What’s one thing that all events have in common? You guessed it—smartphones.
Whether you’re attending your dear friend’s wedding or a seminar on professional growth and development, you can be sure that smartphones are there in abundance.
Although people may have shied away from or even discouraged the use of cellphones at events in the past (that’s so 2003), there’s no denying that you can’t rip people away from their smartphones. So why not just embrace the technology and make it a feature at your event? The NEW Center presents the latest trends in event technology. Contact us today to see how we can help incorporate technology into your next event!
Livestreaming
Want your event to reach further than its physical attendees? Livestreaming gives your guests the chance to not only check in at your event, but share the entire thing on social media—which will only increase views and popularity! This is crucial for corporate events like annual trade shows and seminars because all the hype created around this year’s event will only increase attendance for next year.
Keep in mind that livestreaming can be useful for more than just social media… A unique way to repurpose and feature your event’s live stream video is to have it displayed on a screen somewhere in your event hall so that attendees can get a different vantage point of what’s happening.
Crowdsourcing
Take your livestreaming a step further by defining an event hashtag, much like people do for weddings, and encourage anyone who broadcasts their own live stream videos or posts photos to social media to use it so that you can see the full collection of coverage on your event.
You may even want to use these photos and videos as a way to reconnect with attendees after your event. Simply commenting on their posts and letting them know you appreciate their attendance will bookend a fantastic event experience for them.
Social Media Walls
Photo Source: tagboom
Since life is so social media-focused these days, why not make it a fun feature at your event as well? A social media wall is one or more screens displayed at your event that show a feed of social posts and photos tagged with your event’s unique hashtag.
Just a few of the platforms that allow you to do this include Hootfeed, Everwall, Tagboard and Sprinklr. Some of these platforms also allow you to feature this collection of social posts on your website or Facebook page—and those photos and videos are content that can be repurposed again and again!
Event Bots
With artificial intelligence and chatbots becoming increasingly popular, there’s no surprise that companies have started to create chatbots specifically for events. Whether it’s a more personal event like a wedding or baby shower, or a corporate event like a trade show or seminar, your guests are likely to have questions. With some easy setup and input before the event, event bots allow guests to use text messaging to ask questions and get answers throughout an event.
Questions could range from the logistics of the event (location of parking, restrooms, etc.) to more detailed schedule and agenda-related information. Get creative with event bots for weddings and baby showers by encouraging guests to ask questions like “When did you first meet” or “How did you decide on the baby’s name?” to get to know more about the people at the center of the event.
Start Planning Your Event
We hope that these technology trends have sparked some excitement for your next event. The NEW Center is Northeast Ohio’s premier event venue with an array of versatile rooms ready to be transformed to fit the needs of your event. Contact The NEW Center today to start planning!