Event app providers are always preaching about event app adoption rates. But what is event app adoption and why does it matter so much? Let’s start with the ‘what’. Put simply event app adoption is the number of your attendees that use your event app. Sounds straight forward, right?
The go-to measure is the number of app store downloads, but really this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The content management system of a good event app will offer a huge range of data types to help event planners determine how well their event app was used. Here are a few to get you started:
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Most visited pages, profiles and modules
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Number of attendees that have logged into the app to personalise it
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Number of notes taken
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Number of personalised schedules created
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Number of messages attendees send to other attendees via the event app
Once you understand the metrics, the value of event app adoption starts to become clear. A good event app can really help you achieve your event objectives. It’s a primary reason why they are now being used at more than 70% of events*.
To get a great ROI on your event app investment you need to make sure your attendees a) know about it and b) if they need help accessing it, they get it. Here’s how.
1. Choose The Right Event App
It sounds obvious, but make sure to choose an event app (and supplier) that is a joy for attendees to use. Skimping on the event app budget could result in attendees abandoning the app if it’s slow to load or counter intuitive in any way.
Make sure the event app works really well as a web app. Some event attendees don’t know their app store passwords or find it quicker and easier to use a web-based event app instead. Also, if you want 100% adoption simply don’t provide the information via any other channel e.g. printed brochures.
2. Concurrent Connections
In a similar vein, event planners need to ensure there is enough 4G or the WiFi is fast enough. Also, that enough people can connect to it at once so attendees can use the interactive components within an event app that require connectivity.
3. Pre-Event Comms
We recommend that you launch your event app at least a couple of weeks before the event starts. If you are sending email communications about your event, dedicate at least one email to the app. Also, don’t forget to announce your event app as part of any social media campaigns you are running.
4. At The Event
Provide an event app concierge to sit along side registration to help any attendees put the app on their phone, show them around it and access WiFi if needed.
5. Use a Video
Your event app provider should offer you a short video to showcase the key features you would like to highlight to your attendees and how to download the event app. Play the video at the plenary and on screens around the venue. You’ll see a huge spike in adoption!
The other strategy that works well is for your MC to introduce the event app verbally, with some screenshots and instructions on a slide. CrowdComms provide these event app housekeeping slides for every client.
6. Polling
This is one of the key benefits of using event apps and it’s often the prompt for attendees to start using the app. Consider asking a really good question in the plenary to whet your audience’s appetite for the rest of the conference and to create some urgency around accessing the event app.
Use some or all of these strategies and you will see adoption rates soar and attendees rave. Enjoy.
What to know how it can work in real life? Read more about achieving great event app adoption here.
*Source Event App Bible, 2016
