Hosting a corporate event is not as straightforward as you might think. It requires a lot of planning, coupled with hard-work and dedication, to host a grand show. In the recent past, the competition for corporate conferences has gotten fiercer than ever. This is because the sheer volume of corporate events has seen a serious surge. Be it startups or well-established household brands, both hold seminars and conferences to take their products and services to their prospective customers. In this article, we explore how an event app can drive engagement at your next event.
So, if you are planning a corporate conference or event, it is a given that you have to go that extra mile, leaving no stone unturned to make your event a tremendous success. Here are some of the things you have to focus on when planning a corporate conference or event –
- Formulate your goals and objectives
- Decide a rough budget for the event
- Select a format and theme
- Pick a location, a venue and the vendors
- Decide on a date for the event
- Find an experienced host
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 now time to think about genuine attendee engagement, and why not? Because this is the reason you are spending the big bucks; there is no point in speaking in front of a countable crowd as you won’t be able to gain anything.
Promoting a corporate event is an uphill task
Well, there is nothing more valuable when building brand authenticity than being in the same room with the people you want to connect with, but it only happens if your marketing strategies are up to the mark. While organising a corporate conference means hard and smart work, one of the biggest challenges when pulling off a grand event is its promotion. You need a promotion strategy that builds trust and credibility among your target audience, influencing them to be a part of the ceremony. Just look at this number, a year ago PepsiCo hosted an event at Super Bowl and it was revealed that to make their show a global hit, they invested 40% of their event budget on digital marketing strategies. So, it is clear that promoting your corporate event is indispensable in your road to business and brand glory in today’s cut-throat competitive era.
How event apps can help in increasing attendee engagement
Over the last couple of decades, the world of technology has evolved significantly and now we have smartphones, the father of all gadgets, to perform an array of tasks. These include shopping online with just a few taps, playing games, watching our favourite web series and the list is endless. Today, there are dedicated Android & iOS apps that bring great conveniences to our lives. Not only on the personal front, but smartphone apps are also aiding both small and large businesses to push their brands forward. And event engagement applications are no different – they help drive greater attendee engagement at corporate events.
Before we go any deeper, it is imperative to know what an event app is. 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. An event app’s primary objective is to provide all the necessary information concerning the event, making it readily accessible for your target audience.
Drive Engagement for better ROI
A capable event app has many result-driven features that can transform your public meet into a mega big-brand event. A dedicated event app boosts interactivity among your potential attendees and provides various functionalities for effective attendee engagement.
Now, coming to the million dollar question – how can an event app drive attendee engagement? To solve the dilemma of whether to invest in an event application or not, here is a list of 16 ways an event application can be a game changer. So, scroll down to take a look at the highlighted key points –
Highly Targeted Marketing With Event App
Your marketing will definitely be more precise if you are targeting people those are already interested in your event. When you have a powerful attendee engagement application, you can completely tailor it to suit your bespoke needs and requirements. You can easily create and customise guest lists based on the interest levels of the participants and have great attendee engagement.
Push Notifications At Will
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 from providers like AIDAIO, 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 a dedicated channel for engaging with attendees at your event. Those who are interested can sign up for your company’s mega show. The app can be productively used to promote your event to your specified audience. By investing in an attendee engagement event app, you can conveniently connect with people who are part of the event. This establishes efficient communication; saving time and money.
Establish An Attendee Network
An event app provides an organiser 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, so if you are hosting regular events, then it can further boost your engagement. Attendees can post on the activity wall, chat with each other, participate and compete in contests and take advantage of the matchmaking functions of the event app.
Easy Event App Customisation
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 the AIDAIO 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 you are launching a product or holding a seminar, there is often a scenario when you have to make last-minute changes. Sometimes the timing of the event has to be changed or a speaker needs to be switched, so you need to keep the participants of the event informed “on-the-go.” With instant updates by the dedicated 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 let attendees save their favourite sessions to a personalised agenda, thus boosting interactivity. An event App will ensure the participants are up to date with the show and its various activities. Advanced event apps can also send attendees personalised reminders before their favourite sessions are about to start.
Social Media Promotion
A majority of the event apps come with social media functionality. This means that the content in the event app can be posted to popular social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, therefore your business has a powerful marketing opportunity.
Get 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 scheduling every minute detail of the show, spanning from the speakers, the location, sponsors and so on. With just one glance you will be able to find the information you want easily, avoiding any sort of confusion.
Managing 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.
Obtain 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 has attended the event, they can go back to the event app to rate their experiences. The feedback you get can be analysed for creating a more tailored event the 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.
Lead Generation
Some event apps come with built in features to facilitate business lead generation. For example, the AIDAIO 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!
Monetising The Event
There are certain attendee engagement event apps that allow you to better monetise your event and get sponsors. You can easily add sponsor ads and banners, sponsor splash screens and other sponsor specific sections to the application in a seamless manner. This showcases your sponsors to their potential customers and facilitates conversation and engagement between the two.
Event Analytics & Reporting To Monitor Engagement
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 Sum Up
From the above-mentioned points, it is a no-brainer to conclude that investing in an event app to promote your product launch is a great idea. So, don’t think or rethink any further. Just reach out to AIDAIO, a company that has the trust and admiration of the event industry. They provide tailored solutions to make your show rewarding in terms of attendee engagement and profits.
