Since its days as a glorified program guide, mobile apps have transformed from a nice-to-have, to an essential component of any successful event. To say that event-goers are never without their smartphones is an understatement and the expectations to deliver more than functionality are at its highest. To put your event in another category, we offer the following keys to building and leveraging your app to enhance the attendee experience:
1. Prioritize Your Use Cases
Tasked with planning your event app requirements? It’s tempting to include everything but the kitchen sink. With all the factors to consider, outline your overall event objectives and the business value that specific use cases will deliver. Defining and prioritizing these will keep requirements on track and ensure that you achieve your end goals.
2. Make a Good First Impression
Your users won’t want to waste a second when they’re viewing your app for the first time. Ensure that it comes to life seamlessly, delivers an impactful first impression, and compels attendees to return and plan every facet of their experience. An interactive rich media wall we like to call Discover comes partially loaded on our apps so event-goers can do just that - explore showcased sessions, speakers, artists and more, through tight video and audio integration.
3. Elevate Your Brand
Your brand tells your story. So it stands to reason, your mobile app is another opportunity to craft a compelling and differentiated audience experience. More than just a digital program and scheduler, an event app is your chance to wow attendees and build brand equity with visual details like impressive graphics, intuitive navigation, and seamless updates.
4. Connect Friends and Make Networking Easy and Fun
The ability to take your social contacts or other networks offline can make the experience. Your app should make it easy to see who’s in the vicinity or attendees planning to be at the same session, as well send messages to others with similar interests. This level of networking is quickly becoming a must-have for your users.
5. Deliver Audience Interactivity
Take your audience interactivity to another level. Thanks to Apple’s iBeaconTM, mobile apps can now enable auto check-ins, views of social contacts and other audience members, messaging, polls and more - driving greater real-time interactivity.
6. Take Maps to a New Level
Help attendees navigate your event with a mapping solution that comes to life and makes finding one’s way through multiple venues easy and effortless. Advanced platforms such as Deep MapTM supports over 100 buildings in a single fluid map, offers seamless transitions between zoom levels, and provides interactive views of both external buildings and floor plans.
7. Deliver Real Value to Sponsors
A stunning visual identity, myriad ad placements, seamless lead generation and audience analytics - the slicker overall user experience will impress your sponsors and have them lining up to sign for next year.
