Monday, December 7, 2015

Finally! An app that makes sense!

Update: We have launched a community in Skoop for Event Marketing Professionals - join us and try out this great new tool to keep up-to-date and in touch with other professionals like you! Download Skoop for Events and look for the "Event Socialshpere" community. To get the passcode, hit me up on Twitter @lizlathan

Eureka! - I have found it!
 - Archimedes

As you've seen me say many times (like here, and here, and here), I believe that events and social media are intertwined like lattice. I like to say that events were the original social media, since it's where people can join their tribe, meet up with like-minded individuals, and share experiences and stories together.

I've also talked about mobile apps (like this adorable post from 2010 where I saw my first event app! and this one where I talked about vendor selection), but apps have evolved and it's time to leverage that evolution for the benefit of your attendees.

Check the apps on your phone. Is there an event app on there? Probably not. I'm guessing you deleted it about 24 hours after you left that last event.

But do you have Facebook? Instagram? Maybe you have something like WhatsApp or Slack? Why? Because it keeps you in touch with the people you WANT to be in touch with and the goings-on of their lives and your community.

So how do we make event apps more relevant for us, and solve that problem of year-round communication, riding the wave of an enthusiastic community long after the event?

Enter Skoop for Events. They've recently been spotted at shows like Expo! Expo! And Event Tech, and they are excited to be the new kid on the block, with what they think is the solution to this challenge!

I'm not here to give a product pitch, but I do want to share some of the features that I think will revolutionize how we look at event apps. It does all those event-appy things like bring in the schedule, the sponsors, the expo details, etc. But then it goes further... no longer are those contact you meet at the event stuck in an app, forcing you to only communicate through it. Now, anyone you meet can exchange contact info with a shake of the phone (literally!) and you can put them in your contacts or even connect with them on LinkedIn!

I know that seems like the perfect reason to uninstall the app after the event, but here's where it gets useful: You can create subfeeds within Skoop, so if you meet a great group of folks in a breakout session and you want to continue the conversation, you can add them to a group and keep it up long after the event is over. Boom. Your own community right there. And now you have your tribe.

Just imagine all of your event attendees creating conversations on your event app and getting to know each other throughout the year. They get EACH OTHER excited about registering for next year's conference! You can leverage this community for polls about content, music, etc. You can ask this community to contribute photos, videos, quotes - right in the app - and crowdsource your conference highlights throughout the year!

Just thinking out loud here... If your event is one in a sea of shows that attendees go to, they may even use the communities they've formed in YOUR event app to meet up at other events. And you can keep an eye on the conversation and perhaps run a meetup or other gathering there.

I look forward to seeing what changes Skoop brings to the event world! http://grabskoop.com



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