Mobile event apps are changing the way we experience live events. People are using smartphones and tablets day and night, at work and at home – and you can be sure they’re expecting to be able to use them at your event. But, as a planner, how do you choose the right mobile event app?
We’ve laid out the 7 features you should look for to create the most engaging, relevant and personalized mobile event app experience for your attendees. Event attendees don’t just want a mobile event app – they expect it. Innovative event mobile apps are making events more efficient, more engaging, and more trackable than ever before. The biggest danger of launching a sub-par mobile event app? It reflects poorly on the attendees’ overall event experience.
As much time as they spend on their smartphones, you can be sure they’ll rely heavily on your event’s mobile app – and you want their experience to be smooth and intuitive. Sorting through the choices to find the best option depends not only on your organization’s needs and objectives, but also on finding the right app for your event-goers. So we’ve created this guide to help you choose the right mobile event app.
Here’s a sneak peek at the guide’s 7 essential features in mobile event apps, and what to look for to get them:
1. Content Management System
In order for your attendees to navigate a fast-paced event, they need their content all in one place – and you need an easy way to upload, organize and update all of that content. A mobile event app should provide schedules, maps, exhibitor and sponsor profiles, speaker bios, session-related content, and more to attendees – all in the palms of their hands. Look for:
- Content features that can be segmented
- Personalized schedules
- A native calendar
- Interactive map
- The ability to sync across multiple devices
2. Increased Engagement
To make sure attendees get the most out of your event, you need to make them feel connected to your content and the people around them. Look to your mobile event app to foster this engagement, and prove attendee ROI. Look for:
- Push notifications
- Social media integrations
- Aggregated social feeds
- Social monitoring
- Gamification
- Attendee-to-attendee messaging
- Q&A
- Live polling
3. Exhibitor Engagement
Attendees aren’t the only audience you must consider when creating an event. Sponsors and exhibitors often power your event through booth or sponsorship opportunities, and they have their own goals and ROI measurements to hit. Use your event app to grow your ROI through mobile sponsorships with valuable engagement touchpoints. Look for:
- Beacons
- Lead collecting + qualifying
- Additional sponsorship revenues
- Location-based notifications
4. Usability, Stability and UX
Having awesome features is a nice-to-have, but having an mobile event app that’s intuitive and stable is a must-have – attendees will become disengaged and frustrated with a poor experience, and that will reflect on your entire event. Look for:
- Testing + QA
- Uptime levels
- A native app for Android + Apple iOS devices PLUS a HTML5 web app
- 24/7 support
5. Measure + Prove ROI
Nothing proves the ROI of a mobile event app like hard numbers. Your provider needs to offer the metrics to prove your apps’ worth to your event partners, sponsors, and your own leadership team. The backend of your app should have dashboard functionality to track the metrics most import to you, your sponsors, and your stakeholders. Look for:
- Sponsorship opportunities
- Metrics + reporting
6. Makes Your Life Easier
As wonderful as mobile event apps are for users, they should be equally as helpful to planners. If an app is merely there to give you another thing to update, then it’s not worth the investment. Your time is one of your most valuable assets, and it should be spent on creating an awesome experience. When looking for a provider, make sure to ask:
- How easy is it to make changes? How long do updates take to reach attendees?
- Can the same surveys be applied to multiple sessions without recreating?
- TEASER: See more questions to ask here.
7. An App That’s Secure + Support That’s Helpful
When entering into a new business partnership, it’s important to have the comfort of security and the assurance that your new partner will be there when you need them most. When looking for a provider, make sure to ask:
- What is support’s average response time?
- How often is data backed up?
- Is that data stored? Where?
- Who has access to my data?
The ultimate goal of mobile event apps is to utilize technology as a tool to engage your attendees onsite. Mobile is more than just an app for your next event – it’s the driving force behind increased personalization and care to your attendees, while gaining valuable intelligence to better design your next event.
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