Event and conference organizers spend months and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars planning events that will be memorable experiences for the attendees and everyone involved. So it is no surprise that they invest in technology to help make them make the actual events more engaging. But are event apps the best solution? Short answer — not always.
Events and conferences can often feel dull, which is why companies are embracing tech as a way to enhance the world of corporate events.
Event apps are popular and chosen by a lot of event planners. But the hundreds and thousands in attendance are usually much less enthusiastic about it. When was the last time you said “Great! I can’t wait to download another event app!”?
Planners must be in tune with their audience’s needs to keep them fully engaged. It’s important to know about the kinds of event apps and recent alternatives that you’re more likely to actually use.
Related: 33 Fun Poll Questions to Ask Your Audience
What Are Event Apps?
Event apps are downloaded software tools that help organizers optimize their events for effectiveness. They range from networking solutions, information hubs, and (like MeetingPulse) live polling and event tools that provide organizers with invaluable data that they can use for future events.
These apps help attendees by notifying them about possible networking opportunities. More often than not, they include a survey with questions to help them plan future events for better engagement and reach.
Event hosting is far from an easy task and these apps aim to solve this exact problem. Event apps are a useful tool for marketers and organizers to stay on top of the whole process. Used wrong, they can create unnecessary complications and logistical challenges. Used right, they can enhance a meeting and allow executives to gain valuable insight.
Encourage employees to meet new people with the Meeting Pulse Networking Module. For details, view our pricing plans.
Benefits Of Using An Event App
One of the key benefits of using an event app is the ability to streamline an event for its attendees. Live polling and feedback provides useful as a temporary social network for everyone at the event.
From a business perspective, collecting data from app usage can be very useful. Organizers can analyze data collected from the attendees to understand the impact of their event and better engage attendees for future events.
Related: How to Get People to Take a Survey
Drawbacks Of An Event App
While event apps can optimize the whole event planning process, they aren’t always effective.
1. It’s All About The Numbers
When an event is heavily app-based, its success depends on the number of people that actually install the app. For example, a networking event that connects like-minded people based on their proximity will obviously use the app data to determine the process.
But what if people don’t actually download the app? An event can’t force people to use an app, for good reason. Relying on app data to monitor an event will yield inaccurate results.
There’s one easy fix to avoid this problem — don’t use apps that everyone has to download. Instead, look for web-based solutions that don’t require downloading, just access to a custom URL/website.
2. It Costs Money
Programming a fully-functional app is expensive. This makes the usage of an event app questionable. Is it really worth it to develop all these features, put it in an app, and invest time and money?
3. It’s All About Quality
According to an Oracle Mobile report, 49% of people delete an app because of poor layout or design. Not only does an event app need to be informative, but it also has to be user-friendly. Otherwise, the attendees will be spending more time figuring out the website rather than gaining insightful information from the event.
Solution and Alternatives
If there are so many drawbacks to using an event app, what are the solutions? The answer is simple, comprehensive tools that are efficient and easy to use for the attendees. The alternative has to be cheaper and more accessible, preferably something that doesn’t need to be downloaded.
The alternative for a downloaded event app is a website. It must be mobile-friendly and provide all the necessary information about the event. This website functions and looks just like an event app, and act as the go-to point for attendees regarding any information that they’re seeking. Not only is it a cheaper option, but it requires less time, money and effort.
Try out MeetingPulse for free and discover how we’ll help you create engaging events now and in the future.
Conclusion
No one wants to download an app. Period. Attendees are usually forced to because there hasn’t been many good options until now. While there is massive potential with an event app, there are also major drawbacks that prevent an event app from reaching its full potential.
Mobile-friendly websites like MeetingPulse provide all the key benefits of conventional event apps while being more affordable and more accessible.
Managers planning events are slowly but surely recognizing that their approach to holding engaging events can be changed with advancements in technology and personal preferences.
They’re looking for something that is easy to integrate and doesn’t require special effort. This needs to be taken into consideration as a way to gain valuable insight, feedback, and opinions from your employees.
Our site offers SMS texting and PowerPoint integration so that your attendees don’t have to download anything. We know that attendees might be at different levels of technology proficiency, so our capabilities are intuitive and easy to look at.
Not only do we offer affordable tools, but advantageous services. In addition to providing a platform, development, and integration, we fulfill onsite support and results analysis so you can maximize the effectiveness of events.
With MeetingPulse, you won’t have to download any additional apps.
They also have a proprietary “Pulse” feature which is like Facebook Live but on steroids.
