When you’re planning an event, a lot of thought goes into how you can increase the number of attendees and so improve your bottom line. But at least equally important, if not more so, is how you can then boost attendee engagement and satisfaction. The level of attendee satisfaction has a direct impact on 3 things:
- how much attendees actively engage during the event
- what they say about the event
- if they are going to attend next year
You can have a direct positive impact on attendee engagement and satisfaction with iPads and a bit of imagination.
You would probably be hard pressed to find someone today who has not heard of an iPad. iPads are one of those great technologies that can enhance your personal life, your business, and everything in between. And events, whether large trade shows or corporate training events, are a prime opportunity to make good use of this versatile technology.
Putting iPads into the hands of your event attendees gives you the opportunity to not only boost their engagement and satisfaction but also to increase communication as well. You can provide rental iPads that are preloaded with important information and instructions for downloading event items and other content of interest. And that’s only the beginning.
iPads on the Event Floor
In between presentations, on and around the event floor and outlying areas, there are multiple ways to utilize iPads to improve everyone’s experience. Here are a few:
1. iPads can be used for registration, speeding up the process and making it easier to get more information.
2. An event calendar app eliminates the need for paper calendars and gives the big advantage of allowing for instant changes and updates.
3. A note-taking application gives attendees the ability to jot all their thoughts, notes, and ideas down and not have to lug a lot of stuff around.
4. Business card apps help attendees keep track of their networking information and more readily share their connections.
5. Attendees can use the iPads to link up to the event social media hashtag conversations.
6. Attendees can take great photos on the iPads and then easily share them with everyone else at the conference or event.
7. Impromptu mobile meetings can be done on iPads so users don’t have to be concerned about using their own phone data.
8. Attendees can use their pads to easily keep in touch with home via apps such as Skype.
9. Photography buffs can wirelessly transfer pictures from their cameras to iPads in order to easily upload them onto sites and social media channels.
10. Videos that tie into exhibitor products and services can create a more informative attendee experience.
11. You can integrate your document library, making it simple and easy for users to get any information they need about your company.
12. Greatly improve the experience that attendees have by providing a customer service hot link for emails and live chat capabilities.
13. Encourage immediate event feedback by having a “contact event management” button on the iPad desktop.
iPads During Presentations
The number of ways iPads can be incorporated into presentations and talks are limited only by your imagination. Here are a few suggestions:
14. Speakers can display their presentation slides on all iPads and then control them from a master iPad so even those in the back row don’t miss anything.
15. Event presentations can be preloaded onto the iPads, giving attendees the ability to easily follow along even in a large, over-crowded presentation room.
16. Speaker information with live links can be preloaded onto the iPads, which gives you the ability to have more detailed speaker information since you’re not limited by printing space and costs.
17. Speaker web casts or streaming live audio can enrich the attendee experience.
18. Those who attend a talk can ask questions or add comments from their iPads, which encourages those who are normally reserved to participate.
19. iPads expand the ability of speakers to give interactive presentations, providing better listener engagement.
20. Because digital evaluations get higher response rates than paper, put your speaker evals and other questionnaires on iPads.
So, next time you’re planning an event and are searching for ways to raise the bar on attendee satisfaction, consider the versatility of the iPad.
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