Leveraging Tech to Crush your Next Event, Part 2: During the Event

 

This is the second in our three part series of blog entries to help you utilize tech to increase guest engagement and make your life easier, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER your events. Make sure to check out Part 1 (Before the Event) if you haven't yet and Part 3 (After the Event) of our blog posts: Leveraging Tech to Crush Your Next Event!

 

DURING your event:

 

 

Let your Tech Tell your Guests Where to Go and What to Do

Tables should be clearly marked and the guests should receive their Table name and/or number at check-in (as well as their bidding paddle if you're using them). Whether that's written on a card or program or it's a part of their mobile guest experience, the main thing your guest wants to know is where they are going. If your software can provide the table information in the text that the guests receive when they arrive, even better (we know one that does!).

The mobile experience should give guests clear and guided access to the goods of the event: it's essentially a digital program for the activities for the event. Put all of the info there! Live Auction items can be View Only for in-person events, but can provide A LOT of information that you might not want to spend money or trees on printing. Silent Auctions run through a mobile experience consistently earn 20-30% more than their analog predecessors. Giving levels or FAN (Fund-A-Need) calls to action can be articulated and can even include images and short videos to further your cause. And these are just a few of the ways you can engage guests through their mobile experience.

 

Text your Guests

While tickers and messages within the mobile event are great, texts are better. Texting is the single best and fastest way to communicate with your attendees. Schedule out your texts and use attendance and engagement filters to target particular messages to specific guests. While they're beginning to filter in, why not send a text to all guests who have not yet preauthorized their credit card encouraging them to do so? 

 

Check-in Should Be FAST

No one likes standing in line. Is that really the first experience of your event that you want your guests to have? Test and test and TEST to make sure you have a streamlined process for getting your guests in the door. Train your check-in staff or volunteers (pro-tip: point your younger and most tech-comfortable folks at this task). 

 

Check-out Should Be LATER

Do you really want the last experience of your event for guests to be talking about what they owe you (while tipsy)? Don't do it! Run your check out in the day or two following your event and let your guests leave feeling wonderful about what a good person they are because they gave as much as they could or more to support your magnificently worthy cause.