In the first installment of “11 Practical Ideas for Your Mobile Strategy,” we asserted that your investment in a mobile event app would help fulfill two overriding objectives: an enhanced experience for all involved and an impressive return on investment for your organization, your sponsors and your exhibitors.
We pointed out that a survey of event administrators who’ve adopted mobile technology determined that attendee satisfaction is the number-one value event apps deliver, and that nine of ten of those surveyed attest to the fact that their mobile event app has produced a positive return on investment.
That’s a strong argument for a solid investment. But what we want to further emphasize is the value of the event app at every stage of your event—before, during and after. In that first installment, we stressed the importance of properly preparing prior to the event in order to fully maximize your app’s potential. We urged you to get to know your guests in advance, to strategy with your full team and to prepare to maximize that ROI potential.
We’d now like to offer four tools that are certain to assure an optimal experience throughout your gathering and to deliver a handsome return.
Picking up from where we left off…
#5: Personalization
It should go without saying that you want to offer your guests individual attention, and step one to doing so is offering them a personal schedule. This schedule should include an agenda of their pre-selected sessions and other events of interest. This can be tied to maps of the facility or seating charts, and it can be updated to incorporate last-minute changes.
Such personalized feedback can aid you in better preparing for your next event—and, not incidentally, help further justify your investment in the app.
One of the many personalization features of Certain Touchpoint is the designation of participant types, which allows you to provide your guests with information that’s specific to their particular needs and interests. You can, for example, tag them by their area of expertise.
This feature can also work in concert with live polling (more on polling below). In-app questions can be delivered to those best positioned to provide productive feedback on, for example, the state of the industry, or on the event itself. Such personalized feedback can aid you in better preparing for your next event—and, not incidentally, help further justify your investment in the app.
#6: Messaging
Messaging is another tool that event staff and attendees alike can get considerable use out of. In the aforementioned survey, nearly two-thirds of administrators said they use an event app to communicate with their guests throughout their events. Guests also really appreciate attendee-to-attendee messaging.
Messages can be scheduled in advance or sent in the moment—if, for example, a session has been moved to a larger room. And they can be sent with a push notification to indicate importance or time sensitivity.
A great place to start is with a welcome message, delivered when your guests download the app. Immediately engaging with guests is likely to encourage them to begin exploring what else the app has to offer.
Then at the conclusion of your event, wish them a fond farewell, and commence to getting them psyched for the next gathering, with a heads-up on the where, when and other pertinent information.
#7: Live Polling
Interactive live polling allows you to collect invaluable feedback as your event unfolds, and to respond accordingly. Through this interaction, you can gauge consensus or disparity of viewpoints, and diverge from the scripted agenda if appropriate.
Polls can be used to shape the content of an individual session, right up to and throughout that session. You might also consider asking a question before and after the event to determine if and how opinions have changed.
Such interactivity helps liven things up while maintaining a focus on the business at hand. And attendees feel more invested when they recognize that they’re helping shape the proceedings. It encourages a sense of community.
(Polling also allows your guests to address an immediate concern: “It’s cold in this room!”)
You can post your polling findings within the app and on monitors throughout your facility. Or, with certain questions, you may want to keep what you’ve learned close to the vest.
#8: Gamification
Gamification is a fabulous way to fully engage your guests—a means of offering some good-natured competition and positive reinforcement—and yet another app-availed avenue for gathering actionable insight on your guests.
Gamification rewards attendees for participating in the activities and exchanges that allow them to fully maximize their event experience. They earn digital badges for session check-ins, exhibitor booth visits, polling responses and more. Gamification is also a means of encouraging networking, offering rewards for adding information to your profile, posting photos or exchanging virtual business cards.
Badge games can be played as a team sport, with an in-app leaderboard. They’re an excellent means of flattening hierarchies, with everyone playing an equal role toward a shared objective.
In sum: Gamification is an ideal merging of productivity, pleasure and reinforcement.
Excellent. You’ve now taken your mobile event app to task, and it’s delivered. In the final installment, we’re going to complete the circle with some tips on post-event follow-up. Stay tuned for more…
Until then, click here for more information on our mobile app, Certain Touchpoint, or check out our guide on event app strategies and best practices – The Event Marketing Playbook: Mobile Strategy.