Planning an event used to be a juggling act, requiring you to balance countless logistics while also delivering an unforgettable experience for attendees. Now Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived to make your life easier, your events smarter, and your attendees happier. Let’s dive into how AI is revolutionizing the event planning industry—and why you’ll want to be part of this tech-driven transformation.

 Personalized Experiences on a Whole New Level

Gone are the days of cookie-cutter events. AI can analyze attendee data to craft unique experiences for every individual. From personalized agendas to tailored content recommendations, AI makes it feel like every attendee has their event concierge.

Example:

Imagine an AI-powered event app that suggests sessions, booths, or networking opportunities based on an attendee’s interests and behavior. Attendee A gets recommendations for tech-focused panels, while Attendee B gets a curated list of wellness-focused activities.

 Smarter Event Marketing

AI doesn’t just help during the event; it starts working its magic long before the first guest arrives. With predictive analytics, AI can determine which marketing strategies are likely to resonate with your target audience.

What it looks like:

Email Campaigns: AI tools can craft engaging email copy tailored to specific audience segments.

Social Media Ads: AI optimizes ad targeting, ensuring your event promos reach the right people at the right time.Predictive Analytics for Attendance: AI can predict attendance rates based on historical data, helping you fine-tune your promotional strategy to boost turnout.

Hassle-Free Logistics Planning

AI is like your virtual event assistant, helping you streamline time-consuming tasks:

Venue Selection: AI tools analyze factors like attendee location, budget, and preferences to recommend ideal venues.

Scheduling: Struggling with overlapping sessions or double bookings? AI can optimize schedules in seconds.

Budgeting: AI tools provide real-time budget analysis, flagging overspending and suggesting cost-saving alternatives.

Enhanced Networking Opportunities

Networking is a key reason people attend events, but let’s face it—awkward small talk can be a buzzkill. AI solves this by facilitating meaningful connections.

How it works:

AI-powered matchmaking tools analyze attendee profiles to suggest connections based on shared interests or goals. No more wasting time on conversations that don’t spark!

Real-Time Problem Solving

Unexpected issues? AI is your safety net. From monitoring crowd flow to addressing technical glitches, AI tools can provide instant solutions.

For instance:

AI-powered chatbots can handle attendee inquiries 24/7.

AI monitors foot traffic via heatmaps, helping you redirect attendees to avoid overcrowding.

Post-Event Insights Like Never Before

AI can analyze mountains of data to give you actionable insights, such as:

• Which sessions were most popular?

• How engaged were attendees?

• What can be improved for next time?

Sustainability with AI

AI helps you go green by optimizing resources. From digital check-ins to reducing paper waste with AI-driven communication tools, you can minimize your event’s environmental impact at scale. 

Embracing the Future of Event Planning

AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a game-changer for the event planning industry. By automating the mundane, personalizing the attendee journey, and offering insights that drive innovation, AI frees you to focus on what matters most: creating unforgettable experiences.

AI is here, and it’s making sure your next event is not just smart—but extraordinary. Learn more about Bravura’s AI-driven solutions.

Develop a Social Media Plan for Your Events

Allowing your brand to stand apart from the pack requires you to create an engaging social media plan to engage your attendees and uplevel your brand from the beginning to the end of your event.

Social Media Strategies for Events

Developing a comprehensive social media strategy, from the native channels to use crafting engaging content, will define how the details of your event are distributed on social media channels.

Here’s how to create a social media strategy that will in turn drive an amazing experience for your guests.

Ahead of the Event

Being successful on social media requires you to focus on reach, engagement and expectation for the event itself. Achieve all three by taking the following steps:

Pinpoint Your Ideal Audience

Identify the best social media platforms for you to post on by analyzing your organization’s past performance across all channels so you can make a knowledgeable choice.

Utilize Hashtags

Social media strategies should use brand-specific hashtags to generate reach and engagement. Using approved hashtags on your event’s social media posts, event microsites and in email signatures will allow you to get the word out about your #event.

Contact Influencers and Micro-influencers

Influencer marketing partnerships that are thoughtfully constructed and appropriate for your goals can help drive engagement and attendance at your event. Provide them a breakdown of what you’d like them to communicate, to what audience, and what you’re looking to pay them. Additionally, event presenters can tap their audiences to get the word out about your event.

Be Consistent

Ensure your brand is consistent across your online presence, ensuring your social media posts have the same branding and character.

Post Teaser Content

Teaser posts can be an especially engaging part of a social media strategy and a means of generating real excitement. Post about an event as far in advance as possible to generate engagement, excitement and attendance at your events.

Build a Facebook Event

Facebook events are another great way to get the word out about your event via a social media strategy. Here are a few tips to help your events page succeed:

• Create compelling content to describe your event
• Make sure links to purchase tickets stand out
• Tag speaker and attendee’s social media profiles
• Consistently post updates or respond to comments that guests may have left on your page

Throughout the Event

Social media strategies can drive engagement and networking throughout an event.

Hashtag Promotion

Design event decor to include your hashtag so that guests take photos in front of the pieces during your event. Some spaces could include a flower wall, balloon arch or step and repeat.

Create Video Content on Social Media

Creating livestream videos, Instagram Reels and TikTok content is another method to showcase your event to attendees who both attended and missed the event. Show videos on your social channels to convert your audience into an engaged audience.

Following the Event

Create More Video Content

Request your attendees share video content from your event to drive follow-up engagement. Reward attendees with prizes for successful posts, and be creative in thinking about how to reward guests who post video content.

Request Testimonials

Online survey tools can allow your company to do a pulse check of your post-event performance. Email these surveys to your attendees, and send them reminders via targeted posts on social media to answer questions that can provide content for testimonials.

Showcase Event Testimonials

Build advertising campaigns from attendees’ testimonials through the comments they left on social media. Tagging the testimonial owner is an additional method to gain engagement and to open the door for referrals.

Social media is a key strategy to create multiple opportunities for developing engaging content that can be used across your brand’s channels in a way that will keep attendees engaged, drive a sense of belonging, and extend the reach and value of your event.

Hybrid events take a pivotal role in an online-first world, and allow attendees the flexibility to participate as they see fit. Here are 11 benefits of combining in-person and virtual events:

Enhanced Reach and Participation:

One of the prevailing misunderstandings around hybrid events is the belief that audiences must choose between participating virtually or attending in person. A hybrid approach expands the reach of events, and enables them to engage larger numbers of attendees by removing limitations caused by travel or the size of a physical venue’s space.

Elevated Audience Engagement:

With the aid of hybrid event technology, virtual participants can actively engage with presenters and fellow attendees, replicating the level of interaction experienced in traditional in-person settings. Through online platforms, virtual attendees have the ability to share and comment on content, pose live questions to presenters, and participate in video conferences.

Additionally, there are ample opportunities to foster engagement between in-person and virtual attendees. For instance, intelligent event matchmaking features can facilitate connections among all participants, irrespective of their physical presence, ensuring a seamless and inclusive experience for everyone involved.

Gain Sponsorship Prospects:

An increasing number of event sponsors are realizing the advantages of hybrid events, leading to a higher inclination to support and sponsor such events. For instance, trade shows are more likely to attract sponsors when they have the potential to reach a substantial audience.

Sponsors can greatly benefit from hybrid events due to their expanded reach. Additionally, sponsors can seize the opportunity to participate remotely by establishing virtual event booths and delivering presentations through video conferencing. This becomes particularly significant for events aiming to accommodate sponsors and speakers from different countries during times of prevalent travel restrictions.

Drive Return on Investment:

The enhanced reach and scalability of hybrid events not only attracts a larger audience and more sponsors but also has the potential to significantly boost overall returns. The increased flexibility provided by hybrid events also helps mitigate financial risks by offering the ability to scale down in-person activities while simultaneously expanding the digital footprint to engage a larger number of remote attendees. This adaptability allows for optimizing resources and maximizing ROI in a dynamic, efficient manner.

Robust Data Capture and Analytics:

Through the utilization of hybrid event technology, accessing valuable data and gaining insightful information from both in-person and remote attendees becomes considerably more seamless. For instance, integrated mobile event apps enable attendees, regardless of their physical location, to provide feedback through polls and surveys.

By incorporating event goals and analytics solutions, event organizers can receive a continuous flow of data-driven insights, aiding them in gaining a deeper understanding of their attendees. Armed with this valuable information, organizers can make iterative improvements to their events, enhancing the overall experience with each iteration.

Increased Event Adaptability

In light of the unprecedented disruptions caused by the pandemic, numerous event organizers can be hesitant to fully transition back to in-person events. The potential costs incurred from unforeseen circumstances are significant if events have to be rescheduled or canceled.

Having a hybrid event platform as a contingency plan provides the necessary preparedness to tackle uncertainty as it arises. In contrast, solely relying on traditional live events can be likened to placing all your resources and expectations in a single, vulnerable avenue.

Ignite Your Marketing Funnel

For those immersed in the realm of event marketing, embracing a hybrid approach proves beneficial on multiple fronts. Even if the majority of attendees participate in person, incorporating event streaming guarantees the preservation of all content for future utilization. This allows in-person attendees to revisit presentations and access other valuable content long after the event concludes.

The influence of an impactful hybrid event can reverberate for months, if not years, to come. Armed with comprehensive records of attendee interactions, you will possess the essential data required to enhance your overall marketing strategy and amplify the efficacy of upcoming events. This invaluable information empowers you to optimize your marketing funnel and unlock success.

Minimize Your Ecological Footprint

Amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, one positive outcome has been the significant reduction in environmental impact attributed to reduced travel. This realization has shed light on an additional advantage of remote work, virtual events and teleconferencing.

While in-person meetings remain crucial and continue to maintain their value, extending events into the virtual realm offers a remarkable opportunity to cater to environmentally-conscious attendees while lessening your ecological footprint. Moreover, by reducing in-person attendance, there is a concurrent reduction in requirements such as catering and disposable materials, further contributing to environmental sustainability. By embracing a hybrid approach, you can actively contribute to minimizing your impact on the environment while still providing valuable face-to-face interactions.

Offer Security and Tranquility

Event organizers can remain aware of the desire to follow social distancing regulations as attendees may continue to exhibit reluctance in participating in large-scale, in-person events. Providing a hybrid or virtual alternative allows organizers to cater to medically-vulnerable attendees. This approach also extends inclusivity to participants who may be feeling unwell, ensuring attendees can experience a sense of security and peace of mind, fostering a welcoming environment for all.

Improved Cost Management

The inherent flexibility of hybrid events empowers planners with meticulous control over costs. By providing a virtual attendee experience that rivals that of an in-person event, you can entice a greater number of participants to join remotely, resulting in reduced expenses across various aspects, including venue rental, catering and travel.

In scenarios where cost reduction is necessary for delivering in-person experiences, hybrid events grant you the opportunity to curtail the impact on your target audience. For instance, you may choose to transition certain presentations and activities to an online format while still enabling in-person attendees to access them within the main venue. This strategic approach to cost management ensures optimal resource allocation and empowers you to maintain an immersive event experience while maximizing financial efficiency.

Cultivate Attendee Communities

Events, at their core, are social gatherings. Attendees don’t merely participate to listen to presentations or keynote speeches, they also seek opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals who share their interests. While a captivating presentation delivered by a knowledgeable speaker sparks conversations, it’s essential to provide the appropriate channels for attendees to engage with each other.

Hybrid events facilitate professional networking, bridging virtual and in-person attendee groups. Irrespective of how individuals choose to attend your event, implementing the right technological solutions fosters the establishment of enduring communities. Importantly, these communities have the potential to persist and generate long-term value for your business even after the event concludes. By nurturing attendee interactions and encouraging ongoing engagement, you can cultivate stronger and more vibrant communities that contribute to the growth and success of your organization.

Seven Event Technology Trends to Follow

It’s a challenge to picture a world without technology. Event technology is exciting and evolving and necessary to plan, promote and host events. Keeping up with the latest trends that move the industry forward can allow you to develop impactful experiences for event-goers. 

Event technology can include digital solutions, software as a service, and other functions that assist planners. Staying abreast of technology trends is critical for companies, including event and advertising teams. 2024 and beyond will showcase event technology trends that will reshape the way teams create, accomplish, and enjoy. 

Let’s discuss the upcoming event technology trends we expect.

Build Your Event with Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual and augmented reality continue to evolve and create more impressive events year over year. Advancements in technology have allowed these tools to become more accessible and affordable, even for those with smaller budgets. Virtual reality allows for interactive experiences for attendees, and this technology can be used to build a brand, drive engagement and to give your event that special touch.

AI Chatbots Personalize Events

AI-powered event tools allow for endless possibilities, and can augment an event in many ways. AI technology can be used as a way to stay in touch with event-goes, drive engagement and develop personalized experiences. Chatbots allow attendees to ask questions about events—and to receive fast responses and information.

Facial Recognition Acts as Event Security

Facial recognition technology is becoming an increasingly common way to monitor event attendees and streamline the check-in process as it is a secure means to monitor and address physical security and privacy concerns.

Create Your Custom Event with Diagramming Technology

Event diagramming tools allow teams to collaborate and communicate in real time to lay out events in any manner. This ultimately leads to better planning, and since these tools are becoming increasingly available, it is easier for teams of all sizes to incorporate them into the planning process.

Build Your Event with Virtual and Augmented Reality

Facial recognition technology is becoming an increasingly common way to monitor event attendees and streamline the check-in process as it is a secure means to monitor and address physical security and privacy concerns.

Releasing the Power of Virtual and Hybrid Event Technology

Flexibility and accessibility have allowed virtual and hybrid events to become more and more popular. They allow event planners to connect with a wide audience and event-goers in innovative ways like live streaming and virtual event platforms. Virtual and hybrid events can allow for more cost-effective and environmentally friendly experiences when considering traditional, in-person events. This is certainly a trend to watch in the events industry.

Mobile Event Apps Personalize Event Experiences

The focus has shifted from using mobile event apps to promote successful experiences to facilitating customized, engaging, connected events for all to experience. Features like custom agendas, real-time notifications and calendarizing opportunities can increase attendee satisfaction.

Weave Social Media Into Event Planning

Social media plays a key role in event marketing, allowing planners insight into their promotional efforts. Event planners should be expected to weave a social media strategy into their event plans, including live-streaming video, sharing content generated by event-goers, encouraging online conversations and utilizing hashtags to extend the reach of your posts. As social media continues to evolve, expect to see more of it interwoven into events.

Event Planners Use Technology to Enhance Their Events

Event technology is molding the events space. Technology and solutions are changing the way events are planned, carried out and experienced. Event planners use event management software to create, promote and deliver events. App AAjogo provides an all-in-one event management platform that gives users power to enable events at the click of a button.

Take The Best Approach to Event Management with our Guide

The world of event management operates at an accelerated pace. Our digital-first world shifts attendee expectations for unique experiences across corporate events, trade shows and association meetings. Delivering a personalized event management plan is necessary to provide an enhanced experience for your attendees.

Technology allows for an efficient, optimized event management process that guarantees all attendees connect with their ideal forms of connection, like mobile event apps. 

Before that, crafting a successful conference takes optimal approaches into consideration, with the goal of hitting KPIs such as increased returns, grouping of metrics and following insights, effective registration, boosted brand representation, and successful stakeholder relationships.

Let’s consider these components that make up a successful event management plan:

• Objectives
• Financial Framework
• Advertising
• Registration
• Check-In Technology
• Advanced attendee experience
• Return on investment

Outline Event Objectives

Outlining your event objectives will help you better plan your conference or meeting. It is important to consider your goals when it comes to hosting an event. Are you trying to sell new clients on your technology, host training sessions for existing customers, or increase enrollment for your association? Keeping your end goal in mind will help you better understand the steps you need to take to achieve event success, whether for a virtual webinar, gala, trade show, or corporate conference.

Here are some key strategies to following when defining your objectives:

• Get to know your attendees: Understanding your ideal audience is a method to underhand how to grow your customer or prospect base, to train internal employees and understand your attendance count.
• Understand your subject matter: Better yet, what knowledge would you like your attendees to leave your conference with? Are you aiming for additional sign-ups or to get delegates to understand your offering?
• Define the “why” behind your event: Specify your event’s short- and long-term goals, whether that encompasses lead generation, defining yourself as an industry leader or developing deals. Each conference should have objectives defined before the event is crafted.
• Track against your objectives: Measure the influence of your event in terms of leads generated and ROI by using analytics and metrics.

Financial Framework

Outlining your event objectives will help you better plan your conference or meeting. It is important to consider your goals when it comes to hosting an event. Are you trying to sell new clients on your technology, host training sessions for existing customers, or increase enrollment for your association? Keeping your end goal in mind will help you better understand the steps you need to take to achieve event success, whether for a virtual webinar, gala, trade show, or corporate conference.

Here are some key strategies to following when defining your objectives:

• Location
• Technology
• Refreshments
• Lodging
• Presenter costs
• Advertising

Once you’ve researched projected expenses, you can understand your approximate total expenditure for the event. Your team can do research to discern previous costs by reaching out to vendors and asking for price estimates.

Keep in mind it can be challenging to create a budget plan beyond using online spreadsheets to enter your information. Event management platforms that incorporate budgetary solutions can provide a picture of your finances, helping you spend appropriately, report on your expenses and provide insights that speak to your overall ROI.

Advertising Your Event

Just behind budget, marketing your event can be quite the challenge for event planners. Social media has altered the way event-goers engage with your online presence. Successful event marketing requires getting to know your ideal audience: the demographic, how to answer their questions, which platforms they user, when they are online, and what messages would resonate most with the group.

Each interaction during the span of your conference will reflect your mission. Living in a digital-first world makes it key to weave technology into your event to drive unique user engagement. You’ll want to use the following avenues to create interactions:

• Your event website: Branding this content will help your event be a success thanks to the reach it has the potential to create. Websites have the power to compile registration data, collect payment information and will give event-goers a glimpse into your conference or meeting.
• Email messaging strategies: Email marketing is the standard for generating registrations. Creating the right message for a campaign, following regulations and best practices and sending automated event reminders is a great way to communicate with customers.
• Content strategy: Content marketing communications should be utilized at every stage of the event. Promotional content should span blogs, media kits, social media and more. Plan to use content before, during and after your conference or meeting:

Before: Create promotional content to increase registrations, written from their point of view.

During: Capture video of keynotes and panel presentations to post on social media.

After: Follow-up content should be a positive reminder of your conference or meeting, including high-level overviews of the event.

• Social media: Use your online presence to drive engagement with a series of posts that incorporate key points during all stages of your event. Work alongside speakers to share company content, extending its reach.
• Mobile event apps: Event apps grant planners the ability to generate streamlined, unique engagements with your event-goers to showcase their offering.

Online Registration

Generating event registrations is the name of the game. Event-goers can contribute to overall goals such as lead generation, building relationships with new customers or landing sales. 

Event Check-In Technology

A seamless process will give your attendees a phenomenal first impression of your event. Event management solutions lessen pain points at self-service kiosks. Additional benefits include a fast check-in experience, branding opportunities and directing large groups of people in a simple manner.

Upgrade Event-Goer Experience

Provide a white-glove experience at your conference with captivating unique experiences at your conference or meeting. Creating an app for your event allows you to reduce your carbon footprint by sending electronic outlines and agendas that allow for scheduling as well as weave gamification and surveys into the overall experience. 

Driving ROI

Determining the success of your event is crucial to determine what you should repeat and avoid in future conferences or meetings. Here’s what you should considering when reviewing your ROI:

• Which content drove the highest conversions?
• Which speaking engagement had the most attendees? 
• Which panelist garnered the best reception?
• Were attendees able to network after the sessions?

Which method has driven success for your conference or meeting?

Adhering to best practices will allow you to achieve success in terms of event management. Maintaining a plan will allow you to achieve: 

• Streamlined registration, check-in and badging 
• Simple collection of attendee metrics and insights
• Unique, individualized experiences across all event-goers
• Supporting connections
• Increased ROI
• Extending the reach of your brand perception
• Improved relationships with colleagues and sponsors

Analyzing Event Data for Success in the Digital Age

In this blog, we’ll delve into the world of event data analytics, uncovering how insights derived from data can pave the path to event success.

The Importance of Event Data Analytics 

A primary catalyst behind the rise of event data analytics is the increasing digitization of events. With virtual and hybrid events, there is an even greater opportunity to gather data at every touchpoint. Each click, comment, and interaction can be tracked, offering a comprehensive view of attendee behavior and preferences. This wealth of data can be harnessed to craft more engaging and tailored experiences for attendees.

Understanding Your Audience 

Furthermore, event data analytics can assist in uncovering trends and patterns in attendee behavior. Are specific sessions more popular than others? Do attendees tend to disengage at a particular juncture in a virtual event? Equipped with this knowledge, you can refine your event agenda and content to better cater to your audience’s needs and interests.

Enhancing the Event Experience 

Personalization stands out as another pivotal area where event data analytics shines. By leveraging attendee data, you can tailor event communications, recommend pertinent sessions, and even provide personalized post-event content. This not only elevates the attendee experience but also nurtures a deeper connection between your audience and your brand.

Elevating ROI Assessment and Future Planning 

Moreover, event data can steer your future event planning endeavors. By identifying what succeeded and what could be refined, you can hone your event strategy for forthcoming iterations. This iterative approach, driven by data-backed insights, ensures that each event surpasses the last, fostering enduring success.

Ethical Considerations 

In Conclusion 

Establishing Clear Objectives

Thorough Planning and Research

Craft a Comprehensive Budget Breakdown

Prioritize Crucial Elements

Harness Technology

Cultivate Collaboration and Negotiation

Monitor and Adjust

Post-Event Analysis

In Conclusion

The landscape of live events is undergoing a shift thanks to the advent of mobile event apps. In today’s digital world, where people are consistently immersed in their smartphones and tablets, the expectation to leverage these devices is part and parcel of any successful event. And, for event planners, choosing the right mobile event app can often be a challenging task.

We’ve outlined seven crucial features to seek out, with the goal of crafting an immersive, pertinent, and personalized experience within your mobile event app. Attendees don’t just desire a mobile event app; they anticipate it. Innovative event apps revolutionize events, making them more efficient, engaging, and measurable than ever before. Deploying a subpar mobile event app could potentially tarnish attendees’ overall event satisfaction.

Given the extensive time attendees spend on their smartphones, their reliance on your event’s mobile app is inevitable. Thus, ensuring their interaction remains seamless and intuitive is paramount. The quest for the best app involves aligning your organization’s needs with the preferences of your attendees. Our blog intends to assist in guiding event managers through the process of selecting the best mobile event app.

Here’s a glimpse into the guide’s pivotal features within mobile event apps and what to consider when evaluating them:

Content Management System: The best way for event-goers to navigate a fast-paced event is to have their content housed in a central location with a straightforward way to upload, order and keep that content up-to-date. Mobile event apps should offer schedules, exhibitor and sponsor profiles, session-related content, and more:

• Segmented content features
• Personalized schedules
• Native calendar
• Interactive maps
• Cross-device synchronization

Enhanced Engagement: Ensure attendees get the most out of your event by making them feel connected to your brand’s content and other event-goers. Utilize your mobile event app to drive engagement and attendee ROI. 

• Push notifications
• Social media integrations
• Aggregated social feeds
• Social monitoring
• Gamification
• Attendee-to-attendee messaging
• Q&A Live polling

 Exhibitor Engagement: Event managers should consider more than event-goers when planning an event. Sponsors and exhibitors can drive your event through sponsorship or booth opportunities, each with their own specific goals and ROI requirements. Event apps can help grow ROI through mobile sponsorships with valuable engagement touchpoints such as:

• Lead collection and qualification
• Additional sponsorship revenues

 Usability, Stability, and UX: While it’s important to inject your app with value-add features, having a reliable and inherently instinctual   app is a must-have to reflect well on your entire event.

• Testing and quality assurance
• Uptime levels
• Native apps for Android and Apple iOS
• Concierge support

Measure and Prove ROI: Data and results can show how valuable a mobile event app can be. 

• Sponsorship of access to attendee data when visiting company profiles
• Sponsorship graphics
• Building your own profile

Enhances Planner Efficiency: Mobile apps should be as helpful as possible for event planners. Time is a valuable asset and should be spent on developing unforgettable experiences. Provides should be able to communicate:

• Ease of making changes and update speed
• Application of identical surveys across multiple sessions
• Detailed questions to ask providers

Secure App with Support: 

• Average response time for support
• Frequency of data backups
• Data storage and accessibility protocols

Mobile event apps aim to utilize technology to engage attendees on-site. They are more than applications, and serve as the catalyst for heightened personalization and attending to event-goers, while also furnishing invaluable insights to guide future events.