In the last few years, the event industry has witnessed the rise and coordination of social media and mobile apps. As planners and attendees have learned to both download the designated event app and also connect on social media networks, greater engagement has occurred. At the same time, great confusion has occurred. From figuring out which social media platforms are being used, to what the event hashtag is, it has been the job of the planner to effectively communicate, well, how to communicate.
The good news is this can be much more easily accomplished by seamlessly integrating the social feeds directly into the event app, like CrowdCompass has done. By placing the official Facebook feeds, the official Twitter feed with the hashtag, a LinkedIn page or blog directly into the app, the attendee knows exactly how to converse with the other event participants.
Including relevant social media content allows the app to serve as the home base for communication and helps prevent losing attendees to native social networks. It also leads to a greater adoption rate by the attendees. People can still use the social network that they are most comfortable with and can also enjoy the features of the app such as session reminders and notifications. You don't want to prevent or discourage people from sharing content on Twitter, if that's where they tend to gravitate to. Instead, you want to focus on creating an environment that fosters idea sharing and better relationships. The mobile event app is simply a tool that facilitates these connections.
Why does this matter? In the big picture of things, it doesn't. If people are communicating and connecting with other event participants it enhances the meeting—regardless of the medium. However, an event app does more than what a stand-alone social network does and it is to their benefit to engage in it.
Overtime, people will come to expect the integration of mobile apps and social media. For now, guide them to richer conversations in a central location that will let them focus on the content, not the confusion.
Written by Jessica Levin
