What does a standard event planning app have to contain? What kind of features have to be included? It is quite hard to imagine a tool that cannot connect attendees, inform them about event changes in timing or possible delays, and provide a possibility of sharing information about upcoming events with friends or colleagues. What to pay attention to when you need to build a mobile application for search of concerts or local events?
Questions to be asked and answered
It is clearly obvious that we spend more time on our smartphones using apps rather than surfing the Internet through mobile browsers. However, an industry research, which was made by Nielsen in 2014, showed that people spent 89% of the time on mobile media through applications. Another recent report conducted by Flurry showed a people’s tendency to prefer mobile apps for Internet surfing. This year, a number of those, who use applications for mobile browsing, is 90% on average in the entire world.
What does it mean? Will mobile apps replace mobile browsers? We suppose that they will hardly do. Anyway, when your business is tightly connected to a festival or party organization services, the necessity of creating event planner app becomes evident for your company. The question is how to do it. Let’s consider it further and answer all the necessary questions before starting the development.
What kind of application do you need: web-based or a native one?
What is a native mobile app? It is mobile software that is installed on the smartphone and assigned to a particular mobile platform: Android, iOS etc. The main advantage of such apps is that they may not need an Internet connection to work properly. Native apps are self-sufficient and it makes them easy-to-use during some forum when thousands of people try to connect to the same Wifi network creating a virtual traffic jam. Moreover, they can get updates automatically whenever Internet connection is available.
On the other hand, web-based mobile apps do not have any limits regarding device platform. They are available on any smartphone when there is a way to connect your gadget to the Internet. Therefore, developers don’t need to design several versions of the same event planning application for different platforms. However, native app is more preferable solution because of its functional possibilities.
Which mobile platform do you have to choose?
In most cases, this question is quite easy to answer, because 97% of mobile devices have either Android or iOS, according to the Device Atlas’s statistics. Of course, you may consider an option to create an event app for other existing platforms, but it should be web-based only. Anyway, 3% of devices will not contribute much to your effort. To ensure cost-effectiveness of your project, you may make an app for one particular platform.
Such solution will be very useful for startup owners if they want to check whether the idea will work or not. When a number of installs grow and your application gets positive feedback from most users, then you may start developing a native mobile application for another platform.
If you decided to test your idea wondering which platform to choose, then you have to do your homework at first. What kind of homework? Many CEOs often make the same mistake: they start from the platform that takes a bigger part of devices. Device Atlas says that around 83% of mobile devices are built on a base of Android. That is why a pilot app is often built on this platform.
Although, that is not always the right way to go. The statistics describe the whole situations for all smartphone owners, but you need correct data regarding which platform your target audience prefers. That is why you need to do your own market research using social instruments and organizing corresponding polls.
What features have to be included?
In order to make a mobile event app, which would have success, you have to plan carefully and attentively a set of functions your future application will possess. Let’s consider some basic features every app related to event planning should contain.
Basic features for event planning mobile apps:
- Scheduling;
- Mapping;
- Automatic updates;
- Sharing;
- Program preview.
Let’s consider every feature and learn why they are that important.
Scheduling
Scheduling is a must for every app that deals with event planning. Planning is about choosing and setting the right date and time to attendance and elimination of a chance of forgetting or missing because of other urgent activities. So the application has to contain a calendar with alerts about upcoming events a user has registered for. Advanced apps have their planner or they can be integrated into Google calendar to allow users to plan their time without leaving the app.
Mapping
The necessity of including a mapping function is evident. It allows users easily find a way to the chosen conference. Geolocation will help them understand how to reach the venue in case if they come from another city or even country.
Automatic updates
New events become available on a regular basis that is why your application has to inform users about emerging possibilities in the same way. Sometimes, there happen situations when a seminar delays or even organizers change the target date. All these updates have to reach users via timely updates.
Sharing
The most efficient tool for event promotion is social networks. That is why any app for event planning has to be linked with social media platforms to let attendees tell their friends what kind of event they are going to attend and share their opinion about last ones. This feature is not just a way to please users, but also powerful marketing mechanism that will function efficiently without your participation.
Program preview
Badges, promo materials, and printed papers is not a bad event agenda source where attendees can follow what will happen next. However, business is about setting the right price and controlling expenses. So save the nature and your money, include all information about event program in your application and do not make users carry a pack of papers during an event.
What qualities does your app have to contain?
With growing app popularity, there is nothing surprising about emerging new mobile applications in the event industry. They have a serious impact on the market by letting attendees hold their hand on the pulse of organizing process and enhancing their attendance experience. In this particular niche, success depends on the popularity of your app, and how users will evaluate it is fully based on their interaction experience. Let’s consider the options how your solution can catch up attendees’ attention.
Engagement
How can your app drive engagement successfully? Only personalization can conquer hearts and souls of your target audience. There are so many apps that even attractive design and nice-looking animation cannot surprise anyone anymore. You have to offer your customers personalized content which would be based on their preferences, interests and previous events they have attended to. Such features will make the total price higher, indeed. How much does it cost to build an event app with such a wide set of functions? Whatever the price is, you must remember that these investments will definitely pay off.
Interaction
The main difference between ordinary websites and mobile applications is that users can interact with their apps in any time and wherever they are. Simple content based apps will have no significant impact on an average paycheck if they do not provide a possibility of deep interaction. Users would like to ask speakers questions in a real time so that experts could answer them right after their speeches. It will eliminate potential issues with microphones and save time for passing it through the audience. Think more how you can increase interaction level in your app.
Improvement
It is important for attendees to have a possibility to express their opinions about events or services you provide them with. Now, people tend to share their experience with their friends using social networks. They want to be heard, they want their opinions to be taken into other people’s account. You should allow users evaluate every particular speaker’s speech or a whole event in general. Furthermore, a possibility to collect feedbacks will help you understand better what you do right and what needs to be improved.
Summing up
The main goal of event app development is providing a multipurpose solution that will allow attendees to interact with your application, share their opinions about what they pay for, and use as few tools as possible. Most delegates end up at the event with a lot of data on their calendar, some on the email, some notes on their smartphone, partial event schedules, and much data scattered all over social networks.
So why not to focus on trying to stick all these things together and implement various functions in one single mobile application? Our team will be more than happy to assist you in app development and provide our full expertise in creating native app solutions. Contact us and your app will start conquering hearts and souls of your target audience.