The Whys of WiFi – Part 5 – Successful Events Come From Attendee Connecting -Online and Offline

May 22, 2018

The Whys of Wifi Part 1 article we discussed How to Boost Your Event’s Social Media Buzz.
The Whys of Wifi Part 2 article Event Exhibitors – How to Heat Up Leads shows how to set up your exhibit as a WiFi Hotspot.
The Whys of Wifi Part 3 article is all about setting up lead generation Digital Sponsorships begins with Great Event Wifi
They Whys of WiFi Part 4 article is about how Virtual Agenda and Custom Apps can Transform Your Event

Now we will talk about Successful Events Come From Attendee Connecting -Online and Offline

Connecting and connecting. We connect on the Internet and we connect with other people. And whether we’re talking about personal or business needs, in today’s informational technology driven world, everyone depends heavily on WiFi for everything from going to school to virtual conferences, and from social conversations and dating to running an entire business.

In short, we can’t live or work without staying connected – web-wise or people-wise.

Your event is no exception. The success of your event is going to depend heavily on two things:

the access, reliability, safety, and speed of your event WiFi
combined with the comfort and success event goers have when it comes to networking and meeting other people

When people choose to attend an event they anticipate that they’ll be able to remain web connected at the same time they are doing all that great face-to-face networking. If they have a great experience with both those things they will be happy.

But if they either can’t reliably use your WiFi, or the event is not run in a way that is conducive to comfortably making some strong people-connections, then their feelings about your event will be less than stellar.

And this translates to posting poor reviews, social media slamming, and certainly not wanting to attend your next event – all bad things for your business and future events.

Heads Up – Connections should begin before the Event

Helping your attendees connect with other event goers should not wait until the first day of your event.

Since one of the primary reasons people attend events is to network, it only makes sense that if you can facilitate connections prior to the event it will help make the actual event that much better for those that are there.

Of course, you can’t just have an open access list of those that are going. But you can have an opt-in that they can check when they are signing up for your event. You can provide those who have opted in with a Facebook page, chat room, some pre-event warm up sessions, and even virtual mixers. Nothing makes an event more fun and comfortable than showing up knowing there are already people they’ve “met” and that they are going to have lunch with the first day. We all know what it’s like to look over a sea of tables and strangers while trying to gather up the courage to sit down cold.

What a difference it will make for your attendees in how they feel about their entire event experience when you as the organizer of an event go out of your way to create some easy methods for people to meet online ahead of time.

And whatever pre-event activities you set up online, make it simple for attendees to add their business profile and other specifics so it’s a snap for others to select the type of people or businesses they want to connect with to jumpstart their own business growth.

A lot of event planners focus on setting up ways for attendees to meet in usual ways – cocktail parties, special activities or outings, that kind of thing.

But it’s not that hard to think a little outside the proverbial event-box. For example, think about meeting rooms. This is a segment of many events which is rarely set up for connections –online and off – the way they should be.

Avoid this Common Meeting Room Connection Mistake Many Events Make

There are lots of reasons many event and meeting planners avoid providing free accessible WiFi in the meeting/talk rooms at a conference. But this is a big mistake. You need to carry your WiFi system into all the rooms of your conference so people can stay connected and get connected.

Here are some reasons why meeting room WiFi is not just about connection, it’s also about connecting:

If you’re worried your speakers will be boring and people will spend their time texting and posting rather than listening, then you need to look into getting higher quality speakers. Having readily available WiFi in all your conference rooms is not only a good idea because it expands the tools your speakers can use, but it also gives your attendees the ability to connect with each other via a Twitter hashtag specifically set up for that talk which can elevate a somewhat hohum talk into something quite interesting.
Often cell phone service does not work in meeting rooms so WiFi is the only way people can get important alerts or calls or text messages from others they’ve met at the event.
Meeting room WiFi gives listeners the ability to take all those great points the speaker is making and spread them far and wide in real time. In the first article in this series, How to Boost Social Media Buzz at Your Next Event (LINK) we talk about going against tradition and give you lots of reasons why speakers should tell audiences to turn their phones on, rather than off.
WiFi gives listeners the ability to easily write digital notes on iPads or other tablets which are synced with other digital devices, which in turn might also be connected to others in their work groups.
WiFi gives listeners the ability to easily pop over to a URL the speaker is talking about. Sure, speakers often put it up on the screen in the front of the room but what if it’s a huge room and you’re sitting in the back? Or what if you want to do a few screen captures for your own notes? Or what if you’re the type of person who just likes to slowly read a webpage while the speaker goes on to the next points?
A tech savvy speaker can preset up a digital space where audience members can interact and chat before, during and after a talk. This facilitates helping people connect with others who are physically at the event.
Just like at virtual conferences, a live event can be set up so people can submit questions online during the talk as they think of them, and then the speaker can go through this list in the Q&A period. This keeps people from forgetting what they wanted to ask and at the same time it gives the speaker a record of the questions which he can take into account for future talks. Plus, if people put in their email with their question, then the speaker can easily send them needed information without the questioner having to jump through another hoop.
Meeting room WiFi gives listeners the capacity to easily set up an impromptu get- together with other people in the room, for example using the talk Twitter hashtag something like this – #thetalkhashtag Hey for anyone who wants to have a rousing discussion about point6 meet me @bar 4.

You can even provide a handout with your event packet which offers specific suggestions to your attendees on how to use the free meeting room WiFi to connect and network.

It’s simple touches like this add up to your event looking good, being good, and the attendees feeling good. And what could be better than that?

Need help making sure your attendees can get connected and stay connected?

eTech can help! Rental Experts in:

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Entertainment Offices: Writers’ Rooms, Production Accountants

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