In today's world, people are used to getting what they want, when they want it. You can order food from your sofa. Hail a cab without waiting in the rain. You can even find a date from the comfort of your own home. All with an easy-to-use mobile app.
With 21% of millennials opening an app over 50 times a day and 49% of people opening mobile apps over 11 times a day, it's no surprise that getting the right mobile event app is crucial to boost event engagement. The majority of users will only give an app a few minutes of their time before they delete it for good if they're not engaged. It's therefore vital to have the best features so you can keep your event participants coming back.
It's not just that the most popular mobile apps are easy to use, it's also because they make our lives easier or help us more efficiently complete a task. If an app can make your life easier, you are more likely to use it.
The same goes for your event participants: if your mobile event app makes their experience better and easier, enhancing event engagement, they are more likely to use it and enjoy themselves while doing so, relishing in the connections they make or the recommendations they are given.
Just like in their daily life, when it comes to events, participants expect a stellar experience from start to finish.
For event organisers, or event marketing teams, your event platform can play a big role in delivering that wow factor, but only if it's loaded with features that delight and engage. Here are the cool, must-have features for your next mobile event app:
Having an AI-powered event matchmaking feature is designed to help participants find their next perfect meeting at your networking events. The algorithm takes into account everything from mutual friends, common swipes, or connections, to make the best possible recommendations and ultimately increase the chance of hosting successful meetings. At Grip, we help make the recommendations and also give reasons why the recommendation was made.
Custom design doesn't mean changing a few colours, adding your logo and hey presto: you've got a "custom event app!" Although you should be able to tailor it to your brand's style guidelines, you should also be able to design your app using a block based approach, making it easy for you to personalize it.
Any type of event, even those in the smallest venues or events with quirky tunnels, random pillars and odd shaped layouts can be hard to navigate. Let your participants make the most of their day with efficient walking routes, so they can find the session or exhibitor they're looking for with ease. Take it one step further and show recommendations on route for other exhibitors your attendees favourited when planning their day.
Help keep your attendees informed with up-to-date, personalized agendas. Today's participants want an itinerary that's been tailored just for them. Your mobile event app should allow them to create their own personal schedule. In addition to 'favouriting content', your app should offer automatic session recommendations which slot straight into participants' calendars. All the participant needs to do is 'add to schedule' and, as if by magic, their favourited sessions show up in their app. Lastly, ensure your app has push notifications included so you can notify participants of upcoming meetings or sessions booked.
Collaborating on events can be difficult without a system that allows you to share information with your colleagues. You should have the ability, as an app user, to scan another person's badge and then tag a connected colleague in your scan, so you can share notes about buyers or prospects you've met at the event.
Every sales and marketing person loves hot leads right? What if you, as an exhibitor or sponsor, were handed leads based on sessions viewed, for example those participants who watched your on-demand content? What if you could then see what products they looked at or which colleagues’ profiles they viewed? This should be seen as standard for every exhibitor app.
To really make your event apps experience work for all event participants, your app needs to offer a simple user experience including an easily navigable menu. This means that all the features and content your attendees could ever need should be no more than a few clicks away, ideally, just one click. Why not make an option that they could 'favourite' the sections of the app they visit most, so they can easily find them again?
It may seem like such a simple feature, but it's an effective one. Event participants are busy, they're in conversation, they're watching sessions, they're networking, the list goes on. It's easy for them to forget their planned meetings or coffee catch-ups with colleagues and prospects they've met during the event. In-app meeting reminders ensure attendees won't miss that important meeting they scheduled pre-event.
In the connected global world that we live in today, it's important to consider multiple languages in your event app. Configuring the app to include multi-language options opens up a world of potential attendees, exhibitors and sponsors as it removes language barriers and allows for a more inclusive event experience.
Do you have a session you want all attendees to see? An important update? Your keynote speaker? You should be able to stream this live or on-demand in your event app. Your attendees may not have made it to the session room on time, their train may be delayed or they might not be able to attend in-person, so put your main stage front and centre within your event app. Offering the ability for them to watch at their convenience helps keep them informed and allows them to make the most of all event content, no matter their schedule.
Finally, did we say 10 cool features? We were lying, here's an bonus one:
As a participant, it can be incredibly frustrating if you can't simply download the contacts you made or meetings you had. Your event app should allow users to export these details straight into their personal calendars and contact lists or as a .csv export allowing them to update their own CRM, which in turn, makes their post-event follow-up a breeze.
If you want your next event to be a truly memorable experience for your attendees, it's worth ensuring your event app is loaded with features that will wow them.
Personalized itineraries, collaborative note taking and intent based leads are just a few of the features that set Grip's app apart and will help take your event app experience to the next level. Crucially, it will boost event engagement and keep your attendees coming back for more.
