If you’re not used to attending virtual events, everything from setup to attendance and wrap-up can feel rushed and intangible. Chatbots can help bring a more relaxed, even human, element to the experience by providing a trusted guide to the entire process. Below are 7 ways a chatbot set up to provide support for an event could dramatically enhance a person’s experience with any given virtual event.
Setting Up
Using a chatbot to provide customer support is nothing new. For example, the chatbot for Nike shoes and their “Stylebot” can take information from the customer and provide relevant product options, order the product, and provide tracking and shipment updates. Troubleshooting and training prior to a live event can work similarly.
First, the chatbots need to introduce the basic requirements. They can then run through a checklist or answer questions, depending on how familiar the participant is with virtual events and the software used to run them. By helping participants to set things up before an event begins, they may be less likely to be stressed during the event, or feel rushed at the last minute.
Provide Answers About an Event Before It Begins
In addition to setting up technical requirements, a chatbot is an excellent source of information about how an event will work, what panels or sessions are on offer, and how to get more information before making any final decisions. The longer a chatbot is active leading up to an event, the more types of questions it may be able to answer as traffic increases. Chatbots can provide this functionality for both live and digital events. For example, BizBash in Los Angeles created a chatbot that was able to adequately answer 1,630 questions leading up to and during their one-day event.
RSVPs and Reservations
In addition to answering questions about the content of an event or giving times, dates, and directions a chatbot can be used to set reminders, RSVP, or create reservations. This was the case with the chatbot created by Oracle and Heineken to provide information at and about Urban Polo events.
Though this was a chatbot designed for a live event, what Heineken and Oracle learned could just as easily apply to digital events. The chatbot was also integrated with social media, so the bot could connect with users, provide reminders, and facilitate posts. The key takeaways by Heineken and Oracle were that a chatbot off of Facebook may have an easier entry, and they would like to encourage the use of the chatbot for a longer period before each event.
Scheduling and Reminders
On the other hand, there are 100% virtual events like Cisco’s Global Sales Experience Meeting. This event is only for employees so outside information and social sharing are not necessary. What is necessary is something to help with scheduling. In this case, that something could be a chatbot. This event contained 88 hours of consecutive sessions including 58 keynote addresses, 10 break-out sessions, and 124 chat sessions.
With all of that content, anyone could be overwhelmed. Allowing a chatbot to prioritize events by interest and timing could be key to getting the most out of an event like this if it were presented in an a la carte manner. Reminders for each session could also be key to each participant’s success.
Multilingual Q and A During a Live Event
While the majority of the content in an event may be in a specific language having a multilingual Q and A, or sign-posting for help with questions in another language, can help bridge any gaps that might occur after an event or session.
Chatbots may also be able to provide resources, such as transcripts, notes, or other files, that can help bridge gaps in comprehension of the content of a live digital event. In live chat sessions, it’s also possible for a chatbot to be able to translate a question or answer if the chatbot can understand a particular language.
Real-Time Moderators for Live Chat
Chatbots can help humans interact more efficiently and, even, more politely. One way to do this is to allow chatbots to interact with or even moderate live chat sessions or Q and A. There are many ways to go about this, including methods adopted by IBM.
IBM offers an example of a chatbot that can detect explicit images, any use of language that could be interpreted as angry, and negative phrases in a chat platform in real-time. If the message is seen as inflammatory, it can be sent back to the user with a note about how to improve the message, even a suggested alternative. In addition to detecting messages that don’t contribute to a conversation positively, this same bot could detect and answer common questions, freeing up the interviewee or conversation leaders.
Data to Improve the Next Event
Chatbots can collect data during all of this activity, from setup to wrap-up. This data can be used to improve the event the next time it is run, or even to improve the content offered around the event.
Which questions were the bot asked most frequently? Were there any common technical issues? Did scheduling conflicts reduce the popularity of a given session? All of these questions should be easy to answer with the data a chatbot can collect. Further, designing a chatbot to collect certain data during an event, or to allow it to answer questions about sponsors as well as the event, may help improve its overall benefit.
Ever since COVID-19 drove us all home leaving vast swathes of conference spaces empty, there has been a lull in offline marketing activity. Smart marketers have seen to it that there is a new replacement for this empty space and have revived the concept of virtual events.
Yes, it doesn’t sound as exciting as going to an actual event where the opportunity for networking is huge and the chance of signing up your next lead is really high. In case of a virtual event, however, you might be talking to someone who is in their pajamas and who is unsure of how online business networking works.
Love it or hate it, virtual events are here to stay. The huge savings in cost notwithstanding, marketing agencies have come up with solutions to all the problems described above.
With some clever tweaking of already existing platforms, virtual events can be hosted now with a virtual backstage, a virtual networking session, and even a virtual Q&A session.
Necessity, indeed, is the mother of all inventions.
Unwilling to let go of crucial market share, companies are now leveraging virtual events in a big way to promote business and generate new leads.
Are you still on the fence? Well, you’ll find yourself in sparse company.
Even technology giants like Microsoft and Cisco have jumped onto the virtual event bandwagon.
Worried About Leads?
If you already have a well-established marketing strategy, you have everything you need to host or attend a conference. But now that the game has gone online, some rules of the game have indeed changed.
One of the most important questions that will no doubt pop up in your head is “How do you advertise your virtual event?”
Yes, you can go the traditional route and create fancy ads and promote on social media. But wouldn’t you rather advertise it on a platform where you’re more or less guaranteed to get registrations?
A platform like the Speaker Engage Event Directory perhaps?
Speaker Engage has been deeply involved in all stages of event management for a while now. Our marquee software is the go-to resource for event organizers who want to conduct events at scale without the stress to match.
One of the things we noticed was that people were really clueless about how to drive registrations for their events.
It may look simple, but the power of a good listing is well-known to most marketers. Getting your event listed on well-established platforms like the Speaker Engage Event Directory can make or break your whole planning.
The “How To”
Before you list your event here, make sure your registration page is live and prepared to handle the traffic.
You will be greeted with a long list of upcoming industry events. As you can see, bigwigs in the tech industry have their events listed on our page.
At the top of the page, click on “Submit Your Event.”
In the “Submit Your Event” page, fill out your event details. Ensure you have a catchy 250-word event description on hand. Think carefully about the industry your event is catering to and select accordingly. In the Event Type dropdown, select In-Person or Virtual. Most importantly, enter the correct event registration URL. This is what people will use to register for your event from the Event Directory page
Once you’ve successfully submitted your event, our moderator will reach out to you if we need any clarification.
And just like that, your event is now listed on a high-traffic, spam-free, niche-relevant website!
Of course, you can even list In-Person events on the Event Directory, but we don’t think those are gonna take place any time soon. Until then, hosting virtual events is the way to go, and getting your virtual event listed is crucial to its success.
Imagine this. You’re pumped because you have decided to host your very first event. Everything is set in your head. The topic, the speakers, the invitations. You have even figured out what gift to give the attendees. But then it strikes you. You have no idea how to integrate the latest tech into your event, or even what that is. So where do you go? What do you do?
You turn to The Meeting Pool because they look like they know what they’re talking about.
The Meeting Pool is a dedicated platform for all things tech in the event industry. It’s a gigantic repository of the most updated tech news, an educative tool for all your tech-related queries.
So how does it work and what’s so special about it?
Simplification of Everything Complicated
The Meeting Pool has hundreds of articles on technology; this has already been said. They are neatly categorized into Apps, Business, Event Industry, Social Media, and Tech.
How is this helpful? As anyone in the tech industry will know, event tech comes in all shapes and sizes. You can categorize your requirements and localize your search with these sub-tabs, which allows you to narrow down on the solution to a specific problem without much hassle. If you’re a casual searcher whose dream of running an event is somewhere far down the line, an article like “Top Ten Apps For Keeping a To Do List” will come in real handy.
Customizable TECHBars
A unique offering from The Meeting Pool is its TECHBar, fully customizable – and comfortable – tech lounges for events. This “interactive and approachable spot” is staffed by the company’s subject matter experts on a variety of topics tailored to a variety of audiences. It also allows the audience/participants to use it as a catch-up space to have quick one-on-one meetings or to check their emails.
The added advantage, of course, is the full-time availability of their SMEs to answer tech-related questions. If any of your attendees feel that they need help with the event app, The Meeting Pool SMEs will also walk them through it, helping them experience your event to its fullest.
Event Tech Directory
Now we did say that The Meeting Pool was all about tech in the event space. Their Event Tech Directory proves it.
It acts as a meeting ground for tech companies and event companies by helping the former to list their technology while helping the latter to discover it.
The ‘Discover Tech Companies’ option helps event organizers to find their most appropriate tech supplier to ensure that you depend on the best tools for your event. As a tech company, you get the option to list your tech for that event organizer out there who really needs it.
And thus, a partnership is formed.
Another added advantage? You get to promote your event through The Meeting Pool, ensuring a much wider reach for it.
Industry Resources
The Meeting Pool is a pool of knowledge as well. It has a vast repository of whitepapers, infographics, and ebooks from events they have supported.
Event Industry Calendar
What better way for an event enthusiast to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry than a calendar that spans across verticals? That’s what the Event Industry Calendar does. For those who plan, organize, and attend events, this is the perfect place to know what’s what and where’s what.
Advertising Options
Remember when we said you can advertise with The Meeting Pool a couple of paragraphs ago? They have multiple options for this. For starters, the Event Directory Listing is free. You also have the option to upgrade your listing for better exposure.
The other advertising options are:
Display advertising: through banner ad positions
Content: by featuring your whitepapers, ebooks, and infographics on the platform
Contests: like custom interactive campaigns on social media
Newsletters: by being featured on their weekly newsletter
Ready to Dive Into the Pool?
So there you have it. The long and short of how The Meeting Pool can be your perfect accomplice in event management. The way we see it, they add a unique value to the whole idea by offering a whole lot of stuff, all in one place.
The Speaker Engage team has been working tirelessly to make the whole experience of event management as hassle-free as possible. We’ve invested day and night to design and develop solutions to challenges that hard-working event organizers face. The result is an intuitive and well-thought-out software to take care of all their needs.
We did it to create access for strategic opportunities that are available when they can engage with speakers, sponsors, and their community. We are so excited to get a stellar review we got from the folks over at Event Manager Blog (Event MB) here.
In case you haven’t heard of ‘em — unlikely if you’ve been in the event organizing scene for long enough — Event MB is the “go-to online resource for Trends, Technology, Innovation and Education for the event industry.”
Over the years, Event MB has published numerous reports that have since become industry-standards with around 120,000 downloads! So head on over to their site and download some of their awesome FREE content like Social Media for Events or Engaging Events.
You work for months on organizing your event with a fear of failure gnawing at your insides. Event planners, managers, and strategists around the world are all too familiar with this emotion. That’s exactly how we felt too while we were building the Speaker Engage software. But the joy of seeing the final product in action and being well-received more than makes up for it.
It’s Worth It
Speaker Engage is a fully-integrated, cloud-based platform, designed by event organizers for event organizers. Our aim was to pitch a solution to event organizers who want to curate and delight speakers and sponsors with engaging communications, content, and logistics to remove the chaos from event planning and execution.
And so far, it looks like we have figured out a way to help you get your job well done!
Let’s face it, organizing a mega event with a thousand moving parts is a nightmare!
A nightmare none of us are ready to face without a robust toolset at their disposal. Something like a Swiss Army Knife perhaps. Yup, that’s what Speaker Engage is for event planners and organizers.
And here are the pros of this Swiss Army Knife according to Event MB:
Centralized platform including speaker, sponsor, resource, and agenda management
Allows for multi-event management
Simple interface with real-time dashboards for managing speakers, talent and sponsors
Facilitates time-saving micro-actions
API integration capabilities
Email communications to speakers and sponsors
Influencer classification
Compliant with GDPR and PII policies
If your eyes just lit up, and you’re wondering why you haven’t already signed up, head over here and claim your free 100-day trial.
Here’s What You Get For Free
With Speaker Engage’s robust curation platform and real-time dashboard, event planning and execution become seamless. Instead of relying on disjointed emails, spreadsheets, and texts, stakeholders can create and centrally manage ongoing communication to build valuable connections, authentic partnerships, and collaborate to bring great ideas to life.
Did someone say “AI?”
Yes, we have that too. And not just as a buzzword. Our automated workflow that takes care of speaker curation, schedule management, and several other awesome features is powered by an intuitive and continuously learning AI system.
With a centralized content management system, organizers can now reinvent their communication strategy supported by AI to automatically optimize productivity.
What really sets Speaker Engage apart is that as event organizers, we’ve built a platform to cater specifically to the daily needs of planning and orchestrating events. Our AI-enabled platform helps with:
Speaker and Sponsor Community Management
Automated Workflows
Agenda and Session Management
Master List Management
Event-related Resource Management
Social Buzz Automation
Multi-event Analytics and Management
Email Automation and Tracking
Social Media campaign planning & execution (shhh.. It’s coming soon too)
Re-organize How You Organize Events
Yes, we know, AI-enabled this, AI-powered that. If you want a human touch, reach out to our product experts and schedule a demo here. Say No to excel sheets!
We will take you through all the features included in this power-packed software. Hope you don’t mind lengthy demos cause we’ve got a lot to cover.
