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Your Early Resolution: Go Mobile

Your Early Resolution: Go Mobile
Four reasons to ring in the New Year with an app

It’s not too early to begin thinking about New Year’s resolutions. There are those tough ones that we know we cannot sustain for an entire year (am I really going to try and give up caffeine?!). Then there are others that are a slam-dunk. Like, going mobile.

When we usually consider resolutions, they’re mostly built around sacrifice. Adding mobile apps to your festivals and fairs, requires no hand-wringing and self-doubt. This is an easy one. Going mobile means adding a modern, compelling and engaging experience for your attendees. Apps are popular, and are here to stay. As a matter of fact, 110 billion (that’s right billion!) apps have been downloaded from Apple and Google to date. In other words, your attendees love apps, and they expect them, so it’s time to give them what they want. If you’re not yet convinced mobile apps are the way to go, here are four reasons why it’s time to make that early resolution to go mobile:

  1. Engage with your audience: Mobile is a great way to connect to your crowd in a new, exciting way. People check their smart phones an average of 150 times per day, spending roughly two hours per day using apps. When you deliver an entertaining, useful app, you’re giving your audience exactly what they want. You’ll be able to provide content leading up to, during, and after your event. One swipe of the finger will bring all the cool, pertinent information they want.
  2. Expand your reach: Remember that bit about people checking their phones all day? Well, they’ll be checking their phones at your event, too. When smartphone users are at an event, they love to share their experiences in a variety of ways, including social media. Comments, pictures, videos and more are shared instantly across several social sites. Your app will provide a gateway for user to instantly connect with their network of friends, helping you build your brand, gain new fans and increase the visibility and interest in your event. Even people who can’t attend your event will want to be there, and just might show up next time. Sounds like pretty solid, organic promotion, doesn’t it?  
  3. Award your attendees: One of the best features of offering a mobile app is that you can provide attendees with real-time access to important information, before, during and after your event. Whether that’s floor plans, interactive mapping, up-to-the-minute schedules, lineups, venue changes, start times, or weather updates, you’re providing a service they won’t soon forget. Sure, the old fold-out maps and schedule brochures are nice (until they’re worn out, or worse, lost!), but a mobile app, particularly a native mobile app, will always be available to you fans and will help them plan their experiences with more confidence. Instead of interrupting a performance or session to share important news, simply send out a push notification and all of your attendees who downloaded the app will be informed, in an instant.
  4. Satisfy your sponsors and increase your bottom line: Here’s the pitch for your sponsors: Attendees will always have your ad in the palms of their hands. As exciting as it is to reach your crowd with your own content, you’ll be able to drive additional value for sponsors and exhibitors with new advertising and messaging platforms. Advertising on mobile apps for events, concerts or festivals will help your advertisers connect with your audience as well. It’s not unheard of for event organizers to have the entire cost for the app paid for using advertiser dollars.

Mobile apps aren’t going anywhere, and they’re becoming more of an integral piece in everyone’s lives. It’s time to get in the game, and add a much-needed, modern flair to your events. It doesn’t matter what kind of event you're hosting, offering attendees a unique and memorable mobile event app experience will help you better connect with your audience, and your sponsors. So make an early resolution to amp up your events by going mobile and 2014 will be better than ever

For more information about mobile apps, and how other organizations are successfully folding them into their events right now, visit us at CrowdTorch.Com

Todd Rogers, Director, Mobile Technology at CrowdTorch by Cvent

With over 20 years of experience in technology consulting, engineering and product development, Todd Rogers is currently the Director of Mobile Technology for CrowdTorch by Cvent. CrowdTorch is a leading provider of mobile applications for consumer and social events. Back in 2009, Todd co-founded the company with his colleague Rick Solner because of their shared interest of simply attending festivals. This passion is what still drives the development of their apps today, including ones for the College World Series, Harley-Davison and Disney, to name a few.

Prior to CrowdToch, Todd was a consultant at SPSS, a company that was acquired by IBM in 2009 that specializes in finding and implementing new sources of competitive advantage through predictive analytics.  Before his tenure at SPPS, he was a sales engineering manager at Inquisite, a leading provider of enterprise feedback management web survey software. Todd earned a Bachelor’s of engineering degree from Vanderbilt University in computer engineering.

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