If your company has ever put on an event – whether a small reception for a special client or an industry-spanning convention with a cast of thousands – then you know how much planning and grunt work goes into asuccessful gathering. If you have been in charge of the guest check-in portion of the event, then you are probably aware of how this critical task often goes unplanned or thrown together at the last minute. What often goes unnoticed is that a smooth guest check-in is an integral part of the guest’s experience of the event – a rough or amateurish check-in can spoil the perceived tone of the whole shindig.
A British app developer, Or Multimedia, has created a check-in app for the iPad last year – Event Check-In Pro. That app’s success led the company to refine the program into two service levels, standard and pro, with a range of pricing options. The new versions are in Apple’s app store now, and make an outstanding tool for the harried event planner who wants to provide a smooth, professional check-in without spending a fortune or bringing on a huge staff.
The Check-In app works in conjunction with the company’s web service offerings. The app is free; the service offerings are subscription based. Event managers handling only a few events each month can subscribe at the basic level, which allows four events to be managed each month – perfect for a weekly meeting. The pro level allows unlimited events. At Or Multimedia’s web portal, users can customize the app’s appearance and features for their unique needs and create the guest list for each event. Pro subscribers can use the web portal to create QR codes for guests to allow automatic scanning, and to export the guest list for use in other applications or services.
At the event itself, the Check-In app has a simple interface that provides extensive functionality. Using iPads, check-in staff can quickly and easily note the arrival of each guest. Multiple devices can operate simultaneously, so you can have a number of staff working simultaneously. Data is automatically synchronized between the apps, so a check-in on one tablet will be reflected across all the users of the package. The event manager or host can be informed via text message when certain special attendees have been checked-in. With the Pro version, additional features like guest tracking and Bluetooth-based check-in are added.
When your company goes to the trouble and expense of arranging an in-person gathering, don’t let the guest experience be ruined by a subpar job on seemingly mundane matters like checking in. The Check-In App gives even small companies the ability to present an extremely sophisticated and credibility-building check-in experience, without the huge event staff or sophisticated in-house IT services that have previously been required for that kind of offering.
Promoting your event on Facebook is no longer optional. Making the most of the opportunity is important. Here are some ways it can be done.
First set up a Facebook page for your event.
When promoting your event, post a link to your Facebook page on your website. You can also opt to integrate the actual Facebook Widget on your website so people can see who is “Like-ing” your page and yout page can even feed your latest posts directly into the widget. You’ll definitely notice a significant impact in the increase of “Likes” after Facebook is integrated.
Make sure that you upload an appropriate profile image and utilize the space to its full potential. Try using a vertical banner image that contains all the necessary phone and web details to your event. When choosing colors, make sure they match and are limited to 3-5 different colors within the image.
To make it easy for Facebook users to register and/or to purchase a ticket for your event, provide a direct link to the page where you are selling tickets online. Make the link attractive and visible so that your attendees will easily be able to buy tickets for your event.
Re-use the same page for every event. When you’re creating a Facebook page and actively promoting it, you’re essentially building a list that you can market to (in some sense it’s like an email database). So you should make sure that your page can be utilized for multiple events in the future!
Facebook has proven over and over that it is an effective event marketing tool. It reaches a broad audience for potential event attendees. Don't waste the opportunity!
