5 Things to Consider When Shopping for an Event App

Editor's Notes

• #2: Megan: Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining our presentation, 5 Things to Consider When Shopping for an Event App Today’s presentation is part of our Educate to Elevate event, in celebration of the inaugural North American Meetings Industry Day. We are proud to offer this event alongside more than 60 others that are taking place today across the continent to help shine a light on the real impact meetings and events have on businesses, economies, and communities. We are even more proud to support the evolving competency and effectiveness of meetings industry professionals, who really are the ones making the impact on the front lines, ulimately driving business and economic growth. I know many of you are seeking continuing education hours towards your CMP designation, and we will address that at the conclusion of the session so please stick around for the closing remarks. Today, I am joined by… Introduce Marisa, Channel Account Manager Introduce Katie, Customer Success Team Manager Highlight the American Express + DoubleDutch partnership
• #3: Before we jump into today’s presentation, let’s take a step back… Think of live events 10 years ago: after checking into registration, you would be handed a large paper guide with all event-critical information including: session details, speaker bios, floor plans, exhibitor information and more. Of course, the only way to keep track of what was happening at the event was to carry the printed guide along with your notepad, business cards, and other event essentials while navigating the conference room floor.   Organizers were able to track what happened at the registration table (who attended and who did not), but had little insight into what happened after an attendee walked through the doors of the conference center. Of course, innovations like lead retrieval, audience response systems, and session attendance tracking devices helped shed some light here, but these disparate systems left many questions unanswered.
• #4: Megan: Flash forward to events of today. More and more we’re hearing about the Internet of Things, and it’s infiltrating the event space in a big way. We’re able to communicate with attendees through beacons and BlueTooth to send push notifications to their phones based on time and proximity; apps like Meerkat and Periscope enable can turn any smartphone into a livestreaming services; and of course wearable technology like the Apple Watch and Google Glass are making a huge splash on the consumer world. So, how do organizers take advantage of all this? OLD- Think of your own experiences at events. It’s likely that you’re downloading mobile apps to enhance your experience in some way or another. Social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook enable us to connect and share with people we would not have otherwise met. Event apps give us access to event information, and help us build our schedules or set up meetings with the right people. Other apps help us keep track of all these connections by scanning business cards or badges for better, post-event follow ups.
• #5: Megan It starts with the power of mobile. Today, organizers can leverage mobile applications to deliver event critical information (like session details, exhibitor maps, and so much more) at the speed of the internet. These smart devices are quickly becoming an extension of who we are. Naturally, this has both positive and negative implications. The digital era is one where marketers can track virtually any online action, enabling them to track and measure activity taking place on the show floor. But, it’s also having an impact on our attention spans and patience. We can get answers to the most mundane questions within seconds by doing a quick Google search on our phones.   Because of this shift in our mentality, meeting professionals must be able to give attendees the same experience at their own events. Event apps give attendees easy access to upcoming session details, speaker bios and more to meet the need for immediate information.
• #6: Megan: Last year MPI partnered with DoubleDutch to explore how organizers are taking to this mobile mindshift and found that about 63% of meeting planners are currently using mobile applications at their events. This rate is expected to jump to anywhere from 85-100% adoption in the next 6-12 months. Which brings us to why we’re here today…
• #7: Megan Today, we want you to walk away with a clear understanding of these 5 things: What are the basic things I need to know about event applications? How can my app keep attendees engaged, without creating a distraction? How can my app enhance the value of my event sponsorships? What data is generated from my event app that can help me run my events better? What are some examples and best practices of event apps in the wild? Marisa, could you start by walking us through some of the basics of event applications?
• #8: Marisa Event apps take all your event critical information (session details, speaker bios, and more) and put it into the palm of attendees hands. Attendees can bookmark sessions and create a personalized agenda that can be synced to their phone’s calendar in a few different ways. They can filter sessions by track (think gold level, platinum level, etc.) …or by topic!
• #9: Marisa When attendees tap into the session titles they can learn more about that particular session. Including …who is speaking at that session …any documents, or pdfs that might be associated with training materials for this presentation …and even explore activity around that session (we’ll get to that in a minute!)
• #10: Marisa Of course, we don’t just want to focus on session tracks. We can also track sponsors and exhibitors.
• #11: Megan: . We know that every event is different, what are some unique ways you’ve seen clients take advantage of the content sections of the application? (Katie) Katie to answer w/ examples: -Taking the standard groups of information to the next level -Housing venue maps or top things to do in the city –encouraging people to learn the city they are in -Personal agendas – breakouts for excursions
• #12: Megan: That was a really high level overview of in-app content sections. We get a lot of questions about how to leverage the application in a way that won’t distract attendees from the event content. Could you talk us through some examples of how to create an engaging application? Katie: Driving conversations to get the most out of your data Scavenger hunts Event organizer alias -Beaker App champion – starting a conversation, encouraging people to engage in a meaningful T-shirts “Got App”?
• #13: Marisa: The Activity Feed is your finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the event. How to post a status update (photos, hashtags, @mentions, tagging an object with the update) Liking, commenting, and interacting with other attendees Gamification: incentivizing engagement with points and badges Katie Gamification has been a huge buzzword over the years. We really see it be most successful when clients think about their event goals, or more specifically what they hope to get out of the app, and construct a gamification strategy around that. For example, if you really want to increase survey completion rates you can further incentivize attendees to take surveys by awarding more points for completing the action.
• #14: Marisa: The Activity Feed is your finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the event. How to post a status update (photos, hashtags, @mentions, tagging an object with the update) Liking, commenting, and interacting with other attendees Gamification: incentivizing engagement with points and badges Katie Gamification has been a huge buzzword over the years. We really see it be most successful when clients think about their event goals, or more specifically what they hope to get out of the app, and construct a gamification strategy around that. For example, if you really want to increase survey completion rates you can further incentivize attendees to take surveys by awarding more points for completing the action.
• #15: Marisa: The Activity Feed is your finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the event. How to post a status update (photos, hashtags, @mentions, tagging an object with the update) Liking, commenting, and interacting with other attendees Gamification: incentivizing engagement with points and badges Katie Gamification has been a huge buzzword over the years. We really see it be most successful when clients think about their event goals, or more specifically what they hope to get out of the app, and construct a gamification strategy around that. For example, if you really want to increase survey completion rates you can further incentivize attendees to take surveys by awarding more points for completing the action.
• #16: Megan: Over the past year or so we’ve heard a lot of talk about gamification at events. Could you talk through how someone might architect the game mechanics of the app around their particular event goals? Katie to answer w/ examples. Katie Gamification has been a huge buzzword over the years. We really see it be most successful when clients think about their event goals, or more specifically what they hope to get out of the app, and construct a gamification strategy around that. For example, if you really want to increase survey completion rates you can further incentivize attendees to take surveys by awarding more points for completing the action. Katie to give Amazing Race example
• #17: Marisa Surveys are a great way to get feedback while the information is still fresh, instead of after the fact The new Session Surveys Card increases response rates by an average of 166%, is found in the activity feed and is populated by an attendee’s personalized agenda Katie Surveys are a great way to understand the user base before, during, and after the event. They can also be a great way to knowledge share and network. A great example that I have seen is using the surveys to provide facts about executive leaders and rewarding them for how well they know them.
• #20: Marisa Live polling increases engagement by an average of 25% Use live polling to engage attendees and collect real-time audience feedback Surveys are a great way to get feedback while the information is still fresh, instead of after the fact The new Session Surveys Card increases response rates by an average of 166%, is found in the activity feed and is populated by an attendee’s personalized agenda Katie Live polling is an exciting feature that, as Marisa mentioned, increases attendee engagement drastically. We’ve seen customers use live polling prior to the event to start engaging users before they even walk through the show doors. Asking them questions like, which speaker are you most excited for, or…
• #21: Marisa Live polling increases engagement by an average of 25% Use live polling to engage attendees and collect real-time audience feedback Katie Live polling is an exciting feature that, as Marisa mentioned, increases attendee engagement drastically. We’ve seen customers use live polling prior to the event to start engaging users before they even walk through the show doors. Asking them questions like, which speaker are you most excited for, or… -KATIE TO GIVE EXAMPLE ON POLLING AND SURVEYS- Who Want to Be A Millionaire Example
• #22: Marisa to speak to Gameday and location based messaging Katie can say example of where to place Gameday or beacons to drive adoption. BREAKROOM!
• #23: Megan We’ve talked a bit about the core of an event application with content and the activity feed, how are you seeing clients use these additional (included) features to maximize their return on investment? Katie to respond with examples. Katie to give example on how client use Gameday, everyone likes to see their name in lights (driving adoption) beacons and surveys to get feedback in real time on their event “Intel Example” – location based messaging to encourage feedback after a keynote.
• #24: Megan: Of course for many shows sponsors are the financial backbone. As the industry moves further away from using paper to deliver event critical information, mobile is the perfect opportunity to enhance the value of your sponsorships. Marisa and Katie will walk you through some sponsorship opportunities available via the mobile application.
• #25: A Sponsored Microapp offers a high level of exposure and virtually connects the sponsor to every app user. It can link to a custom landing page, the sponsor’s website and more. Specifications: Logo artwork (320x320px, .PNG) Link to external website/landing page Katie to give example -App within an app – contact information, ability to email the sponsored contacts -Giving users the ability to thank sponsors through. Using the products that were donated
• #26: A Promoted Post is a message pinned to the top of the Activity Feed (typically the most accessed section of the app). Beyond being a great communication tool for event organizers, a Promoted Post can effectively place a sponsor’s message in front of event attendees. Specifications: 140-character limit Link to a website or agenda item Embedded images (optional, 640x640px, .PNG) Tip: Schedule Promoted Posts prior to the event by setting start and end times in the Content Management System. Katie to give example Image of the CEO and attaching a welcome letter / Announcing the wifi information with password
• #27: A Push Notification is a powerful, real-time marketing tool for event organizers. It is the most directed, 140-character message a sponsor can send to encourage event app activity. Segment users by group affiliation, interests and more or direct a sponsor’s message to all attendees who have downloaded the application. Schedule Push Notifications in advance by setting a date and time. Specifications: 140-character limit No images or links Tip: Push Notifications should be sold with discretion to maintain the integrity of the app content and user community.
• #28: Megan I know you covered these features from the perspective of an organizer with a sponsored event, but how are you also seeing these app features used as a communication tool with attendees? Katie to respond. Katie to give example about segmenting the messages on breakout sessions or hosted lunches or announce winners
• #29: Megan: Finally, we’ve heard a lot about driving engagement in the application to enhance the value of sponsorships, but what about the organizer? How does in-app engagement help us produce better events? Data!
• #30: Marisa The data really paints a clearer picture of our event. Up until recently, attendees would walk through the show doors, and we’d have little to no idea what they actually did at the event. What exhibitors did people visit the most? What sessions had the highest attendance? We’ve begun using all these different systems to start tracking this information, but the data is disparate. Now, we can start to track all of this information in one central location. Your event app’s content management system. Let’s dive into what types of things the engagement report tells us…
• #31: Marisa Talk through the most influential attendees section, and how organizers can use that information for marketing initiatives going forward.
• #32: Marisa Identify your top speakers, invite them back or get them in on other marketing initiatives.
• #33: Marisa Finally, there’s Event Performance, which gives you real-time, actionable insights into how you can impact the event experience in the moment, rather than after the fact. Until now, most of the big players in the space were just counting data points and telling you how many times your app was downloaded. Event Performance enables you to take action and impact the event experience in the moment by identifying what messages are working and what time of day to actually drive attendee engagement. We can start to measure the success of our app adoption funnel. Using natural language processing we can start to see the overall mood of attendees.
• #34: Megan Data is becoming a hot button topic for event organizers these days, and you’re clearly providing a lot of actionable insight from the application to impact the event experience. Knowing that it’s still early days, how are you seeing clients start to take advantage of the information you’re providing them? Katie to give example of how clients are using the analytics in real time Pre-during-post the event to make changes. Tergeting users who have not yet logged in to download the app and participate. Changing the room size based on the interest.
• #35: Megan: We’ve covered a lot of information today. So we wanted to leave you with 5 takeaways….
• #37: Megan: Your app starts with your content. Whether that’s session details, speaker bios, or exhibitor information, it’s important to think about the type of content you will include in your event application to enhance the experience for the attendee.
• #38: Megan: Your event application is an incredible engagement tool. Architect your mobile strategy around your specific event goals to ensure that you meet them. If you want more pictures for marketing collateral, incentivize that behavior. If you need attendee feedback, highlight surveys and live polling.
• #39: Megan: Of course there are plenty of opportunities to generate revenue from your event application, but think of how you’ll use these additional features to enhance the communication between attendees.
• #40: Megan: Take advantage of the data the app provides you. It paints a clearer picture of what happened on event day. What sessions were attendees most interested in, who were your top sponsors, but more importantly… how did your event perform overall? Use this data to demonstrate to leadership the value of your events on the business.
• #41: Marisa: And looking forward, here are a few things to consider for next steps… Custom: hiring an agency, writing specs, building a joint project with that agency to build exactly what you want. Scope can take anywhere from 6-12 months. Requires a monster budget, it’s a monster project. Product: less customizable (you have control over the branding, colors, etc.), but are choosing a vendor based on the features available, support provided, etc. HTML5: a web-based app that will work on any machine, functionality is limited Native Apps: take full advantage of the phone’s capabilities (geo-location, push notifications, camera, calendar, local caching (wifi)…) Lead time: give yourself 6-8 weeks before your event to sign a contract!
• #42: Megan: Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining our presentation, 5 Things to Consider When Shopping for an Event App Today’s presentation is part of our Educate to Elevate event, in celebration of the inaugural North American Meetings Industry Day. We are proud to offer this event alongside more than 60 others that are taking place today across the continent to help shine a light on the real impact meetings and events have on businesses, economies, and communities. We are even more proud to support the evolving competency and effectiveness of meetings industry professionals, who really are the ones making the impact on the front lines, ulimately driving business and economic growth. I know many of you are seeking continuing education hours towards your CMP designation, and we will address that at the conclusion of the session so please stick around for the closing remarks. Today, I am joined by… Introduce Marisa, Channel Account Manager Introduce Katie, Customer Success Team Manager Highlight the American Express + DoubleDutch partnership