As an event organizer, your job is to ensure that participants get the most out of your event. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure that they are well-prepared in advance of your event. Your event’s mobile app is a key part of your event experience. Participants will be much more prepared for your event if they download your app in advance.
It is also your job as an event organizer to help people to help themselves. Leading up to your event, participants are busy arranging travel plans, coordinating their booth presence, etc. on top of their other day-to-day responsibilities. Downloading your event’s mobile app may not be the first thing on their mind, and they may not know just how valuable it is to them. By reiterating the value of your mobile app to your participants, and offering ample reminders to download, you can ensure that more people download your app, get more out of your event, and increase your attendee and exhibitor retention rates year after year.
From our experience working with past clients, we know how much of a struggle it can be to get participants to download your app. Creating an app communication plan is a time-consuming process for your already busy team, but it is an essential activity to ensure that participants are getting value from your event. Having more people on your app will also give you more data on how people interact with your event so that you can make it better in following years.
First, start with WHY people should download your event’s mobile app. In 2022, your attendees are likely very familiar with the concept of event mobile apps, but sometimes they may need a nudge to actually download. Here are some key value propositions of your mobile app that you can advertise to your participants:
- Accessing show information
- Managing time on site more effectively by building schedules, bookmarking sessions and exhibitors, taking notes, etc.
- Networking with other attendees and finding relevant contacts
- Navigating the venue with interactive maps and wayfinding
Then, you need to create a promotion plan to actually get people to download your app. See below for a sample event app promotion plan to help you drive downloads and ensure your participants are getting the most out of your event.
4 weeks before - email invitation to exhibitors & sponsors
At this point, you’ll want to remind your exhibitors and sponsors via email that your event is just around the corner and to download your app. Since your exhibitors and sponsors still have some time before your event (as fast as these dates come up), this is a great time for them to download your app and prepare for your event. Some key actions at this stage include:
- Getting the most updated information regarding the event
- Ensuring their company pages are up to date
- Seeing who else is exhibiting at the event
- Exploring who is coming to the event and starting to connect
As an organizer, your main goal here is to encourage your exhibitors to download your app. This helps ensure exhibitors have up-to-date information on their company pages. You should also be providing tools to help people get the most out of your app. Additionally, this is a great opportunity to drive upsells with last-minute sponsorship opportunities.
In your email, be sure to include links to both the Apple Store and Google Play Store where people can download the app!
3 weeks before - email invitation to registrants
Once you’ve allowed time for a critical mass of exhibitors and sponsors to get into your app, it’s time to encourage event registrants to download your app. This can be paired with an event reminder announcement and is a great way to build excitement for your upcoming event.
Of course, you need to give your audience a compelling reason to actually download your app. Encourage your registrants to play around and take specific actions such as:
- Seeing the most updated information on your event
- Checking out who else is attending the event
- Planning their visit by exploring the show floor
- Bookmarking key sessions and content
Your goal here is to ensure registrants understand the app's value and encourage them to download it. It’s also a great opportunity to make them curious about your event content and build excitement for the event.
Don’t forget to include those app store links high up in your email so people can easily download your app!
2 weeks before - social media announcement
Social media is another excellent channel to help drive app downloads. Your post should also mention WHY it’s important to download your app, mentioning features such as:
- Show updates
- Exhibitor listings
- Show schedule
- Maps
- Exhibitor resources
In your social posts, be sure to include links to the app stores to make it easy for people to download your app.
1 week before - email reminder to registrants, exhibitors, and sponsors
With just a week before your event, it’s time to build a sense of urgency. Be sure to reiterate the point that downloading your app is one of the best ways that participants can prepare for your event.
It’s also important at this time to encourage people to take key actions in your app before your event. Some of these suggestions may include:
- Using instructional tools to learn how to navigate the app
- Bookmarking key sessions and exhibitors
- Viewing links to see the exhibitor-sponsor listing and other important information
As always, be sure to make those app store links easy to find and click so people can download your app!
1 week before - social media announcement
At this point, you’ll want to build momentum leading up to your event. People are likely anticipating your event at this point, so it makes sense to capitalize on this excitement. Since it often takes multiple touchpoints across multiple channels to get people to take action, having another social post the week before is a great way to drive more app downloads without being too invasive.
Bonus tip: many social networks allow you to pay to boost your posts to your audience. Since organic social media reach is in decline, boosting your posts is a great way to reach a larger portion of your audience.
1 week before - exhibitor newsletter
Have an exhibitor newsletter that goes out in advance of your event? Be sure to include links to the app stores where exhibitors can download your event’s mobile app. Be sure to reiterate the value of downloading your app to exhibitors at this time as well!
1 day before - last chance blitz
As human beings, we have a tendency to leave things to the last minute. Be sure to take advantage of this feature of human behavior and utilize all your main channels to drive those last-minute downloads.
At this stage, people will be fully engaged with your event. They’re traveling to the event location, checking into their hotels, etc. Be sure to make last-minute calls to download your event app in the following channels:
- Social media
- Email reminders
- Any other pre-event communications
Here, it’s also important to reiterate the value that participants will get by downloading your mobile app. Some bullet points here include:
- Registration information
- Bookmarking sessions
- Real-time show updates
- Interactive venue maps
Additional communication opportunities
Be sure to include links to download your app in key places such as your event homepage, registration ‘thank you’ pages, registration confirmation emails, etc.
Advertising a key session or activity during your event? Be sure to include a link or QR code to redirect to the app on the session page.
Having QR codes and advertising signs on-site will also help increase app downloads.
Ready to get started with an awesome mobile app for your event? At Sherpa, we work with you to build customized apps based on the needs of your event and the look and feel of your brand. Additionally, we give you a dedicated project manager to ensure proper delivery of your app and smooth execution on event day, reducing the burden and stress on your team. Contact us now to get started!