10 Ridiculously Cool Event Tools to Increase Attendee Engagement

1. Makelight Interactive Makelight Interactive wants to light up the live event experience with your smart phone. By downloading their app, any attendee can essentially turn their smart phone into a glowstick to illuminate the venue. The company is also releasing a conference facing app geared towards keeping attendees engaged through something they call visual voting. According to their About page, the product was scheduled for release in December 2013. To see it in action, click on the link above for their promo video.

2. Animoto

This application allows anyone to create beauitful video slideshows without having to spend thousands of dollars. They provide a large catalog of styles you can choose from and you can add in your own photos, video clips, and music. Animoto works great for generating buzz prior to your event via marketing channels you’ve invested in. You can also utilize the service for during the event as well as post-event recaps. Leveraging video content is a great way to extend the life of an event beyond the start and end times.

3. Ticketbud

(Full disclosure: I work at Ticketbud.) There exists a number of event registration platforms available. However, Ticketbud gives you a number of tools you can use to keep the attendee communication lines open. Beyond email functionality to send invitations and updates, Ticketbud allows you to integrate your event with a Faceboook page along with capturing custom information from your attendees. Another great engagement feature is the ability to add Instagram hashtags to your event page to drive attendee generated content.

4. Tweetwall

Twitter is a powerful engagement tool that every event organizer should take advantage of. The guys over at Tweetwall aim to move tweets from your smartphone to the screen. Creating a Tweetwall allows you to easily display Twitter activity around a hashtag at your event. This helps push people to join the conversation and acts as a megaphone for your event in the Twittersphere. All Tweetwall updates are done in real-time and you can even create leaderboards that rank top tweeters.

5. Bizzabo

Continuing the social network conversation, New York based Bizzabo takes networking at conferences to the next level. The mobile app allows attendees to log in with their Linkedin account to make valuable connections and establish new relationships before, during, and after the event. From the organizer side, Bizzabo creates a full agenda with the ability to add sessions right into your attendee’s calendar. All of their features aim to drive event discovery and increase awareness for your event.

6. Bonfyre

I experienced the power of Bonfyre at an event first-hand. After downloading the app for a concert, I found myself checking in to see other people at the event post photos and messages ranging from asking how long the lines were to the location of the sponsor beer table. This event tool made it easy to engage with other attendees without having to completely lose focus from the event itself. As an event organizer, you can also post messages right to the app for all of your attendees to see. This makes sending quick updates surrounding your event a breeze.

7. EZ Texting

EZ texting gives you a better way to capture attendee data. Their mass text messaging software allows you to notify people of upcoming events, important updates, or send offers like VIP passes or special prizes. You can also use EZ texting to boost communication within your event planning group.

8. Eversnap

People love looking back at photos from events they attend. The question is where can they go to find them? With Eversnap, you can collect all of your attendee’s photos and videos so that they can exist in one online album. Moving beyond the wedding space, Eversnap is now used by any type of event that wants to make their event last a lifetime. You can also setup a live slideshow at your event to display all the photos you’ve collected.

9. Virtual Race Bags

Instead of losing valuable time towards creating goody bags for your attendees, this platform provides a digital solution that does all the work for you. Virtual Race Bags eliminates the hassle of getting content into the bag by allowing event organizers to invite sponsors to participate and create goodies to offer your attendees. This event tool can not only be used by endurance events but also for tradeshows and conferences. As an added bonus, you won’t be producing any uneccessary waste either.

10. Aloompa

For multi-day events like festivals and conferences, Aloompa makes customized mobile apps tailored to your specific needs. Their apps are designed to work in any type of setting which bodes well for events with unreliable connectivity. The company does a great job in working with events from a branding perspective to capture the experience and promote engagement via detailed maps and scheduling capabilities. They also integrate well with other technology solutions and look beautiful regardless of the device your attendees access them from. Download the Bonnaroo app to see what they are capable of.

I hope you found a tool from this list to use for your next event. Technology presents a huge opportunity for event organizers to leverage and there is no reason not to take advantage of it. What other event tools are out there that can be used to increase engagement? You can comment below, shoot me an email or find me on Twitter at @jvmeredith.]]]]> ]]>