If you are running an online event, then you want a planning platform that has multiple features and robust IT support, among other things, to provide a good customer experience. Finding the right event planning platform means that running your event will often be much easier, your customers will have a much better experience, and you can use fancy features at your event. So what should you be looking for? Here are the features and benefits that you must know when choosing an online event planning platform:
If you run a virtual conference, webinar, or virtual summit, you need an online event planning platform to do so. These comprehensive platforms are more than just a live stream and live chat; they can provide your conference with interactive tools, features for attendee engagement, polls, chats, signature branding, and augmented reality rooms. If you find the right platform, then you may be able to consolidate many of your event hosting tools or software.
Full suite event planning software provides event management for both large and small events. They can even support hybrid events and sales funnels. It’s important to test out different online event platforms before you make the move. You should be able to test out the features and see how it works with your needs. Online event platforms can also facilitate registration and ticketing, analytics, accounting, and email marketing integrations.
Here are the top features that you really want in a digital event planning platform.
Integrations allow you to connect your accounting software, email marketing software, CRM platform, and social media channels. These are crucial integrations because they will enable you to track revenue, connect your leads to your event platform, and share the live event on social media. Without integrations, it would take a lot of manual labor to transfer or export your leads. Instead, you can integrate them seamlessly as your registrations pour in.
Networking is one thing that online conferences and webinars struggle with. Since we cannot connect in person, an event planning platform needs to have a virtual networking space, like a room for Morning Tea or 1:1 networking, so that your attendees can make important connections. By providing these social spaces, you give your virtual attendees a once-in-a-lifetime chance to connect with other virtual colleagues, peers, or experts.
Analytics inform the event host about the number of attendees who made it to your event, revenue generated, where the leads came from, and when a sale is made. If you’re running a multi-day virtual summit, then you can see how your event fairs over days, weeks, and even during certain times of the day. Analytics are particularly useful for informing a future event as well. For example, if you put the bulk of your marketing money into industry and trade publications but the bulk of your attendees registered through social media, then you know that you should concentrate your spending in the places where your audience spends the most time online when marketing your next event.
Automation helps you manage your event far easier than ever before. With automated emails, integrational aspects, and notifications, you spend less time worrying about whether your attendees know what is going on and more time focusing on delivering a high-quality event.
Known as one of the most effective digital marketing strategies, email marketing is a must-have with your event planning software. This integration allows you to collect and connect registrant information and synchronize it with your email marketing software. Your registration/ticketing, hosting, and email marketing platforms are all connected, making your event marketing experience much easier.
Landing pages are critical for your sales funnel. If you run a digital ad or marketing campaign on social media, you need to direct visitors somewhere. You may direct them to your ticketing site, but even that will need to be housed somewhere. An event marketer might want landing pages to draw in organic traffic as well. You can link landing pages to blog content and optimize it for search engines as another form of drawing in registered attendees. Good event platforms will have ticketing, landing pages, and registration inclusive.
Your event should require ticketing or registration, even if the price of the ticket is free. This way, your brand can collect the lead data of your new registrants but also synchronize connecting your attendees directly to the software. Accelevents’ event management solution comes with a ticketing and online registration system native to the platform. Mobile ticketing with scannable codes is also available should you run a hybrid or in-person event.
Running an exclusive event will look bad if you have to run it using a service that places their brand at every touchpoint. You want to be able to white-label the event and customize it too. Streaming services like Zoom don’t allow you this capability. Additionally, you want event attendees to connect directly with your brand and not focus on the digital hosting platform. Eliminating the branded elements of your virtual event platform will create a more exclusive experience.
Running an event requires work. Establish a team on the backend available for customer support, technical support, training moderators, and other logistical pieces of the event.
You also need to manage attendees and view metrics like high-performing sessions, revenue, and audience behavior. If you use a simplified virtual event hosting platform, you can’t tap into any of these features. You need event management features to upgrade the experience and allow your attendees to interact online with your brand in a way they never thought possible.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are up-and-coming event features that truly change the attendee experience. These features are especially helpful for virtual events, but they can also be added as a feature of exhibitor sessions at in-person events. For digital events, having these components allows your attendees to fully immerse themselves in your event world, increasing engagement and the likelihood of hitting high-level brand goals.
Brands should have the option of streaming their event live or hosting a pre-recorded video.
Some platforms force a workaround for both of these, requiring that companies purchase an API for streaming or upload pre-recorded videos to YouTube to be shared by presenters. Choose a platform that enables live stream and pre-recorded videos directly in the app to minimize customer effort and improve the audience experience.
Sometimes, technology causes problems, and event technology is no exception.
Having strong customer support is something that every event organizer needs. You need to have trust in your platform. If your event platform is serviced globally, then you have to have around-the-clock customer support or dedicated customer support to show up to the event. They will be able to solve technical issues on the spot for a seamless experience.
Naturally, as an event planner or event marketer, you know that hosting an online event is a lot of work. But with the right features, you can minimize effort and frustrations. A virtual event software like Accelevents comes with many of the key features listed above, so you know that you won’t have to put in so much work just for basic features. Some of our favorite features include:
Accelevents planning software works well with a physical event, hybrid event, and virtual event.
By choosing Accelevents, you get the benefits of modernizing your event with robust technology, scaling your tech based on attendees, 24/7 customer support, and unique features like gamification, badges, and awards. Book a Demo today and see why so many of our clients love working with us!
