How to host customer-centric virtual events with Meetingbox mobile event apps
2020 saw a boom in virtual events, with thousands of them taking place due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2021 they were seen as here to stay; viable in the long term. In 2022, 92% of companies have continued to host virtual events, and LinkedIn virtual event attendance went up by a record 231%.
Now, more and more companies regard online events as a powerful way to get leads, but some of these events have become an obscure form of sleep remedy. Every other day, we see companies launch a new webinar or podcast series. However, during these kinds of uni-directional online events, genuine enthusiasm, excitement, and above all, results are rarely present.
The root of the problem is that most companies mistakenly treat virtual events as webinars, webcasts, and zoom meetings. Virtual events can go far beyond that. Here’s the thing, while webinars and webcasts are technically subsets of virtual events, they do not come close to the full range of capabilities and formats, which you can leverage through online events. Think of virtual workshops, immersive virtual expos with improv-comedy performances, or virtual summits with special guests.
The days of collecting business cards at booths are long gone. The market conditions are changing rapidly. In-person events are indeed bouncing back, but as statistics show, they will never be as robust as in the pre-covid era. Not only do most companies continue to host virtual events, but many of them also anticipate hosting even more virtual events in the future, according to a recent marketing study. The major social media networks have moved to a ‘pay-for-play’ model where media platforms are producing more and more organic content. As a result, many businesses are seeing their impressions and engagement rates drop. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to get your message across without paying to do so, so you need to invest wisely.
Until recently, businesses built their brand reputation on the foundation of their product or service. Now, simply relying on the company's unique value proposition and brand story to stand out in the ever-crowded marketplace won't be enough. The shift to consumer-centric marketing is already happening, which suggests that companies are bringing together company content, advocacy, and a like-minded community to align with the customer’s needs, wants, and values. This is different from how it was in the pre-covid era, where uni-directional communication of your product, executives, company, or sponsors was aimed towards the target audience.
From a marketing perspective, it comes down to network effects. If you can make your customer truly happy and create an amazing event experience, you can facilitate your network’s growth. If your customers love the experience you’ve created, they will bring their network to your network, which becomes a network of networks. Start thinking like a Customer Success Manager, and instead of new user acquisition, feed the existing users, who you have already attracted through incredible value. In effect, they can boost customer acquisition collaboratively with you.
Online Event Management platforms are the perfect Segway to create customer-centric experiences. While there are many video conferencing and collaboration tools out there, an event management platform is a distinct solution, purpose-built to host events. Some business events entail bringing together a vast number of people to consume content, interact with experts and influencers, and network with other attendees. An event platform, such as Meetingbox, accommodates the multi-faceted nature of such events. Going beyond just hosting a live stream, a virtual event platform provides a variety of engagement possibilities to enable and encourage event attendees to share ideas, make connections and shape the conversation in real-time, like direct messaging, polls, and surveys.
In addition to that, a virtual venue built through your event platform makes it possible to create a full-screen, immersive environment. This is where Meetingbox excels. A virtual venue gives attendees plenty to look at, and most importantly, to do, which means they are less likely to be pulled away by distractions. You can fill the venue with a good variety of content, and you can keep attendees engaged for longer periods. People will still step away from the computer from time to time, of course, but by providing engaging content within a 3D virtual environment, you ensure they’ll keep coming back.
Meetingbox offers all-in-one solutions for hosting any type of event, in-person, virtual, or hybrid:
● Project Workflow Automation
● All stages of an event including exposure and ticket sales
● Simple / Sophisticated event registration websites
● Mobile Event Apps
Meetingbox’s experienced team will work closely with you every step of the way to help deliver a seamless virtual event, from the initial planning to post-event reporting. One of the great ways to foster customer-centric event experiences is through the mobile event app.
The average mobile user looks at their phone 63 times during the day. This is only an average figure, so, of course, the numbers of views climb way higher than that. Most people even whip out and use their devices at social gatherings. Imagine having an app for your company’s social gathering and gaining some of that digital attention whenever they take their eyes off the main event.
A mobile event app is a software application that is used for a physical or virtual event. Its purpose is to provide real-time information, enable interaction, and foster engagement among all event attendees, participants, and organizers. An event app gives every attendee, right at their fingertips, all the information they may need information about schedules, maps, other attendees, organizer details, speaker information, etc. Likewise, organizers can use these apps for networking, advertising, getting audience responses, and tracking objectives.
A mobile event app is a great way to create customer-centric events for several reasons.
Better Targeted Marketing
You can completely tailor your event app to suit your attendees’ requirements. You can easily create and customize guest lists based on the interest levels of the participants and create valuable experiences for them.
Better Communication Between Attendees
An event app is a unique communication channel between you, the organizer, your sponsors, partners, and your attendees. You can keep your audience alert and engaged with live polling, well-timed push notifications to announce important sessions, and surveys to capture valuable feedback. Those, who are interested, can sign up for different sessions on the agenda. This helps automate niche content, which you can promote with the help of a notification feature. By investing in a mobile event app, you can connect all event stakeholders – exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees.
Effective evaluation of the event
More users mean more data. No matter, the numbers, and the volume, your event app will keep track of all your users and data at your in-person, virtual or hybrid event. This way, you collect valuable insights, keep in touch in the future with the attendees, and deliver effective campaigns. You can even create a community for your app users for future events and marketing purposes.
Everything is in one place
Participating in your event can be a smooth journey. As the organizer, you want to avoid the headache of working in several different systems to plan and implement your event. The Meetingbox mobile event app is a comprehensive solution for you and your participants. We often hear from our clients about how convenient it is to have all the information for their events collected in the event app. Organizers, exhibitors, and participants have everything on their mobile phones, which makes it easy for the event to flow. Our clients’ customers also appreciate not needing to switch between different apps and providers, which makes it easy to plan and attend.
Deliver immersive event experiences where everyone is most comfortable – on the phone! Book a Demo and you will see exactly how it works.
