Tune in and turn up the volume for event app success
With the right functionality and their benefits communicated properly, event app providers have a sure-fire hit on their hands. But as the
Alchemy Partnership’s Izania Downie, points out, things need to change because the conference app is currently out of tune with attendees.
Forbes magazine isn’t ‘appy. Not in a Pharrell Williams way either. No, the influential US business magazine really doesn’t like conference apps, recently describing the experience of using one as ‘just abysmal’, and citing their ‘silo’d networking functionality, buggy and data-intensive agendas and poor usability.’
At the risk of dragging out the Pharrell Williams pun, clap along if the Forbes experience strikes a chord. In conference venues and exhibition halls up and down the country, event attendees are simply giving up on the show app, due to basic flaws in the functionality or not enough education and advocacy from the organiser.
One in a million so make it count
Event planners and conference organisers are still commissioning apps, too often because they feel attendees will expect one to be available. Without an understanding of the real benefits an event app can provide, these clients are doing nothing more than throwing money at a technology solution that’s simply not sustainable.
Consider, how many apps people actually use in everyday life compared with how many they’ve downloaded onto a smartphone or tablet? There’s over one million different apps available from The App Store and Google Play but as humans, we only ever use a handful on a daily basis.
The ones we’ve forgotten about were ‘nice to have’ at the time but we lost interest after they failed to live up to expectations or our friends stopped talking about them.
The conference app needs to be talked up by the company CEO on stage, by the moderator and by every speaker and everyone involved in the planning process. This can only happen if the technology provider has communicated a clear understanding of the benefits and has collaborated with all stakeholders on usability and functionality that will enhance the attendee experience.
Currently, there’s too many app providers who build-in functionality that delegates simply don’t use. Either that or they fail to incorporate or highlight key elements such as networking, personal schedules or live polling.
Don’t trust the gut
It’s vital that technology providers actually know which features are helping to develop the event app landscape and which features are offering little to the user experience long-term.
It’s no good trusting a gut feeling. With apps offering so much user data, the information is readily available to assess what works and what doesn’t.
Some providers have entered this space convinced they can dictate functionality to the event organiser based on little more than whichever bells and whistles they currently have in their tool-box. This can only lead to more bad press, more delegate disinterest and ultimately, it’s the events themselves that will suffer.
Planning a more ‘appy experience
So how does an app not only enhance the delegate experience but also help planners to meet other objectives associated with expanding their event’s horizon?
Well, for a start, an app allows attendees to interact and engage much earlier with the event experience. Let’s face it, conferences and exhibitions are chaotic so the first thing an app should provide is the ability to pre-plan more effectively.
If an app is launched and promoted to attendees two weeks in advance, it’ll be visible on their phone or tablet, and it’ll more likely be used to schedule meetings, book seminars, research exhibitors or plan networking.
If event content does change in the two-week lead-up, then alerts can be sent out, personal schedules can be updated and attendees will already feel more engaged.
If the event takes place abroad, the app should help attendees plan their travel, provide advice on using public transport or booking hotels.
Anything that makes a delegate feel more comfortable about attending an event has a positive knock-on effect for the organiser. It allows them to build trust and advocacy and gives the organiser a direct communications channel with their audience.
Who’s who in the room
Knowing who is attending the event in advance, is one of the most important pieces of usability an app can offer. Attendees should be able to connect, share details and arrange to meet up, all via in-app functionality.
During the event, knowing who is in the same room as you is also powerful and allows delegates to quickly find information that can be used to break the ice or discover how relevant someone is to their business needs.
As app usage evolves, organisers will incorporate iBeacon or RFID technology to update who has entered or left a seminar room in real time or to push relevant information to people attending a session or visiting an exhibition feature area.
At certain types of events - healthcare and pharmaceutical for example, there is often an emphasis on serving up the right amount of information at the right time. An app platform can allow for embargoed information to be held back and then made available at controlled times during the day.
Apps should also be used to encourage interaction. As an organiser, you don’t want people leaving the app to browse social media as they may not return.
Social media needs to be incorporated sensitively within the app so that it doesn’t distract from the live experience but includes the ability to measure social interactions and drive social conversations.
Game on
The demand for live polling within app platforms is accelerating and it’s these types of enhancements that enforce and reward delegate interaction and provide organisers with real-time data and measurable results.
The benefits of adding simple games that reward users visiting certain exhibitors or attending certain sessions is exactly that - it rewards deeper engagement and that’s a win win for all the event’s stakeholders.
It’s too easy for an attendee to visit an event with a specific remit and then leave. By adding elements to the app that create intrigue and a desire to find out more, it gently persuades users to explore parts of the event that they may not have otherwise seen.
Appy ever-after?
Post event, the app can be used to extend a life-cycle by alerting attendees to presentations that have become available to download or images that have been uploaded and are now available to view. Delegate feedback can also be gathered through the app, enabling the organiser to make changes, secure testimonials and to continue a dialogue with their audience, which in turn cements loyalty and encourages re-bookings.
Once an organiser or client understands the true value of offering an event app to their attendees and has faith in the functionality, they’re more likely to spread the word and encourage usage.
From there, they’ll begin to understand the commercial benefits and how an app can drive additional revenues via in-app advertising and sponsorship or how an app can gather vital data and allow organisers to build better profiles of their visitors, which can then be used for more targeted content.
Once technology providers, stop viewing themselves as providers of a boxed product and start taking an active partnership role in conference and event organising, they too will benefit but more importantly, so will the events industry as a whole.
Apps are currently on the play-list for the majority of events but they’re out of tune with what attendees need. It needs to change before organisers and more attendees begin to switch-off.
The Alchemy Partnership is a digital marketing and training consultancy for the events industry.
Article by
Mike Fletcher