Technology has completely turned the world into a new place where everyone depends on the cell phones to handle their day to day activities and its regular usage has changed the lifestyle of the people. The world is changing rapidly due to which it is utmost essential for the event organizers that they should stay updates with the world tech as well as trends. Event organizers always look for new solutions that can ease their burden as well as deliver the reliable and rich experience to the customers due to which the event organizers are working hard to enhance the ROI as the global economy is affecting the working of the businesses. Furthermore, the event technologies are kept on up-grading which means they are completely changing the way we communicate with the attendees and experience the events efficiently
Event Technologies
The event tech is changing the whole communication processes that also make the real-time engagement better as well as possible due to the better engagement in the social medial and mobile communication. Earlier, the main reason was only events but this tiresome and outdated process has continued to work properly due to which some companies are still using them. As the use of technology has increased due to which their expectations have also raised and the traditional methods are no longer delivering the reliable results. The event planning is also a lengthy process which involves registrations, ticketing, and implementation that is continuously reducing due to the use of latest and well developed event management software. With real-time connectivity, the event planners are now engaging with the attendees’ post during as well as after the event.
Internet marketing: Leverage the web space
Instead of thinking whether there is a need for internet use or not, you should decide the strategies of using it efficiently and if you are not available where your potential attendees need you then it means you are losing an opportunity. If you want to deliver the content efficiently then you must professionally use Facebook and Twitter. You can expand your reach by using the relevant hashtag and target your website visitors with accurate social ads. Furthermore, social media strategy is also a fundamental to enhance the experience of the attendees as if you are constructing a relevant social media strategy then it is a great way to do the event smartly.
Event app: Make your event digitize
The use of brochures, paper registrations, and manual ticketing are now the past things as if you will consider the new wave of making your event sustainable as well as environment-friendly then digitization of event is mandatory. Furthermore, the event will save you a lot of resources and take your attendees’ experience to a whole new level by making things clear for the attendees that enhance their experience as well. Apart from providing the basic details and information you can provide more reasons to the attendees regarding its use.
Drone: a fun way to document your event
Events can be boring if they are all about work and do not contain any fun which means the attendees will prefer to leave the event on the spot. If you want your attendees to stay at your event for longer or get stuck to their seats then you should take necessary measures to conduct your event efficiently. It means if you will add drones it can double the entertainment and it will enhance the experience of the attendees in a better way but make sure you are efficiently using them. The drones are what the event organizers look for during the events and they add a unique fun in the events mainly when the ad banners or posters are hung around the flying object which can capture the attention of the attendees as well. No doubt, drones can add some fun but you can use different tricks to do it correctly as it can be more suitable with the new technologies so you should make sure to use it efficiently and stay safe at the same time.
Networking platform: Let your attendees have fun
Mainly, when you ask people about the reason for attending the events, you will surely get the answer that it is an opportunity for them to get out of their workplace which is not at all true. The most essential reason is that they get an opportunity for networking and making connections with others, which is of utmost importance for doing the business efficiently. You should not make the networking platform only for the contacts and profiles but you should focus on upgrading your professional network.
QR code: Go Cashless
You must have heard about the use of RFID or QR codes at the event, as the wireless event tech is becoming standard at the music festivals around the world with the fans who are wearing RFID wristbands. However, RFID is not just for music festivals only but every festival from cashless food and drink festivals to races is using these badges to delight attendees with interactive experiences. Most importantly, with the use of this innovative way you can eliminate the time-consuming counterfeit tickets and gain the benefits for making your events go far and wide for the event organizers as well as attendees. Furthermore, the attendees can make use of these badges to link their emails, and social media profiles with which you can gain their interest. You should design your RFID badge in a way that people wear it like an honor badge and your event is the best brand so you should make strategies to create it outstanding.
Beacons: Track the experience of the attendees
If you want to know about the things that your attendees are exploring at your event, the session which is mostly attended, and the place where there are more attendees then Beacons is the most reliable option from the event technologies. It can sound like an impossible thing but with the beacons, these are no longer a tough choice as these are the small and smart objects that you can stick to the venue walls of your event. They send the signals of the Bluetooth, which makes it easier for the attendees to detect the signal and follow the same with the use of their Smartphones. Beacons are the most reliable way that provides the personalized experience to the attendees when they are at your venue as they are not at all technical.
Audience response system: Increase audience engagement
If you are among those event organizers who find it hard to engage the audiences but your efforts go waste or you want to gain the real-time as well proactive feedback from your audiences, then audience response technology is what you can use. This event technology helps you make your event better by enhancing the engagement of the audiences mainly when it is the time for live polling and it helps the organizers to gain real-time authentic feedback. The feature can be integrated into your event applications and apart from gaining the opinion of the attendees on the sessions and presenters, you can use this technology to acquire the feedback on the venue, amenities, and the overall experience of the event.
WiFi: Must have at an event
Nowadays, everyone prefers to get wireless connections anywhere, anytime, even if the places are strange and it goes double for the events as well when the guests, attendees, and exhibitors expect to have wifi connectivity. You will not get the negative feedback from anyone till everything is going reliably but if the network speed is not good which means the loading speed is slow or the attendees are not getting access to their social media accounts then it can create a negative impact.
Event Strategies
Things every event planner must embrace
Mostly, the event planners prefer to use the big screen for the main stage events or the PowerPoint projectors for the breakout sessions and these things are entirely essential but they are just the tips for the event technologies. Unfortunately, various event planners are not much familiar with the new technologies they can use for the events due to which they do not use it in a better way and as a result, they end up losing an essential opportunity for the events. If you avoid using the technologies in your event planning, your attendees will surely notice and that can leave a negative impact on them so you should look for ways to use the technology efficiently.
Before your event
Interact with your speakers in a Google hangout
It is essential to communicate with the speakers about events so that the speakers can embrace their message in a way that can meet your needs. However, instead of using your cell phones or emails to communicate with the speakers, you should interact with them in person to ensure that they have a complete understanding of the goals for your event. You can use the apps to stay connected with the speakers and the entire event team so that your conference projects can deliver a unified image to the attendees.
Use social media to promote the events
You can tweet about the upcoming events on Twitter and add status updates for marketing events on social media accounts. Furthermore, you can ask your speakers to provide a video of pre-event where they are informing the attendees about the upcoming event and what they need to expect from their session. You can use these videos to post them all over social media to gain more publicity and encourage the attendees to register themselves for the event.
Make everything mobile-friendly
Instead of handing out the printed materials that no one notices, you should make your programs or handout available online in the form of PDF. It enables attendees to enjoy the events conveniently as they have all the material available on their tablet or Smartphone, so they do not have to worry about losing any valuable information. Furthermore, you can create a mobile app for your event that includes access to all the event handouts which is easier as well as less expensive than any other way.
During your event
Availability of internet access
Many hotels provide free access to the internet in the lobby as well as in the guest rooms, but these are not for free in the conference areas due to which various event planners avoid providing internet access with a view that it is not mandatory. If your attendees are not getting access to the internet then they will not be able to post a tweet or even check their emails, and as a result, they will leave the conference area to do so. If the owner of the venue is charging you for the internet access then you should find a sponsor who can pay it for you but you should remember that an event can be great if the attendees have access to the internet.
Videoconferencing or webcasting can enhance your reach
Sometimes people prefer to attend your event due to various reasons but they mainly avoid visiting your venue so if you don’t want to lose their registration, you should make them attend the event virtually. Furthermore, you can use different event technologies to forgo the physical event and conduct the entire event virtually to gain the maximum attendees for your event.
Enhance the audience participation with the implementation of audience response system
If you want your event to be successful then you should make strategies to keep the attendees engaged as well involved through their participation. You can ask speakers to encourage the attendees’ participation by using sentences like “raise your hand” or ask them to talk to the person sitting in front, middle, or last. Furthermore, you can start a conversation with the attendees through an audience response system or any other technology that can keep the attendees to stay engaged. You can turn your passive audiences into active participants as it creates value for the attendees as well as for the conferences which also enhances the ROI.
Encourage attendees to use Twitter during your events
You can create various Twitter tags related to your industry or organization, presentation, breakout session, or keynote as these encourage attendees to use Twitter for their note-taking while utilizing the hashtag for tweeting. Since Twitter only allows one to add 140 characters in a tweet, so the people should summarize their content in a better way to make it reliable for delivering the right message to the readers.
Keep the smartphones on to promote texting
Rather than asking the attendees to leave their cell phones by their side you should encourage them to leave their cell phones on and text the presenter when they are delivering a presentation. It will increase the participation of the audiences and the audience members can then text them the questions as well as answers throughout their keywords or training events. It is also a great way to eliminate the fear of the attendees to ask the questions publicly as the ultimate goal of the event is to influence the audience to participate. Therefore, you should have the right tactics to use the technology efficiently according to your goals but make sure that it should be your long-term strategy. Furthermore, if you will use the technology in a better way, then it can enhance your event resulting in gaining the success of your event as well as the brand.
Mobile Contests
Every Smartphone has a camera and better features to get connected, so you should develop a contest where the attendees can get involved to enhance their experience. You can ask them to share their photos through text on a dedicated number and upload the photos at the end of the conference for which you can arrange a prize for the funniest or most creative photos. You can use different ways or methods to make the attendees stay involved throughout the event as it is a great way to gain more leads and make the event successful.
If you want your event stand out from the competition, then the best way you can use is the event app that can provide the following benefits:
- It delivers the key information such as conference agenda, bios on keynote speaker and details regarding workshop partners.
- You need to allow the attendees to create a customized schedule by selecting the sessions they want in the event.
- It is a great way to enhance their engagement through network and messaging or create their profiles to support opportunities for networking.
