Apps for Up -And- Coming Event Planners
As the world changes, so does the way we do business, including the way we plan events. As an event planner, I rely on my smartphone as a resource to help me keep organized and stay connected wherever I go. So put down the notepad and pull out your cell phone. Here are the top 10 apps I recommend.
Evite
Cost: Free / Available for Apple and Android devices
Evite is exactly what is sounds like; it allows you to create an event and send invitations by providing you with a link. The link can easily be shared through any social media platform or messaging app. Once clicked, guests can register and respond with their attendance status. As the event planner, you can keep track of numbers.
Diobox
Cost: Ranges from $99/per event to $199/month for a Business Subscription. / Available for Apple devices only
Diobox provides access to different features depending on the bundle you choose. The most extensive subscription available allows you to register an unlimited number of events per month, track over 2000+ guests and enables 5+ team members to use the account to coordinate. Other services include visual planning for table seating, guest activity tracking, guest history, check-in alerts and enhanced guest profiles.
Boomset – Guest List & Easy Check-In Manager App paired with the Lead Retrieval & Mobile CMR App
Cost: Custom package pricing
Boomset Guest List Check-In Manager: Available for Apple devices only
Boomset Lead Retrieval & Mobile CRM: Available for Apple and Android devices
The Boomset app pairing is best used for event registration and allows easy check-in with QR scanners. Planners can use the manager app to print wristbands or badges and organize guest lists, while the lead retrieval app can be used to scan in guests at the event. The best part? Both apps work offline and can be integrated with other event platforms including Eventbrite.
Eventbrite – Paired with the Organizer/Manager App
Cost: If you’re selling tickets, Eventbrite charges 2.5% of ticket price sales plus a 3% payment processing fee
Eventbrite: Available for Apple and Android devices
Eventbrite Organizer/Manager: Available for Apple and Android devices under their respective titles
Eventbrite is an app the allows guests to buy tickets and register for upcoming events or seminars from their smartphones. With the organizer app, you can create an event and accept payment online or in person with a mobile card reader. Other helpful features include tracking sales and printing receipts. I really like Eventbrite because everyone has heard of it and the site is widely used as an alternative to high priced event apps.
Hootsuite
Cost: From $9.99/month, billed annually for the Pro Plan. Business plans cost that much and more depending on the extra features you need, including custom URLs and multiple user access.
Available for Apple and Android devices
Managing multiple social media accounts at once can be challenging, which is why Hootsuite is one of my favourite apps. The app allows you manage multiple accounts, receive notifications and schedule posts. The app is completely cross-platform and you can get free reports by email. These reports include the number of clicks per day, geographical information of the people clicking and your most popular links.
Evernote Scannable
Cost: Free
Available for Apple and Android devices
Evernote Scannable is a plugin app for Evernote that allows you to scan documents and with your camera, save them to your camera roll or sync them with your Evernote account for sharing across multiple devices. It’s really that simple.
(If you don’t already have the original app Evernote, I suggest you download it now as it is one of the top note sharing apps on the market. It’s free for a basic account, but prices range from $34.99/year to $69.99/year for plus and premium accounts.)
Heytell
Cost: Free
Available for Apple and Android devices
This straightforward app allows you to easily communicate with your team of coordinators. All you need to do is invite them to download the app, register and start communicating. You can control your privacy settings and connect the app to Twitter, Facebook and sync your contacts as well. You can even use this as a walkie talkie during one of your events (one of my favourite features of this app)!
Snapchat
Cost: Free
Available for Apple and Android devices
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve got a pretty good idea about what Snapchat is. It’s an app that allows you to send pictures and videos that only last ten seconds for viewing. The app also allows you to share these photos or videos to all of your Snapchat friends as part of your Story for 24 hours of unlimited viewing access.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, you can use Snapchat to promote and enhance events by creating an account for the event, promoting and allow guests to follow the event, sharing pictures or videos and even using the app to develop post-event relationships.
24me
Cost: Free
Available for Apple and Android devices
Avoiding schedule conflict has never been easier with 24me. The app can sync your iOS and/or Google calendar and contacts in one place for a better view of each day’s events. The calendar is simplistic, colour coded, and can be viewed and sorted by category. They’ve dubbed it the “Smart Personal Assistant” because it can connect to your bank, service providers and automatically tells you what tasks you need to do.
Bizzabo
Cost: Custom package pricing
Available for Apple and Android devices
Bizzabo is an all-in-one event planner app. As a planner, you can register an event, set social sharing, sell tickets and accept payment as well as manage guest lists. A bonus about this app is that guests can also use it to access information about the event and participate in activities such as polls. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bizzabo and it’s team, and all I can say is – they are going places! They have reached the highest standard in providing the best possible event experience!
Though in no particular order – those are the top ten apps I recommend for event planners. Most of the paid apps I have listed above provide free trial versions if you’re interested in checking those out. In any case, I will be adding to this list in the future as new apps appear on the market and I hope you found this list helpful and informative!
