“Put down that phone!”
How many times have you been tempted to say that in a meeting when you see your attendees distracted by emails, texts, or phone calls? If so, you’re not alone. UBM Studios, Virtual Edge Institute, and PCMA found that 89% of attendees checked email at in-person meetings and presentations, 48% took a phone call, 35% texted or tweeted out of boredom, 28% shopped online or surfed the web, and 18% instant messaged due to boredom.
We know by now that telling attendees to disconnect with their mobile devices is not working. Even airlines have relented and let people keep electronic devices on during takeoff. So, as event planners, what do we do to eliminate distractions and keep our attendees engaged? It is time to fight fire with fire! Instead of resisting and limiting connectivity and technology at our meetings we should embrace it. There are so many new technologies emerging every day, but these are a few that have some serious traction and should be considered for your next event.
Pathable - Consider this the Facebook of your event. It allows you to engage your attendees before, during, and after your event. This app integrates with your current registration system to send attendees invitations to join your event community. Once they join, they can create a profile, sync with their current social media, get the conference schedule, and interact with the speakers and other attendees before, during, and after the meeting. It provides a platform for speakers to communicate with attendees in advance so they can tailor their presentation specifically to the audience. It allows you to see who is attending what sessions, so you can set rooms accordingly. This software provides you real-time data on what your attendees are thinking and doing. You’ll be able, at any time, to know what sessions, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors are interested in and where you need to focus your attention.
Twitter and Live Tweeting - Encourage your attendees to live-tweet your event. Live-tweeting is engaging on Twitter for a length of time with a series of tweets on an unfolding subject. In this case, it is your event! Advertise a hashtag early on that your attendees can adopt that others will follow and use to tweet. This will let your attendees advertise for you! As the event planner, take pictures of attendees and share them with that hashtag. Show everyone what they’re missing by not being at your event, so next year they'll be sure to attend. Encourage your speakers to promote their Twitter account and take questions during the session via Twitter instead of the usual Q&A.
Catchbox - If you ARE offering a formal Q&A, are you having trouble getting your attendees to interact with your speakers? Try Catchbox, the first throwable microphone. Catchbox is a soft cube microphone that can be tossed from attendee to attendee, and even back to the speaker to ask questions and be heard. Think of this as a grown-up version of “hot potato”. In a world where engaging attendees is increasingly difficult, this new technology allows you to break the ice at your events. It comes in two sizes, for groups of 1-100 and also unlimited users so you’ll be able to find the right Catchbox for your event.
Intellix Wristbands - These RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wristbands provide attendees the technology and connectivity they crave while providing meeting planners and their sponsors an incredible amount of data. These wristbands serve to verify attendees, improve queuing, reduce the amount of needed stewards, and let you know exactly which attendees are where. By electronically checking into your event and to its various programs, data that could only be previously guesstimated can be verified. All the while, attendee social media pages can be updated without having to manually check in with their phone. These wristbands can provide powerful information when planning next year’s event and can be invaluable for sponsors. For example, do you want to know exactly how many people attended a particular session? Scanning these wristbands before they enter the room will tell you. Scan them when they leave and you'll know how long each person stayed. Let your sponsors and vendors scan the wristbands for immediate access to contact information. Your vendors will thank you!
Satsum – This company promotes its product as “Software for a better customer experience.” This makes it easy for your attendees to provide feedback via the channel they prefer whether it be email, the web, or mobile device. It tracks and analyzes data and keeps you up to date with what attendees think. This in turn, gives you the ability to react, building more loyal and personal relationships. Digital Playbook, Center for Exhibition Industry Research, George P. Johnson, ASAE, Exhibitor Media Group & INXPO have noted that 89% of trade show and conference organizers and brand marketers measure the ROI of digital efforts. What event planners need to do is find technology that can help them measure what their attendees are interested in, doing, and talking about without sending a formal survey. Asking questions in real-time could be invaluable for getting instant responses. Products like Satsum can help you accomplish this.
By providing your attendees a sense of control over the event with these technologies, it's you as the event planner that actually is taking control. Engaging your attendees in conference-related activities can be as simple as turning their mobile device into your new marketing platform. These new technologies will help attendees connect with each other, speakers, sponsors and you. It can provide valuable information and help promote your event and brand. It can also be a way to grab attention: imagine promoting your event by telling attendees, “Be sure to bring your mobile devices!”
Source
https://www.intellitix.com/services/accesscontrol/ http://satsum.com/
