Plan a paperless conference with Guidebook

Posted by: Michael Reynolds in General on Thursday, September 6, 2012

So last week I was at the Inbound Conference in Boston. It was pretty great stuff... lots of marketing ideas, how-to sessions, and a performance by Cyndi Lauper. Yes, you heard me.

Aside from all the great learning sessions and information offered, one feature of the conference really stood out to me. I was really happy with how easy it was to keep track of everything via my iPhone.

The Inbound Conference was using a mobile tool that allowed me to track session times and locations, descriptions, maps, social media chatter, and even design my own schedule. It was also nice because whenever there were room changes, the app would update with the new info. It even notified me when my next selected session was about to start.

The conference was using an app called Guidebook, and I was pretty impressed with its capabilities. The feature list includes:

• Indoor/outdoor maps
• Conference schedule
• Attendee feedback tools
• Social media integration
• Presenter info
• Sponsor info
• Custom lists for attendees
• Photo galleries
• Ticketing (integration with EventBrite)

Basically, it was all I needed! No more paper schedule that gets out of date as soon as it's printed. All I needed was my phone.

Not only that but the user interface was very good. The app was very responsive and well-designed. I had no trouble using it and getting information from it.

This app is awesome for event planners because it offers the flexibility to update attendees with room changes, schedule changes, and other information from one central source. No more printing "program change" inserts or putting signs up. Just tell attendees that the app has the most up-to-date information!

If you are an event planner and are looking for a more lightweight, inexpensive way to offer your attendees conference information at their fingertips without wasting a bunch of paper, look into Guidebook.

Better usability in conference websites

Posted by: Michael Reynolds in General on Monday, May 7, 2012

I love to travel for both business and fun and I've attended lots of conferences. As an attendee, I register for events online and consume information primarily online via the conference website. As a speaker, I attend and present for a lot of conferences. I also submit proposals for presentations with the intention of presenting at the conference.

As I analyze conference websites, I see a lot of opportunities for improving usability among them. Why is usability important on a conference website? Probably the most important reason is that it can play a huge part in determining how many people actually register for your event, as well as the quality of the speakers.

Here are some things to think about as you plan your conference website or landing pages.

Online registration is a must

I know it seems surprising but I still see conferences that do not have online registration as an option. They require you to call, mail, or fax in your registration. This puts up a huge wall between your event and your prospective attendees. Who has time to mail in a registration these days? Not me. I need quick, easy, secure online registration with credit card or I’m probably not going to bother. The same goes for your exhibitors.

Use online forms for speaker proposals

As a speaker, few things irritate me more than having to print or fill out a Word document to submit presentation proposals. Many speakers like me are submitting proposals to a variety of conferences and the more cumbersome it is to apply, the more likely I am to skip over your conference. I think I have a lot to offer and bring a lot of value to conferences when I present but making it hard for me to submit a proposal often keeps me (and other speakers) away. Make sure speakers can fill out application forms directly on your website.

Create landing pages for each session

I sometimes see conference websites that will give a general outline of the sessions for each day but do not break out sessions into individual landing pages. It’s important to give each session a specific landing page because this allows your speakers to promote their own sessions better, which in turn helps market your conference. It also gives you more specific content to publish on social networks and for search engines.

Make your conference website socially-aware

In addition to session landing pages, each session page should allow easy social media distribution. Two great ways to encourage social sharing of your conference material are with a Re-Tweet button via TweetMeme and a share button via AddThis. Both services are free and allow website visitors to easily market your sessions for you with one click. If you make it easy to announce your sessions, your will find that your speakers will help a great deal with your marketing efforts.

List all relevant time and location information clearly

This seems like a pretty obvious one but I still see conference websites that neglect to list the times and locations of breakout sessions. Not everyone wants to attend every session so make it easy for them to see exactly when and where each session is. Also, make sure your website includes interactive Google maps to your location so that your attendees can easily find it.

Include detailed speaker bios and photos

Few things are more boring than a big chunk of text listing presentation titles with no information on the speakers. Be sure to include speaker photos and bios with the session pages and perhaps even create speaker landing pages to help showcase them. Link out to their own website and social profiles, as well. This helps your attendees feel more connected to the speakers and can sometimes encourage people to register because they have an interest in seeing a particular speaker.

Paying attention to some basic usability details can make a huge difference in the quality of your speakers and the number of people who attend your conference. Do you need to make any adjustments to your conference website?

The value of an event landing page

Posted by: Michael Reynolds in General on Monday, November 7, 2011

So you've got a great event set up - maybe it's a seminar, webinar, conference, or networking event. You've got your agenda set, your speakers, and all the others details. Now it's time to get people to come.

There are many ways to promote your event. Having a great permission-based email database will give you an audience to invite, and social media can also be a great channel for promotion. But there is one piece of the puzzle that I often see forgotten, even by large organizations.

Do you have a well-optimized event landing page?

A landing page is a key component in marketing your event. I see lots of organizations that miss this part of the equation. They send out emails with a PDF attached, or announce the event at meetings, but they don't give their audiences a call to action that drives them to the next step. When someone gets an email with a PDF attached announcing the event, they have a few options: add it to a calendar, delete the email, file it away for later processing, ignore it, RSVP by calling or emailing, and/or forwarding it to someone else. None of these things are very difficult, but when placed in the context of a busy inbox full of other competing email, delete often becomes the path of least resistance.

Even worse is the verbal announcement. I can't remember the last time I actually attended an event that was only verbally announced to me. It's just not worth the effort of researching the event information and adding it to my calendar based on bits and pieces that I hear at a meeting.

However, there is one action that people can take that is easier than all of the other options: a click.

Every call to action within an announcement should be a click that leads to an event landing page on your website. An event landing page gives your constituents all the necessary information to make a fast decision about attending, and also gives them the option to quickly register online on the spot. This removes friction. Most of us are faced with decision fatigue every day and anything that removed friction from a decision will help your constituents make a commitment.

If you are using a good Content Management System (CMS), building an event landing page should be very easy. Your CMS should allow you to set up all the necessary elements for your landing page.

Some elements of a well-optimized landing page include:

Location information with map link. This should be obvious but I often see event pages that just give a generic venue name like "The City Center Building" or something. Don't make people look up addresses or guess. Include the venue name, complete address, and a link to a Google Map to make it easy to get directions on the spot.

Online registration. Assuming you are requesting an RSVP or a registration (which most professional events do), capturing online registration is a must. Your landing page needs to make registration quick, easy, and painless. If payment is required for the event, your constituents should be able to pay online with a credit card.

Social sharing widgets. One advantage of an event landing page is the fact that it serves as a centralized "hub" on the web that others can share and drive traffic to. By placing re-tweet buttons, Facebook Like buttons, and other share buttons on the landing page, you make it easy for others to share the event with their networks. This is a good thing, as it can increase exposure and registrations.

Well-written event description. A good landing page includes clear, articulate information about the event. Clear start times and end times, speaker bios and details, and narrative about the content will all help your constituents make a more rapid decision about attending the event.

Short event URL. Every email or post you send out should drive people to your landing page with a single click. If you plan to announce the event verbally or place the URL on print material, the URL should be short, such as "www.domain.com/summit" or something similar. A short, easy to remember event URL will make it easier to market verbally and in print because it makes it easier for people to type it in to get more information.

Once you have a strong event landing page built, you can use that as your centralized location that all of your promotional efforts point to. To see some examples of SpinWeb's landing pages, feel free to visit our events section and click on the title of any event.

Hopefully this helps offer some insight into how to create an optimized event landing page. If you have any comments or tips of your own, please feel free to post them below.