Mobile Apps for Conferences and Events

January 18, 2013 // Event Services

Mobilizing Your Events: Mobile Apps for Conferences and Events

Mobilize your event or conference with a mobile app: these tips help you assess for data connection, user experience, social media, content, design, branding and audience.

Websites designed for mobile devices are popular ways to share information with attendees. However, understanding the differences between, native, web-based and hybrid mobile apps are essential in choosing the right technology for your event or conference.

A web app is an application accessed through a device’s browser and is limited by the functionality of the mobile browser. Because it’s accessed directly from your browser by using a URL address, it is not downloaded locally from an app store and can be used on any platform. In contrast, a native app is developed for specific platforms and are downloaded directly to your mobile device via an app store. All pages/documents are downloaded when the app is installed thus eliminating the need for a network to view content. Hybrid apps offer the best of both worlds. They combine the power of native apps with the ease of web apps. Typically, hybrid apps work on all devices and have offline capabilities. They are able to integrate with the devices hardware, while also incorporating web browser functionality. If the user is accessing the app while there is no connection available, alert notifications and updates will be sent to the device once a connection is reestablished. All have pros and cons, and simply developing one without clearly defining your goals can be inefficient and costly.

To begin, identify why you want an app and your audience’s expectations. What are you trying to accomplish? Is your intent to reduce your carbon footprint? Are you seeking convenience? Do you want to push announcements or allow attendees to create personal agendas? Both have pros and cons depending on the situation.

As you evaluate your needs, consider these factors:

Data connection: All apps should include an offline mode, meaning no data connection is needed once the application is installed or saved within the browser. However, for updates or push notifications, the apps require some data connection. If a connection is not available onsite, a hybrid or native app would be more stable on most phones.
User experience: Because hybrid and native apps are downloaded, many prefer its faster, smoother access to information such as speaker bios and agendas. For polling, audience response and survey tools, they also provide a better user experience. If there is no signal when taking surveys, for instance, both hybrid and native apps hold the data and send it when there is a connection.
Community involvement: Developers of hybrid and native apps have made great strides in social interaction by allowing push technology to be used within the apps. For example, many developers now embed the use of the device’s camera within the app to post pictures more efficiently than web apps.
Cost: While hybrid and web-based apps are typically faster to deploy and less expensive, the newest technology for these options have made it possible to develop apps that offer many of the same experiences as native apps. So if you do not require advanced programming, it is likely the best way to go. Native apps tend to cost more because they require custom coding of features, use of the device hardware and GPS.
Design elements: The beauty of apps in today’s market is that look and feel, branding, menu/navigation and sponsorship options can all be customized and function similarly no matter the app platforms.
Content: Both static content and dynamic content, such as registration, can be formatted for hybrid, web-based and native apps. Attendees’ needs and planner recommendations should determine the app content. At a minimum, most audiences expect agenda/speaker information and meeting room maps.
Audience demographics: Knowing your audience is crucial when deciding on what app to deploy. If you are in an industry that relies heavily on tablets or iPads, your audience is probably most familiar with native apps. If this is the case, hybrid apps can be a great option to offer a native app experience without the custom programming cost. In contrast, if your audience is a late adopter to mobile devices, using a browser to view the content is likely preferred.
Time to Market: For quick turn-around, hybrid or web-based apps are usually the best choice. Native apps tend to usually take longer to develop if being custom coded for a specific event, conference or purpose.

Next steps
Once you’ve reviewed these key considerations, the next step is to consult with a team of experts that will not only help determine whether to go web or native, or both, but also will be able to share the best tools to use for native, and the best configurations for mobile.

For more information about mobile apps and the best solution for your conference or event needs, contact Brad by emailing him at bneuman@metroconnections.com.

Brad Neuman is the Director of Attend-eSource® Technologies, a web-based solution that includes elements such as online registration and custom-built event websites. Neuman and his team build more than 600 custom conference and meeting websites annually. He has been in the registration and housing technology business for more than 16 years.