Boost Event Turnout: 5 Strategies for Improved Event Registrations

Event Management News

March 11, 2016

A simple, well designed registration process can have a huge impact on the success of an event. Small details can be critical so it is important to carefully plan this stage to decrease complications and promote higher attendance. Simplify your conference’s registration process with these 5 strategies to improve the experience for your attendees and ensure registrations are completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

1. USE A MOBILE-FRIENDLY EVENT REGISTRATION PROCESS

With an increasing number of people using their mobile devices to go online, it is very important to ensure the online registration process is mobile-friendly. This means that your conference’s registration should be accessible, not only from a desktop computer, but also from any tablet or phone. By taking this step, you offer your registrants the convenience of registering immediately from wherever they happen to be. Attendease uses the latest in mobile web technology to ensure our forms work on any device.

2. OPT FOR SHORT REGISTRATION FORMS

When designing your registration process, opt for shorter registration forms. This is especially prudent as conference websites become more mobile-friendly; no one wants to fill out a lengthy form on their phone. By opting for a short enrollment form, you decrease the chances that a potential customer will exit the process before completion. If you design your online event registration forms to be quick and easy, you will increase the number of attendees who complete the process.

3. MAKE SURE YOUR REGISTRATION FORM MATCHES THE LOOK AND FEEL OF YOUR EVENT WEBSITE

A professional, consistent look between your conference’s website and the online registration form helps potential attendees feel comfortable with the process.. If registrants land on a page that looks nothing like the site they came from, they might feel like they are in the wrong place and hesitate to complete the form. Keeping a consistent representation of your brand gives your registrant confidence in your company and conference. Attendease event websites have been designed with fully-integrated registration. The conference registration forms built with our drag-and-drop form builder will perfectly match the look and feel of your company’s existing website.

4. ONLY ASK FOR DETAILS YOU REALLY NEED

When building your questionnaire, focus on the most important information. These are the details that will directly improve or impact the registrant’s experience at your conference. If the online event registration form becomes too complex or asks too many personal questions, potential registrants may abandon the form. Every field you remove will increase the chance that the enrollment process will be completed.

5. ENSURE YOUR REGISTRATION FORM WORKS IN ALL MAJOR BROWSERS

Whether you are developing your own registration form, using a plug-in, or using online event registration software, you will want to test your form in each of the major browsers. What looks good or works in one browser may not work in another. Most issues are fairly minor such as alignment or spacing inconsistencies, but in some cases your form may not work at all. If someone can’t complete their enrollment, it reflects poorly on your company and you lose the registration. Most people will not take the time to tell you that they experienced a problem. Attendease ensures that our registration forms display correctly and work consistently across all major browsers.

The registration process may be one of the most important considerations when planning an event. Without simple, well designed forms and pertinent questions, you risk losing potential customers. To improve the process consider a registration form builder that produces mobile-friendly forms that are stylistically consistent with the rest of your website.

What strategies do you use when designing your registration? We would love to hear from you so leave a comment below or send us a tweet at @Attendease

Troy Kasting

Marketing Coordinator

Why Do More Events?

Event Management News

March 10, 2016

You are part of a company you believe in, tasked with managing conferences intended to generate participation, membership, and ultimately to increase sales. Yet it can be a challenge to define metrics and measure the return on investment.

In order to maximize your marketing efforts, you need a customizable event management software that provides you with actionable lead generation that can then be integrated into your overall sales and marketing strategy. Therefore the question becomes, why should we do more events, rather than less?

An impactful question that many of our clients like nVidia, Pivotal and Atlassian have asked. However this is the conversation we had with them:

The world of events as a strategic part of your overall marketing strategy has changed, and you need more than a digital scheduling system or a basic website. Attendease can provide you with a fully customizable system designed to grow with your company. Our online conference management software is a complete platform that will work with you from registration to analytics.
You know that events are about more than social connection or education. According to the American Marketing Association, gathering leads is the single most important reason to hold events, but simply having a list of names is not enough. Your post-event marketing is most effective when driven by strategic use of data gathered during your registration. Attendease will work with you to help create the best customization of our online registration software that you need in order to maximize successful followup.
The last key reason you may not be doing more events is the cost factor. Marketing strategies are always evaluated in light of not only the initial cost, but also the direct return on that investment. Attendease is your affordable conference management solution to creating superb repeat experiences that directly and positively impact your bottom line. Our system will seamlessly integrate into your overall customer relationship management software, giving you measurable sales impact data.

The Attendease system can help you create scalable and repeatable events that not only seamlessly integrate with your larger marketing strategy, but also positively impact your company’s ROI.

Speak to us today to understand how we helped organizations like SXSW and the Disposable Film Festival to achieve their goals.

5 Ways IBEACONS Make A Splash in The Event Industry

Event Management News

March 10, 2016

Chances are if you’ve been paying attention you’ve heard the term iBeacon. Some of the world’s largest events have begun using iBeacons to engage their attendees and provide an interactive experience that has the industry buzzing. If you haven’t heard the term it’s time you caught up with this exciting new technology.

iBeacons are low-powered transmitters developed by Apple that can sense the proximity of nearby iOS devices and send and receive notifications using Bluetooth LE (Low Energy). That might not sound like a revolutionary technology but it could have some powerful implications for how we use our mobile devices at events.

iBeacons are currently deployed in a number of applications. They have been used in select retail stores to display customized shopping experiences based on the user’s habits and preferences. In this case, the beacons can offer on-demand product information and allow for mobile transactions at the till. They have also been adopted by MLB who uses the technology to engage with fans at their stadiums across the US.

While this type of technology has shown some promise, it is also at the centre of a heated debate. The potential for misuse in the form of unwanted push-notifications or ads has many people wary. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where consumers are mercilessly targeted by advertisers who simply see iBeacons as a new channel for spam. If the early adopters are conscientious, however, and use the technology to promote relevant content and interaction, it could become an effective way for brands to interact and connect with their customers. While widespread use of iBeacons is far from imminent, they are becoming increasingly popular with the event management industry. iBeacons were used at some of the highest profile events in 2014 where the technology generated a considerable amount of attention.

This year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas debuted their mobile event app with iBeacon functionality for select sessions and on-site registration. For instance, an attendee within proximity of the registration area would receive a registration code and a welcome notification. SXSW installed beacons around the Austin Convention Centre and in select venues around the festival. At a Pepsi sponsored music event at SXSW, iBeacons were used to power Lightwave wristbands, a new form of wearable technology. The wristbands provide real-time data on audience movement, temperature, and sound levels. Using an accelerometer embedded in the Lightwave, Pepsi measured audience movement to judge a dance competition and ranked audience members on a leaderboard.

While using beacons and wearable tech to judge a dance competition sounds pretty cool, it may not be the sort of application that will have an impact on the event industry. So let’s take a look at a few ways iBeacons could help us manage events and improve the attendee experience.

Attendee check-in. As people arrive at the conference venue they receive a greeting notification on their device and are prompted to check-in. Using the mobile event app, they can then check themselves in and simplify the event registration process.
Navigation. iBeacons provide devices with extremely accurate location services, even without a wifi-connection. In large conference facilities where GPS is unreliable, iBeacons can be used to power hyper-accurate floor or venue maps, to assist conference attendees in finding their next session.
Networking. Using iBeacons, attendees can network through an opt-in feature in the event’s app, allowing them to discover and message others. With Linkedin integration, conference goers can get a detailed look at who is around them and decide who they would like to connect with.
Promotions and advertisements. Instead of distributing brochures or physical promotional materials, a conference exhibitor can send targeted promotions to attract attendees to their stand.
Gamification. Integrating gamification into events will provide new ways to engage and stimulate attendees. For example, iBeacons could be used for social games to drive networking, venue tours tailored to individual interests, or scavenger hunts for exclusive information and prizes.

It is still too early to know what kind of impact iBeacons will end up having on the event industry, but it’s clear it’s not a fleeting trend. Early adopters have proven that, while still in development, this technology has the potential to drive significant change in the industry. What do you think? Have you had the opportunity to manage or attend an event using iBeacon technology? We would love to hear from you. Post a comment below or tweet us at @Attendease

Troy Kasting

Marketing Coordinator

Does your event really need a mobile app?

Event Management News

March 10, 2016

You own a smartphone, yet if you’ve been to a conference lately there’s a good chance you didn’t get a functional, well designed app to personalize and streamline your event experience. Why is that?

Mobile event apps have a lot going for them. In a recent article, I touched upon some of the most compelling reasons for adopting the technology and moving towards connected conferences. Attendees no longer have to lug around heavy bags filled with sponsor information, flip through thick programs, and navigate with a printed map (or ask for directions). Using a mobile event app they can complete the conference registration, connect with other conference goers, and use the scheduler to organize their sessions, among numerous other features. Connected conferences make an attendee’s experience more personal and streamlined.

And yet the technology is not as pervasive as you would expect. Julius Solaris, author of The Event App Bible, conducted a survey of 527 event management professionals and found that 63% don’t currently use a mobile app for their events. Respondents cited the financial investment, the time commitment, and a lack of a clear return on investment as the major deterrents to adoption. In response to these concerns, some developers have begun to create less costly solutions and look for alternatives. One alternative platform, the mobile web, is able to provide some of the event management software functionality that was previously only available in native apps.

Mobile web applications are essentially websites, accessed through a mobile device, that in many ways look and feel like an app. It is important to acknowledge from the outset that mobile web apps do not have access to all the services and hardware available to native apps. This includes access to cameras, the accelerometer, data storage, and the ability to run offline. So while there is no substitute for a custom native app, mobile web technologies have arisen as a compelling alternative. Mobile web applications can take full advantage of recent advances in web technology, including HTML5, CSS3, and numerous JavaScript APIs which allow deep integration with mobile devices.

Our team at Attendease builds native event apps and recognized that some of the most important features can be brought to conference attendees without needing to develop a native app. By creating a fully responsive web application that works seamlessly on desktop or mobile, the Attendease platform delivers the most sought after functionality to the mobile web. No download required, no need for a stand-alone mobile app. This means conference organizers can offer their attendees personalized scheduling and get many of the management tools found in a native app without an additional financial investment.

Features available:

Mobile-friendly scheduling for both attendees and event organizers
Drag-and-drop desktop schedule building
Conference registration and payment
Event website customizable with CSS and Javascript
Attendee messaging and email
Online surveys
Organization and team management
Reporting and statistics
Onsite tools

So the next time you begin planning an event, consider using a platform that can deliver both desktop and mobile functionality in one package. Give your attendees the impactful mobile experience they have come to expect and make their conference experience personal and streamlined.

Troy Kasting

Marketing Coordinator

A NEW HOPE FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS

Event Management News

March 7, 2016

Making Event Management Beautiful

Modest beginnings

When Patrick, Mike and I were laid off from the company we worked for in 2000, we didn’t quite know what lay ahead for us as software engineers. But, even with the gummy mess of the post dot-com bubble all around us, we actually didn’t seem too concerned at all. We were young, naive and frugal… and, more importantly, we had our Macs, an internet connection and an Airport to share between us :). Our unemployed spirits were generally high over the coming months as we casually convened to geek out and code in each other’s living rooms. I think that we knew in our gut of guts that reality would eventually get the better of us and we’d need to get back to work!

In 2001, the three of us officially partnered as Coverall Crew and opened up a bank account with money from our first paid gig ($6,000 is a lot of pizza slices!). We were on our way. Our first few projects happened to involve building event registration systems for enterprise clients which, unbeknownst to us, was an early sign of things to come. And, since we were being commissioned to develop many other web applications, we took the time to devise a PHP-based rapid application development framework which we called N2O. N2O would prove to be an essential backbone to almost all of Coverall Crew’s consulting projects over the next few years. It was also the basis for an early incarnation of Attendease.

An agile event management platform

The next 13 years would see us build the gamut of online event management software from the ground up. We responsible for assembling and integrating all the attendee-facing parts like the event website, conference registration and payment, mobile app, hotel booking, session scheduling, attendee management, event financials, onsite check-in, surveys, badge printing, onsite gaming, and session scanning. We were also responsible for the more technical tasks of constructing administrative tools for attendee management, reporting and statistics, financials, content management, sponsor management, conference marketing, and attendee messaging.

The concept for building Attendease was born early on. It isn’t a surprise that the more events we worked on the more we realized how much more efficient we could be if we leveraged a framework that automatically took care the things we found ourselves repeating time and time again. We needed to be able to easily customize each conference for our clients while still giving them full freedom to make and publish changes themselves. After a couple of scrapped false starts building Attendease overtop our N2O framework and a later foray into Merb, we finally decided on using Rails for our dream platform.

Since we didn’t have the resources to build out every module for Attendease in one fell swoop (nor do I think it that this kind of waterfall approach would have proved nearly as successful) we have always embraced an organic, agile methodology to developing new features. This has allowed us the luxury to take our time and build Attendease out slow and steady, making sure to do things the right way from the start, balancing elegance, usability and flexibility.

This is the platform you’re looking for

Event management platforms are not at all a new phenomenon, which actually presents a substantial opportunity for startups in our field. Most large players have been around for many years and, as such, continue to build technology onto core systems that are visibly out-dated and increasingly cumbersome to use. They may claim to support a wide breadth of features, but their implementation of these often falls short for many reasons.

As well as their failure to take advantage of the latest web standards and best practices, new features are often added atop legacy systems without proper planning around maintaining a seamless experience for users. Our mission at Attendease is to revolutionize the event experience for conference managers and attendees alike. We are obsessive (in a good way!) about using state-of-the-art web application techniques, while constantly striving for a wonderful and seamless user experience.

While Attendease looks and works beautifully out-of-the-box, we have also painstakingly built the platform so that our team (or anyone else proficient in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, for that matter) can easily manipulate the look, feel, and some functionality to very detailed specifications. It has been most exciting to see how our clients’ own internal developers have been manipulating the Attendease theme in order to pixel-perfectly match their company branding, without engaging Attendease for any costly custom consulting!

Clients that have switched to Attendease after using other platforms invariably describe how much more pleasing, intuitive, beautiful, and relatively inexpensive Attendease is compared with their old event management software. That’s the best feedback we can hope for, and it’s what constantly drives us to continue innovating.

Where we’re headed

The central mantra at Attendease is simply to make event management beautiful. Not only do we want to ensure that all attendee interactions are as enjoyable as possible, our goal is also to delight and simplify the lives of conference managers in the process.

Though Attendease can already accommodate the needs of most events out there, we are constantly updating the platform by adding new features as well as improving existing functionality.

This blog will house info on all things Attendease including product updates, event best-practices, company culture and other fun tidbits.

We’re looking forward to being part of the story that makes your lives easier and helps your events shine.

Jamie

Attendease Co-Founder

Business Grow Event with 5 Killer Technologies

Event Management News

February 18, 2016

INTRODUCTION:

IIn 2014 many sectors of the event industry experienced a significant shift in how they use event-focused technologies. Thanks to increased adoption of mobile based technologies, further inroads into advanced reporting and analytics, and new approaches to increase attendee participation, many conferences are benefiting from next-generation thinking and tools. These trends will continue in 2015 and likely define how we will see it a year from now. Here’s a look at 5 technologies that will make events stand out as industry leaders in 2015.

1. Mobile Event Apps

This list isn’t in order of importance but it’s a good bet event apps will be the tool with the largest impact on the conference industry in 2015. I predict this for two reasons. First, mobile device usage is at an all-time high, even amongst self-professed luddites. Second, mobile app providers are more numerous, which has led to innovation through competition and to lower prices. Though incorporating a mobile event app into your event won’t draw attention quite like it would have in 2014, not having one will make it stand out for the wrong reasons in 2015.

Mobile event apps will continue to replace existing processes and improve upon the tools and functionality they already offer. Online event management has already begun to replace replace paper-based assets such as programs, schedules, promotional materials, and maps. Event apps will further improve upon tools for attendee registration, engagement and communication, tracking ROI, and revenue generation. Some notable improvements will be in online and social media networking, advanced polling and surveys, highly interactive and customizable schedules, and integrated gamification. While we will surely see improvements to the conference planning tools already offered, we will also likely see entirely new mobile based technologies.

2. iBeacons

iBeacons were one such technology to be introduced in 2014 and will likely have a significant impact in 2015. These low-power, low cost Bluetooth transmitters have up to a 50 meter (150 foot) range. They have been used primarily for gamification and highly accurate location services, though we may see new use cases as the technology proliferates. As it stands, iBeacons are used chiefly by large, tech based conferences and tradeshows. We expect to see conferences outside of this sector begin to incorporate them in 2015.

Notable uses to look out for may include personalized welcome and other location-based alert notifications, social media networking and information exchange, and more sophisticated applications for gamification.

3. Analytics

While analytics won’t likely make an impact that is easily obvious to attendees, it will make your event noteworthy to your clients and sponsors. Analytics give you the power to back up your business decisions with real data, prove your ROI, offer greater personalization to participants and greater insight into their behavior. Analytics can now measure marketing effectiveness, attendee interests, participation levels, preferred mobile platforms, sponsorship and advertising ROI, real-time usage statistics, audience retention rates, level of networking activity, guidance needed, and the impact of your incentives.

Many events currently gather analytics, so for 2015 you’ll have to take the next step and use real-time information to improve the event experience. As every touch is trackable, you can use this data to make informed decisions mid-event that could have a major impact on the success of your event.

4. Interactivity

In 2015 the combination of social media and mobile event apps will offer a wide range of new attendee engagement opportunities. The most successful conferences will facilitate attendee participation by using real-time polling, gamification, and improved networking. In 2015 we will see the emergence of more conferences, especially the meetings, organized from the “bottom up” rather than the “top down”. At these meetings, session topics and discussions will be influenced by the participants. By polling attendees through online or in-app surveys, event session managers can ensure that the topics are relevant and engaging to their attendees, and attendees will have a real say in what they wish to discuss. At outstanding events in 2015 the transition from “attendee” to “participant” will continue.

5. Gamification

In 2014 a number of notable events, including CES 2014, used gamification very successfully. The gamification of events is not new, but with new, powerful ways to implement it we can expect to see a significant increase in adoption in 2015. Armed with mobile apps, iBeacons, and analytics, event organizers can use this method to gather actionable intel to improve the overall event experience. Gamification also gives sponsors new ways to interact with attendees providing valuable new lead generation opportunities. For attendees, gamification provides an entertaining way to experience the event that speaks to people’s competitive nature. It’s not surprising that this technology will continue to emerge as a big trend in 2015. The gamification of events is a logical extension of the trend of gamification we can observe emerging in many other aspects of daily life.

Are you planning to incorporate any of these technologies into your 2015 events? Or maybe you plan to leverage a technology we didn’t mention here? Leave your comments below or you can send us a tweet at @Attendease.

Troy Kasting

Marketing Coordinator

List-Based Post [Blogging Blueprint]

Event Management News

January 1, 1970

INTRODUCTION:

The list post is one of the most popular and readable blog formats on the web. It is composed of — you guessed it — a list, and includes short explanatory paragraphs about each item.

Use your introduction as a way to tell the reader how this collection of ideas will help them. Keep it light by including a personal story. If you have any data that you can include relating to your list, include that in your introduction, too.

Here are some examples of how we use list blog posts here at HubSpot:

(more…)

Exporing How Event Automation Saves Time and Resources

Event Management News

January 1, 1970

The Day Of: Things to Do to Prepare for Your Virtual Event

Event Management News

January 1, 1970

Virtual events are part of today’s new normal. In fact, Forbes reports that some virtual events platforms have seen numbers surge by up to 1,000% these past few months. This rise translates to roughly 52,000 such events in the months since this global pandemic first broke out. These figures underscore an increasing reliance on digital meetings, and it is a trend that is likely to continue as organisations worldwide look to reconvene online. And as our previous article ‘Future-Proof Your Events’ points out, many in the industry are done reacting to the fallout of this pandemic, and are now proactively future-proofing their events.

Despite these inroads, the reality is that a lot can go wrong in these virtual setups, from platform limitations to your connection breaking down and your attendees losing interest. Having said that, you can’t let your fear of failure paralyze you; instead, you’ll need to be more proactive in your preparations. The post ‘5 Strategies to Improve Your Online Event Experience’ already outlines a few steps to take your events to the next level, including building brand consistency, getting sponsorship and using music as a mood setter. Next, you’ll need to be on top of things on the actual day of your event, which you can do by following the pointers below.

Relax

Days of preparation for your event have likely left you stressed out, and that stress could very well manifest when it’s showtime. This is why you need to be in the right headspace and in a relaxed state. Thankfully, you can achieve this by doing breathing exercises and stretches throughout the day. And you needn’t do anything fancy or elaborate either. Pain Free Working suggests some simple stretching exercises, including shoulder rotations, which help relieve stress, and arm stretches, which relieve pressure off of your fingers, wrists, shoulders, and elbows. You can also take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down and help you zone in on your tasks for the day.

Check your tech

Virtual events are vulnerable to glitches, and proof of it was Canada’s first-ever virtual House of Commons proceedings. Commons Speaker Anthony Rota pronounced the event as a relative success, before admitting that there were some technical hiccups. Such glitches aren’t entirely unavoidable, but you can minimize the likelihood of them happening by performing tech check-ins hours prior to your event’s start time. Make sure that your connection is strong and stable, and that everything — webcams, microphones, and presentation equipment — is working. Prepare contingencies as well, like getting a backup connection or procuring extra cameras and mics just in case. In this way, you lower the probability of technical breakdowns disrupting your event.

Rehearse

A UC Today guide on ensuring memorable virtual events emphasizes how taking time out to rehearse will help ensure the smooth flow of your events. In particular, it’ll let the moderators and speakers get comfortable not only with one another, but also with the tech at their disposal. It’s also a great way for everyone to iron out the minutiae of your event, like how to do the introductions, how to transition from one segment to the next, and how to reduce potential dead air during the proceedings. Rehearsing, not to mention, is a great way to do a final tech check to see if everything is truly good to go.

Make sure you’ll be comfortable

The last thing you’d want is to feel discomfort or even any kind of pain during the event itself, as that will compromise your ability to lead it. This is why you must take the necessary steps to ensure that you’re as comfortable as possible for the duration of the event. That can mean a lot of things, like adjusting the lighting and temperature of the venue, finding a comfortable chair and desk, and clearing out any potential hazards such as wires and power cords. Doing these will all but guarantee that you’ll be at your best once the event starts.

Whether you’re hosting a virtual event or an in-person one, the only thing you have full control over is your preparation. So, make sure you leave no stone unturned in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the big show. In doing so, you increase the chances of holding a successful event significantly.

Article contributed by Brianne Watson

Attendease Feature Update

Event Management News

January 1, 1970