.
Optimizing the attendee experience means understanding what attendees are looking for at an event. With an event app, you can provide attendees with a one-stop shop for all their needs. Event attendees want a space to communicate with their peers, access to maps and event information, and even suggestions for local restaurants or bars within the area.
Event apps not only help event planners, marketers, and demand generation experts, they also increase overall event engagement. With the ability to collect lead information and streamline check-in processes, event apps should be on the top of your event necessity list. If you’re wanting to implement an app for mobile and wondering what attendees want in an event app, keep on reading.
According to Event Manager Blog, “What is so interesting and compelling about event mobile apps is that they address multiple event objectives (and pain points) simultaneously”
Networking
One of the biggest reasons an attendee goes to an event is to network. Increasing the number of people you know and connections you have to different companies and industries is a major concern for many people. Having the right connections can help companies sell, market, sponsor, and make money. Your mobile event app needs to be at the core of attendee networking capabilities so, make it a priority.
With an event app, every attendee is able to communicate with one another. Through private messages, chat rooms, and “walls,” there is never a dull moment during your event and that is exactly what you want. An event that enables all attendees to communicate and help foster new relationships is an event that people will want to go to year after year.
Information
How will you spread the word about your event? How will attendees gain access to maps, session and keynote information, and a calendar? These are questions that need to be addressed because these are questions at the forefront of attendees’ minds.
Instead of printing out hundreds of maps, information pamphlets, and session information pages, use an event app. Every app comes equipped with information features allowing event planners the ability to place any relevant event information into one location that is easily shared with attendees. This way, attendees don’t have to worry about losing informational papers like their map, agendas, booth locations, time and length of sessions and keynotes, etc. and you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on printing.
The information provided to your attendees can range from meeting descriptions, speaker bios, session and keynote times, places to grab dinner or drinks, and even a list of parties that will be thrown during your event.
Notifications and Updates
Keep your attendees up-to-date and send out direct invites to your most engaged prospects with notification and update features. You can send out invites for client dinners, product demos, or session recommendations based on prospect behavior throughout the event. Event Automation and event apps integrated together can improve the user and attendee experience by making it easy to create schedules, get updates, and access event appointment information and reminders.
Notifications don’t stop there. By syncing your event app with your marketing and Event Automation systems, you can provide your attendees with a highly personalized event agenda right on their smartphones.
One final thing, attendees also desire the ability to set their own alerts and notifications. For example, with an event app, your attendees can set alerts to remind them of upcoming sessions or keynotes that they have decided are interesting.
Easy Log-in and User Privacy
The most frustrating thing for attendees when dealing with an event app is difficult log-in. They have just arrived at the event venue and they download the app so they can have access to all the information and be a part of the networking that is happening. They get to the sign-up now and they have to enter in many form fields and provide countless points of personal information.
Don’t do that.
When picking your event app, make sure that you have an easy log-in process for your attendees. Attendees are at your event to network and learn about new technologies or strategies, don’t make them waste valuable time creating an account and logging in.
Attendees want to be able to log into their event app easily with no issues. An app that is easy to sign-up and login is one that will stay. According to EventForce, “When your attendees find it difficult to access or sign up to your app, then they won’t use it. Having a smooth, hassle-free login process is key to success.”
User privacy is another big factor that attendees are concerned about with an event app. You want to make sure you have your attendees’ personal privacy at the top of your list of app criteria.
Event Manager Blog also says, “Corporate event professionals are now truly entering the market with their whole portfolios…When they approach apps, they are concerned with privacy and data protection.”
Inclusion of Those Who Cannot Attend (FOMO)
FOMO. It is a real phenomenon. The fear of missing out is a feeling fed by our constant connectivity. If people can’t go to a big event that their peers are attending, they will feel left out.
Event apps solve that. Give people who can’t attend your event in person the chance to be a part of it. With chat rooms, image libraries, session agendas, etc. those who couldn’t make it to the event venue can still see what’s happening. Vanquish FOMO with an event app and make your event one that gets “attended” all over the world.
Top-Notch UX
A confused attendee is an unhappy attendee. An event app with a flawless in-app experience is a must. Don’t give your attendees an app that they have to spend hours training themselves to use. The UX of the app should be simple and straightforward.
With a simple and elegant in-app experience, attendees will be able to access all the information they need with ease, making your event a hit.
Engagement
What do attendees want? To network. How can you help attendees do that? By keeping them engaged. A successful event app is one that can keep attendees engaged through the entire event. “Give them a reason to keep your app open, to keep re-engaging with everything it has to offer.”
Keeping attendees engaged during your event can be hard, but utilizing the features of your chosen event app can really help keep engagement up. To keep engagement going throughout the event, you can create a Twitter Hashtag to create buzz around and during the event. You can also have live polls that arrive on attendees event app. For more ideas like these, click here.
Reliability
A reliable app is very important to attendees. If the app only works some of the time or doesn’t connect to the event network, it won’t be used. Make sure that the app you choose works with the venues connectivity. If not, find a new venue or a new app.
Knowing all this about event app, you can provide your attendees exactly what they want, a great event experience with the ability to network, navigate the event landscape, and be alerted to interesting events during the day, with ease. You can also give your attendees customizable agendas, maps, session and keynote information, photo library, booth locations, and much more.
With this knowledge, you can change an unsuccessful event into a successful one. Event apps create engagement and make it possible for you and your team to create and execute a flawless event that improves the customer experience right from the start.