The Definitive Guide to Event Engagement

Here are some tips for how to provide the best networking and communication opportunities using a mobile event app.

• Attendee-to-attendee:  Scanning QR Codes lets attendees view their profile information and provides contact info as well.

• Attendee-to-speaker: Utilizing an audience response system with live polling and live questions gives a means to connect attendees with speakers directly.

• Boost the way exhibitors/sponsors connect with attendees: An app allows attendees to connect with sponsors but also acts as a lead retrieval system so that sponsors can connect with leads directly.

• Use a mobile event app to communicate directly with attendees: Provide WiFi information, dress codes and maps of the venue.  Send out SMS alerts to attendees for more time sensitive information. 

• Take communication beyond your event: Integrating social media into your event creates buzz.

You can read more about using an event networking app that connects attendees during your event here.

Pre-Event Engagement Example

Here is an example of a pre-event engagement technique used by a client: 

• Prior to the event, they use a mobile event app to ask one simple question: “In one word, what does leadership mean to you?”

• This question encouraged attendees to download the event app prior to the event and answer the question.  By simply executing this ‘call to action’ – attendees were effectively adopting the event app, as well as engaging with other event attendees, prior to the actual event.

• One word answers to the question ranged from:  influence, influencer, trust, inspiration and more.

• From these simple one word answers, an event word cloud was built and presented during the beginning session of the event.

• The event word cloud presentation was displayed across not only the presenters board but also the event social media wall.

Read the full case study about pre-event engagement here.

Additional Ways to Enhance Pre-Event Engagement

There's a lot of detail that goes into pre-event engagement.  There are four ways we've seen events promote effectively time and again.  Below we share the specifics:

• Create a great hashtag - but it needs to be short.  Promote it as much as you can.  Don't forget to use it on printed material as well.  Here are 6 ways you can leverage hashtags for your event.

• Create a Facebook event page.   Here's a step-by-step guide to creating a Facebook event page.

• Keep the conversation going.   Don't sit back on your laurels; keep the pace up on social media.  Engage with attendees as much as possible.  

• Email your database.  Don't let those folks in your email database stay stagnant.  Use your email platform to engage attendees.  Provide information to register in advance, customize their experience and promote conference speakers.  Add links from your email to all relevant pages for your meeting website.

Want to go a level deeper?  Read the Tips for Pre-Event Engagement strategies here.

Interested in learning more about ways to engage your event's audience?

Read more about onsite event engagement ideas as well as our blog post 3 More Ways to Improve Onsite Engagement.

Using an Audience Response System to Increase Engagement

Providing voting within event apps is an essential component of leveraging attendee engagement.

There are several forms of audience response systems you can use at your event:

• Event polling apps.  Polling questions are typically multiple-choice or in true/false question format, ensuring that results can be charted and available in real time from the presentation screen.

• Event survey apps.  Surveys, unlike polls, traditionally ask multiple questions across a wider range of question types.  These surveys can ask for comments, or predefined data such as an event attendee's name, title, and email address.

• Event voting apps.  Event voting apps can be similar to event polling apps, with a public group availability to view both within the app and within the presentation, or they can be a highly secured method of official voting.

Read more about using an audience response systems to increase engagement at your next event.

Using iBeacon Technology at Your Event

What is iBeacon technology? iBeacon technology is a class of BLE – bluetooth low energy that transmit their data to nearby devices – interacting with smartphones, tablets, iPads, and more – basically any electronic device capable of Bluetooth technology, that is in close proximity of an iBeacon.

Ways that iBeacon can help your event:

• Push notifications: Event attendees don’t have to be actively engaging with your events mobile app and can still receive important updates, agenda changes, or sponsored notifications.

• No scanning required.  iBeacon app can help record vendor and attendee information, to be utilized at a later time of connection – without the need for business cards, fliers, or pulling out a pen and paper.

Read more about using iBeacon technology and indoor wayfinding that can improve attendee engagement.

Avoiding Event Fatigue

Fatigue can set happen even to the most well executed events.  Sometimes your attendee engagement can begin to wane.  Here are some quick wins to rally the troops:

• Personalized profile and matchmaking.   Alerts that let attendees know when a potential networking match is nearby.
• Gamification.  We're hardwired for games and good fun competitions.  Take advantage of your mobile app technology to create games throughout your event.

Don’t let the energy of your event crash. Read more here about avoiding event fatigue at your next event.

Event Engagement Data & ROI

Measuring the Interactions at your Event Provides Valuable Insights for All Stakeholders

A powerful mobile event app can provide data about your event engagement that in turn reveals important insights.  This data helps both real time adjustments and post event reporting that demonstrates ROI.  

Here's how the mobile event app data can help:

• Proving event ROI: You can see where attendees spent their time in the app and how they connected with other attendees. With this data, you can quickly discern the ROI of all aspects of your event and show the strategies that worked best at the event.  

• Event sponsorship ROI & leads: Providing lists of leads generated during the event is extremely valuable.  Event apps can provide a list of attendees that checked in to the booth, answered an associated poll question, or downloaded an associated asset. This data alone expands exhibitors list of leads and connects them with people they did not have a chance to connect with.

• Measuring event success and planning for the future: Surveys are great, but not everyone is going to fill them out.  A mobile event app provides the empirical data such as which presenters and sessions were most popular.  This will help you design your next event.

• Real time event adjustments:  By seeing when attendees are engaged the most and when they start to lose drive helps give you know when to give them extra encouragement.  When the energy starts to wane, you can communicate directly via a real time message or SMS text.

Here's more info about event success data and ROI.