Can Apps Help Make your Convention or Conference Run Smoother?

📅 February 26, 2016 - When you have a convention or conference to prepare for, you need to have a few basics in mind. You'll need a really great plan for entertaining your audience. You'll need a lineup in mind for people to speak to your crowd. You'll also need an audience that is eager to attend. In addition, you'll probably have to provide food and drinks, choose a venue that has ease accessibility, and then you'll need a code of conduct in place to keep everyone in line.

How are you going to balance all of this, make your event run smooth, and make sure it's a great experience? One route that many are choosing is to use apps to make the conference or convention they are running to go smoother. How can apps help? Take a look at why apps may be exactly what you're missing.

How are apps making conventions run smoother?

Your paper programs are going to be a great item to handout to guests and you've probably signed a few paper contracts with vendors and the venue, but certain smart phone apps could make the whole process a whole lot easier for not only you, but for your attendees.

Your audience may either be new to the idea or they may be expecting it, but conference apps are now in place with companies like DoubleDutch to help you and other organizers to better engage your audience and provide the best possible experience for them.

How do these conference apps work? You'll be able to better provide information about the event to your attendees through the event app and allow them to be more in-the-know about where and when things are happening. They'll be able to plan their attendance at the event to the max personalized experience because there may be portions that are more relevant to their needs compared to others. They can utilize these apps to make sure they are getting the most out of the experience.

Why will an app be preferred over paper programs?

Not only are conference and convention apps going to be the most current, but they allow for conversation, interaction, feedback, and even making money. Your paper program will be printed in advance which means that any last-minute changes that come up won't be reported properly to your guests.

You'll have to find another way to advise attendees that part of your event has a change which could get miscommunicated, not reach everyone, or cause you more money to print the change. Your app is always going to be current rather than a potentially outdated program, because you can easily edit the information in the app rather than having to reprint programs.

Along with having an app that will universally update any changes you make to the schedule or plans, the app will allow your guests to interact with each other and even you. The app allows for conversation, especially for those that are more introverted, and your attendees may have a better opportunity at connecting with others thanks to the feature.

These apps typically have a chat or check-in feature that all can see and allow for easier communication with one another. In addition, you can set up the app to make sure your attendees can communicate with the speakers or panelists from the event, offer feedback to the organizers, and tell others if there is an area to avoid due to a problem that is being solved. It's more efficient overall.

Lastly, in addition to saving money on paper printing costs that you may avoid with using the app instead, you can use the app to make money. Sell advertising space for the app just like you would on a physical program. The income may help pay for the event itself.

If you've decided to let conference and convention apps help you to run things smoother at your upcoming event, use apps like Square, Skype, and DoubleDutch to get the job done.