Last month, we looked at some of the top tech apps for event management, but you shouldn’t be surprised that today’s technology means that there’s no way to limit it to a few best tools! That’s why we’re expanding on our favorite apps to help you through the busy event season--with a handful of other programs for you to try out.
Project Management
We covered a couple of favorite programs in the last roundup but there is such a wealth of resources when it comes to project management that we just had to give it another go-around.
Sometimes you just don’t need full-blown software to keep track of things. If you prefer the simpler style, ToDoist and Wunderlist are really great options to carry your to-do list with you on the go. To-do lists can be easily shared with clients and other event team members, with reminders to keep everyone on the same page.
Website Tools
Your website is often the first impression that you’ll have on prospective clients, so it’s important that it’s fully functioning and intuitive. By adding certain tools to your site, you can develop a client experience that will draw in the right kind of people. Our website uses two tools--LiveChat and Hello Bar.
LiveChat is great because it allows people to ask questions as they browse your website, instead of having to search for a contact page or send an email. Plus, since it’s live, they don’t have to wait for an answer from us--it’s faster than emails and much more efficient than a phone call. Hello Bar, on the other hand, adds a discreet bar at the top of your website that is visible on every page. This is a great way to promote events, sales, or build your newsletter list.
Travel
If you’re a frequent business traveler, you’re most likely privy to the headache that can be organizing every part of a work trip. Tripit is a great, free tool for anyone who needs to keep flights, rental cars and hotel reservations organized--it allows you to input all of your information and will keep everything in one place. It can also be set to automatically grab travel confirmations from your email to store in the app.
Social Media
Ah, social media--we love it and we hate it. While it’s certainly an extremely useful method of reaching out to people and staying connected with your target audience, it can take up some major time (not even counting the time spent distractedly scrolling!).
Instead of allocating your precious minutes to posting multiple times per day, social media management apps such as HootSuite, Buffer and Sprinklr are great for keeping all of your social media in one place. Once your accounts are synced, you can preschedule as much as you want!
Another method to the madness is IFTTT (If This Then That), which allows you to create recipes to automate your social media. For example, you can set something up that automatically posts to Pinterest every time you add a photo to Google Drive or share something on Instagram--talk about convenient!
The best way to find what works for you is simply to try out all of the apps. If you can’t get the hang of it, you can easily delete the app. However, you’ll be grateful to find "the one" that is the key to streamlining your business!
Kevin Dennis is the owner of Fantasy Sound Event Services, a full-service event company based in Livermore, Calif. He is the current chapter president for Silicon Valley NACE and the immediate past national president for WIPA.
