How to Find & Select The Best Mobile Apps for Conferences

More than a decade ago, when EventMobi launched, mobile apps for conferences were a revolution.

These days, they’re a prerequisite for a fantastic conference experience. With the right conference app, you can:

• Enhance communication
• Streamline event management
• Personalize attendees’ experience

And so much more.

But how do you choose the right app for your conferences? Plus, what features should you be looking for in a conference event app?

In this article, we’ll explore:

• The benefits of a great mobile conference app
• How to find your ideal mobile event app (step by step)
• The features you want in your app
• And a list of recommended event apps to choose from! 

Benefits of a Great Conference App

A well-designed mobile event app can make a huge impact for your conference attendees. How? Event apps help you:

Boost communication

Conferences are a hub of activity! There’s constant communication between attendees, speakers, and you—the organizers. The right conference app will help streamline all these communication channels, fostering engagement and collaboration.

Reduce print costs

Event agenda, speaker information, booth information, venue map, feedback surveys, or signage… All this information can be provided with the right mobile event app. That means there’s no need to print materials for your event! You’ll save resources and minimize environmental impact at the same time.

Centralize information

Your conference schedule app is the centralized hub for all event-related info. Your attendees won’t need to leaf through paper after paper to find the sessions they want to attend, or the booths they want to visit—they can focus on enjoying your event!

Collect real-time data

Which sessions do your attendees enjoy most? What kind of activities attract the most people? With the right event app, the answers to these questions will be at your fingertips. Collecting real-time data helps you make informed decisions and improve future events.

Sponsorship advertising opportunities

If you’re hosting an in-person or hybrid event, mobile event apps offer another venue to promote your sponsors. You could:

And tons of other opportunities! Your attendees will have eyes on the app all day, so there’s plenty of sponsor value to be had.

Better event management

Your conference app can help streamline various event administrative tasks like:

With these administrative tasks handled, your team can focus on the areas that most need their attention. 

Personalize the experience

Did you know you can also offer personalized features to your attendees with a mobile app? 

By uploading your attendees’ info (their emails, for example) into the app, you could populate sessions to attendees on their behalf—or allow them to build their own schedules! 

Personalizing their experience means you’re catering to each attendee’s preferences, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.

1:1 networking opportunities

The most common reason members join an association? Networking! The right mobile conference app will help attendees make valuable connections with one another at your event, with features like:

In-session engagement

Conference apps make it easy to drive attendee engagement! Make your attendees an active part of your sessions with:

Your attendees enjoy the fun and you enjoy the feedback. It’s a win-win!

Notifications & updates

Have any last-minute updates you need to inform attendees of? No worries. Changes can easily be made and delivered in real time so attendees never miss any vital updates. If you’re worried that they might miss important news, grab their attention with a push notification or alert within the event app.

The RIGHT Mobile App for Conferences: How To Find It

Now that you know the benefits, how do you go about finding the right mobile conference app for your event? Before downloading the first option you find, consider the following: 

1. Determine who’s involved

Who’s going to be evaluating and setting up the app? Make sure you know the key individuals involved in the decision-making process to consider all their needs and expectations! This could involve your event planners, marketers, and board members.

2. Define your budget

At the end of the day, budget is always an important event consideration. Think about your resources and needs to find the best fit for your conference: a free event app, a customizable solution, or an app you build in-house.

3. List essential features

Create a list of must-have features based on your conference requirements. Features you might need include:

And more! For a complete list of features you may want in your conference app, check out the “What Features to Look For” section below.

4. Research vendors

Just like any good investment, it pays to do the research. Some factors you may want to consider include: 

• Reputation. How long has the company been providing event apps? Are their reviews positive?
• Reliability. Over that amount of time, how has the app been performing? What kind of features does the app contain? Are there constant complaints of bugs or glitches?
• Scalability. Can the app support the size of your event? And how frequently is it updated with features to account for growth?
• Customer support. How readily available is their customer support? What do the reviews say? Does the company add app features based on customer requests?
• Integration capabilities. What CRMs does the app integrate with? Do they match your needs? 

5. Attend demos

Make sure you attend demos from the best providers in your list! Demos help you check the user interface, functionality, customization options, and overall user experience of their apps. You should also use that time to ask questions related to specific use cases you want to tackle with your event app. 

6. Make the case to your board

Know which app you want to go with? Great! Time to make the case to your board. To secure funding, you’re going to need a comprehensive presentation tailored to the audience you’re pitching to. Make sure they know why you need it, how it’ll improve the event, and why it’s better for your budget—either due to a lower cost or a better ROI.

Make sure you strategize well to get buy-in from each of these decision-makers! 

7. Get onboarded

If your board’s given you the go-ahead, now’s the time to get onboarded! Work closely with the app provider to ensure a smooth onboarding process. Here, you should learn about app setup, branding customization, data integration, personalizing agendas to attendees, and more. Don’t forget to give your team members a chance to ask the questions they need. 

8. Have an awesome event!

It’s event time! With the right conference app, you can now focus on creating an exceptional event experience and maximize attendee engagement and satisfaction.

Mobile Apps for Conferences: What Features To Look For

Mobile apps for conferences can contain a lot of features. But which ones work for you? In the end, the features you want for your mobile app will vary depending on:

• The type of event you’re having
• Your objectives
• Your event goals

For conferences, the best event apps should contain these features:

Agenda

An interactive agenda allows you to create custom schedules for your attendees and allows your attendees to:

Attendee profile

An attendee directory should have profile information and networking capabilities. Attendees can connect with each other by requesting a meeting from within a profile, for example.

Speaker profile

Detailed profiles of speakers, including their background, session information, and links to social media profiles.

Exhibitor profile

An exhibitor directory with profiles that showcase exhibitor details, products, and services.

Networking tools

Tools created to help attendees, speakers, and exhibitors share and connect through:

Sponsor promotion tools

Advertising options for sponsors, such as:

Live polling and Q&A

Up your attendee engagement with interactive features! Your ideal event app should allow attendees to participate in live polls, ask questions, and engage with speakers during sessions.

Alerts & notifications

No more delayed event updates. Set up push notifications and alerts in your app to keep attendees informed about:

Social media monitoring & analytics

Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok or Facebook are great to promote your conferences! With that in mind, find an app that integrates with the platforms you want and has analytics capabilities to monitor engagement, measure event impact, and collect valuable insights.

Event maps

Interactive event maps help attendees get to their destination quickly! Your mobile event app should highlight your venues, sessions, booths, and other points of interest.

Info booth

Attendees have some FAQs? An event app with an information center provides all the answers they’re looking for, and offers them support if needed.

Digital content

By default, you should be able to provide digital resources, such as session handouts, speaker presentations, and additional event materials within your event app.

Security

Robust security measures to protect attendee data and ensure the privacy of personal information—which means one less worry on your plate.

Chat & discussion

Another engagement and networking opportunity for attendees: in-app chat, discussion boards, or live activity feeds.

Gamification

Some mobile event apps can engage your attendees with fun, friendly event game challenges! To gamify your event, you could:

• Reward your attendees when they interact with others, visit exhibitors, or attend sessions
• Set up in-event games with sponsored prizes to boost sponsors’ visibility
• Provide real-time updates or leaderboards to incentivize participation

Event surveys

With a built-in survey, your ideal conference app will allow you to gather attendee feedback, evaluate session satisfaction, and gain insights to improve future events. Speaking of which…

Analytics & reports

Your event app should always come with comprehensive analytics and reporting features to help you measure event ROI! EventMobi, for example, offers different ways to measure your event analytics like:

Cross-platform support

To ensure accessibility, choose an event app that’s compatible with multiple operating systems (iOS, Android) and devices (smartphones, tablets).

Interested in a powerful conference app? Check out EventMobi for a comprehensive event management solution that caters to all your conference needs

Mobile Apps for Conferences: Design Best Practices

Most event apps allow you to customize to fit your event. But remember: it’s not enough for an app to just look attractive. After all, what good is a pretty event app if your attendees don’t know how to use it? 

Here are some app design best practices to optimize your mobile conference app:

• Add widgets to your Home Screen for easier navigation. Popular widgets include Speakers, Agenda, Location, and Attendees.
• Create personal schedules. These help attendees’ keep track of the sessions best suited to their preferences.
• Include a Documents feature for convenient event access. You can either attach documents to an individual session/speaker or sponsor profile, or you can create a separate module to host all event documents.
• Include an interactive map. Your app can help attendees navigate and visualize the event location.
• Set up a virtual event information booth. Make sure to include general event information and FAQs.
•  Use app security. By distributing passcodes or only allowing attendees to log in from the email they register, you can prevent data leaks.
• Set up polls, surveys, and session feedback. Learn what worked, what didn’t, and how you can improve for next year!

Recommended Read: Wondering how to make sure your attendees adopt your event app? Use our guide at your next event to make promoting your mobile app a breeze! Download the Ultimate Guide to Increasing Event App Adoption & Usage to learn how🎯!

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The Best Apps for Conferences: Our Picks

While there are numerous mobile apps available for conferences, here are some top recommendations based on their reviews and industry reputation:

Event management apps

Your event management app should help you cut down administrative work, get you the analytics you need, and make navigating your events super easy for both attendees and speakers.

EventMobi

Some key benefits of our app include:

• Compatible with any modern mobile devices of different size, for Android and iOS
• Ability to have a branded app in app stores
• Can display one or multiple events
• Easy navigation allowing your attendees to quickly access relevant content
• Mobile interaction features to encourage attendee participation in sessions
• Features designed for quick navigation onsite
• Ability for attendees to personalize their event experience
• Hybrid-ready and can be combined with any of your virtual event features

And so much more!

But don’t just listen to us—here’s a review from one of our clients, Canadian Meetings + Events Expo:

“Since we discovered EventMobi a few years ago, we immediately found that they were just easy to work with, and they also enhanced our user experience, both on the exhibitor side, as well as the attendee side. And the feedback we’ve received about the Event App is that it’s clear and easy to use.”

– Melissa Arnott,
Show Manager, Canadian Meetings + Events Expo Director of Events, Newcom Media Inc.

Cvent

vFairs

Conference schedule apps

A conference schedule app helps you keep attendees informed with conference agenda, real-time event announcements, schedule or location updates, session changes, event activities notifications, and more. You can get these features with an all-in-one event management app like EventMobi, but if you need specific apps for this function…

Swapcard

Sched

Brella

Event check in apps

Get your guests in faster—eliminate long lines at the registration desk, paper lists, or expensive scanners with an event check-in app! 

If you’ve chosen EventMobi for your event management app then no worries, the check-in function is built in:

• Turns any iPad and tablet into a streamlined event check-in kiosk
• Look up attendee details by scanning either pre-printed or digital badges from their Mobile Event App profile
• Track event and session attendance with the attendee check-in app

But if you’re looking for apps specifically to help check guests in…

Attendium

Guest Manager

EventX

Trade show apps

Organizing a trade show? One of the most important features to look for in a trade show app is lead capture. With EventMobi’s Lead Capture App, for example, you could:

• Scan the QR code on attendee’s mobile event app or physical badge to capture their information
• Review and add additional details for leads on the spot
• Export lead information for easy import into any CRM

You also want attendees to be able to navigate through hundreds of exhibitor booths, using a feature like Interactive Event Maps. 

Besides EventMobi, here are some other trade show apps you could consider:

Eventbase

CamCard

iCapture

Best event planning apps

A good event planning app helps you manage tasks, collaborate with team members, and track your event preparation process. You can use one of the apps suggested below with EventMobi’s automated email marketing feature to help make event planning easier.

Monday.com

ClickUp

Trello

Free event apps

Hosting a small event? Wanting to try some features out first? A free event app could be a good fit! Just remember, free conference mobile apps tend to have limited, basic features—unlike all-in-one event management apps like EventMobi.

Eventbrite

RSVPify

Airmeet

Choose the Right Mobile Event App for Your Next Conference

With the right mobile app for conferences, you can elevate your event and create an unforgettable experience for all participants. 

If you’re ready to support your event with an all-in-one event management software solution, schedule a chat with our team about what EventMobi can do for your next event!

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