Your events are much more than merely a vehicle to drive business growth. They are about creating great content and bringing people together, to deliver memorable and engaging experiences that keep attendees coming back for more. But with so many events competing against one another, combined with the challenge of enticing potential attendees to make the decision give up their work time/free time, how do you level up your attendee engagement and create meaningful interactions before, during, and after the event?
Rapid technological advancements and widespread adoption of smartphones have made mobile event apps a mainstream event tech tool to drive attendee engagement. From pre-event conversations and networking opportunities to timely push notifications, mobile event apps have radically changed the way events are organised today. Here are some of the ways you can boost attendee engagement through a mobile app at your next event:
Make it more dynamic with an activity feed
Your audience needs to stay constantly engaged with your event. If you are developing a mobile event app, make sure to include a live activity stream that highlights various activities and allows users to post interesting content. This will encourage them to socialise more, as well as opening up new networking opportunities. Having a dedicated resource from your event organising team to post updates and engage with attendees is an easy way to ensure your event is abuzz with activity.
Offer customised agenda builder
Everyone loves being pampered and the same is true for your event attendees. An event schedule usually has numerous sessions and it becomes tough keeping track of what attendees want to attend and what they don’t. By offering personalised agenda builders in the mobile event app, you can enable attendees to keep track of their plans by customising their sessions and preferences according to the schedule.
Enable social sharing
When considering social sharing within mobile event apps, there is a tendency to assume this refers only to encouraging attendees to share photos and videos using event-specific hashtags. Being able to do this without leaving the event app is certainly helpful to drive this behaviour. In addition, event organisers can start and steer conversations and respond to questions and comments that are posted. Social sharing is a good sign of attendee engagement.
Though posting exciting moments and updates from your events is of benefit to your organisation (via organic brand promotion) and creates a buzz around your events, the benefits to the event attendees are somewhat limited.
The bigger advantage for attendees comes in the form of integration with the social media accounts of speakers and attendees who have given consent to share their information with all those who have downloaded the app. This helps attendees build their network of professional people both inside and outside your event and adds deeper value to events you run.
Gamify with polls, quizzes and AR
The best way to get your attendees engaged with your event is to appeal to their competitive nature. Gamify your event with live polls, quizzes and maybe an augmented reality (AR) based game where the attendees are required to click different snaps at various locations of the event venue. Create a leader board, include several attractive prizes, and you will have attendees hooked 24×7 to the mobile app!
Provide interesting info nuggets with push notifications and reminders
Inactivity can make your attendees lose interest in your event pretty quickly, even if you have a dedicated mobile event app for it. To maximise attendee engagement, send regular push notifications that provide interesting nuggets of information, such as the latest industry news, a cool historical fact associated with the event, or an exciting announcement of a celebrity or industry speaker who will be doing the keynote.
A mobile app is the communication bridge that connects event organisers with their attendee base and attendees to other attendees. You need to understand your audience profile to create an app that engages them by addressing their needs and desires before, during, and after your events. And remember, engagement doesn’t start or end with your event – it keeps going long after the event is over!
