Three Ways You Can Use Technology At Events To Up Participation
3 WAYS YOU CAN USE TECHNOLOGY AT EVENTS TO UP PARTICIPATION
Events technology has changed almost every aspect of the MICE industry, from the way we share information to the way we communicate.
We use this technology in a number of different ways – to broadcast information about events, connect with attendees and more. Mobile tickets are replacing paper. We’re using big data to research attendees and tailor events more closely to their needs.
But what about using events technology to increase participation and engagement? There are many ways to do this and with the right technology solution, you can accomplish just that.
Here are some powerful ways that you can use events technology to improve engagement at your upcoming meetings, conferences, and other events:
1. CREATE AN EVENT APP
Creating a mobile app for your event makes a lot of sense. Your attendees likely use their smartphone for pretty much everything, so why not make it easier for them to navigate your event? Having a dedicated app that visitors to your event can download will improve their overall experience.
There’s a lot you can do with an event app. You can use it to list the times and locations of your workshops and speaking events, including information about speakers. You can even send push notifications with information about room changes or any other important messages. Event apps can also include videos, photo galleries, maps and so much more.
The app for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (the world’s largest theatre festival) uses GPS technology to deliver a better experience to attendees. The event features theatre and comedy performances in various venues throughout the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. With the “Nearby Now” feature on the app, users can easily see listings for shows starting soon that are close to their location.
2. SET UP A SOCIAL MEDIA WALL
Another great way to use events technology to increase participation is to set-up a social media wall. These types of live, interactive walls are a lot of fun and generate lots of engagement and buzz.
However, it’s not enough just to set up a screen and invite users to tweet photos and updates with the hashtag. You’ll need more of a plan to create the high quality engagement that makes a social media wall really effective.
Start by choosing your event hashtag well in advance, so that everyone knows it before they arrive. This starts the conversation early and gets people comfortable using it prior to the event.
Then use your wall to ask questions. Throw out topics and challenge your participants to respond to themes. You can even offer prizes for the best response in your feed. When you highlight the winners on the wall, it will motivate others to join the conversation.
The best way to handle this is to have a real-time feed manager for your social media wall. This person can be responsible for quickly responding to questions and discussion on the wall. Their sole job is to spark a conversation with your audience.
Finally, make sure you have the right events technology so that your social media wall functions properly with no glitches. You’ll need a large screen with a high resolution, as well as cloud software that will integrate with all of the popular social media apps. Test it before the event, to make sure that everything will work smoothly when the time comes.Contact us today
