In today’s digital world, building a mobile event app is no longer a choice but a necessity for your business events. Event apps aren’t just platforms to conduct virtual events but an integration capable of increasing your event engagement and event ROI regardless of the type of event.
You, like many event organizers, may be reluctant to add a mobile app as a part of your event marketing and engagement strategy because of one particular reason – the uncertainty about event app adoption. You aren’t sure whether your attendees will download your app. If that’s the case, this is the perfect article for you!
Here we talk about 14 lesser-known tips you can implement before, during, and after your event to ensure event app adoption by your attendees.
Before The Event
- Promote Your App Early
Start promoting your event app at least 2 months in advance to ensure maximum event app adoption rate. Send an email with a clear call to action (CTA) to download your app right after attendees sign up or buy a ticket for your event.
Send personalized reminder emails after one week to those attendees who didn’t download the app through the first email. Include CTA (Call to action) to download the app in multiple places like your website, blogs, and social media channels.
- Make Your App Compulsory
The best way to make your attendees download and use your event app is to create FOMO in them. Show them a sneak peek of exclusive content available only in the app and entice them to download it.
You can also make your app an indispensable part of your in-person event by allowing priority check-in through a QR code present in the app.
- Make Your App Easily Accessible
If your app doesn’t support multi-platform access, it will drastically affect your event app adoption rate. Event apps that can be accessed through both desktop web and native apps are what most attendees prefer.
An easy log-in process is another simple way to drive event app adoption. Allow people to sign up or log in to your app from multiple channels like Gmail, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Avoid lengthy sign-up processes and ask only for relevant details.
- Promote Your App Through Multiple Platforms
Leverage social media to promote your app by frequently posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Make use of Polls, Stories, and Twitter Spaces to educate and answer the queries of potential attendees.
Nudge your attendees who have downloaded the app to share and promote it on various platforms in exchange for incentives or rewards. Invest in paid campaigns to steer more people towards your event app.
- Educate Your Attendees About Your App
Educate your attendees about making the best use of your event app through multiple content formats. Use emails, blogs, video tutorials, webinars, and an in-built virtual walkthrough to familiarize them with the app.
If your app supports attendee profile building, give crisp and concise information about it. Demonstrate how to save their favourite sessions, take notes and engage with fellow attendees.
- Let Your Speakers and Attendees Toot Your Horn
If your app has a special section for speaker profiles, pay attention to the views and likes each speaker gets. The ones who get the most profile visits and likes are the most suitable ones to promote your app. Encourage them to promote your app along with their session on various platforms.
Registrants who have downloaded your app are another set of people you should focus on. On the THANK YOU page, include an option to share that they’ve downloaded your app.
- Have App-Exclusive Content
An effective way to increase the app adoption rate is to make your app the hub of all activities concerning the event. Create app-exclusive content that attendees can consume only when they download your app.
Organize live webinars or get-to-know sessions with speakers, share whitepapers and podcasts, conduct contests and giveaways, provide attendee engagement opportunities before the event. Share recordings of the sessions through the app after the event.
- Include Pre-Event Gamification
Don’t wait for the day of the event to create some buzz. Conduct games, contests, and giveaways weeks before the event. Allow people to participate only through the app but announce the winners through social media.
This is an impactful way to boost your app download rate without repeatedly persuading your attendees.
During The Event
- Set Up An Event App Help Desk
A trained, proactive team to handle technical issues concerning the event app is indispensable regardless of whether you are hosting an online, in-person, or hybrid event. For in-person events, set up an event app help desk to resolve technical and general queries of your attendees.
Set up a virtual help desk that attendees can access by email, phone, or from your event app for virtual and hybrid ones. On-site events can also incorporate a virtual help desk to aid attendees pre-event.
- Create a Leaderboard For Attendees
Teasing the competitor in your attendees is another stellar way to ensure app adoption. Create a leaderboard for attendees to get points whenever they take desired actions.
The desired action can be attending a speaker’s session, participating in a pre or post-event discussion, or contesting in a giveaway or competition. If it is a virtual event, attendees can be awarded points for completing their attendee profile, interacting with fellow attendees, or engaging with a speaker’s post.
- Create a Space For Pre/Post Session Discussions
Incorporate spaces in your app where attendees can have pre or post-session discussions. People love sharing their thoughts and hearing others’ opinions. Hence giving them this provision encourages them to download the event app. These spaces also enhance the effectiveness of your event.
- Do On-site Gamification With Exhibitors
Richard Bartle’s famous test found out that most people play games to socialize(80%) rather than to win rewards(20%). Considering this data, on-site gamification should be an aspiration for everyone.
Include games that are relevant to your event in between different sessions. Take excitement to the next level by creating a video-game parlour effect using on-site gamification.
After The Event
- Promote On-demand Content Through App
Share recordings of all sessions and other resources through the event app once the event ends. Let potential registrants know about this in advance to encourage them to register even if they can’t attend it live. Making the recordings available only on the app ensures that attendees download the app.
- Announce the Winners of the Leaderboard Contest at the End
The cleverest way to encourage attendees to use your app even after they are done with their favorite sessions is to announce the winners of the leaderboard contest at the end. You can ensure that event attendees make the most of the event app this way.
Now that you are equipped with the best and easiest ways to increase app adoption, what are you waiting for? Sky-rocket the event app adoption rate for your next event.
