2024 Swoogo Unconventional (IRL) Key Takeaways
By Mari Lucco and Angelica Dimapindan
We’re thrilled to announce that LOMA Agency is now a Swoogo Certified Partner, a designation we achieved after rigorous training and hands-on experience with the platform. As certified partners, we’re equipped to offer our clients enhanced customization, flexibility, and expertise in event management.
As a partner, last month a few members of our team attended the Swoogo Uncon (IRL) Conference in Austin, Texas. We had the opportunity to hear from an incredible line-up of speakers as well as learn more tips and tricks to elevate our Swoogo game. Since we are all about sharing, here are our top 5 takeaways from the conference.
1. The Importance of Customization
It is no secret the more customization an event website has, the better user experience; however, it is all about the strategy behind the customization.
Magic Link
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Need to select sessions after registration is complete? Or need to complete a post-event survey? The magic link grants quick and easy access into the form, with no need to login. A more user-friendly experience for your attendees!
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
A magic link is a unique link assigned to the attendee that allows for a simplified login process that is more secure than traditional login methods since it eliminates the need to remember a password. And best part, it’s super easy to set up in Swoogo!
Add this at the end of any URLS: ?i=/registrant_secure_id/
Merge Fields
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
What’s more welcoming than an email or a website page that’s addressing you by your name?
But merge fields are also so much more!
Imagine how easy it will be for your attendees to find their details (ticket type, sessions picked, hotel check-in/out date, etc.) all in one place.
For annual events, it’s easier for repeat attendees to navigate a familiar website.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Customization can seem time consuming, but with Swoogo’s merge fields, customization can be facilitated with email communications, registration forms, and really any page of your website in no time.
Merge fields are also helpful to make an event website repeatable. Simply put, spend the time customizing the first website so future websites can be repeated in no time!
2. Don’t Stress When it Comes to Emails
There is a misconception in events to not annoy attendees with too many emails, yet in the world we live in, sometimes multiple communications with the same email messaging is necessary to be sure the email gets read.
Keep Following Up!
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
We all live busy lives and sometimes we ignore the email not because we are not interested, but because it gets buried in our never-ending inbox.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
We all live busy lives and sometimes we ignore the email not because we are not interested, but because it gets buried in our never-ending inbox.
Focus on Wording
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
People don’t like to be told what to do. A first-person CTA (call to action) button will be more inviting to click on.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Don’t be stagnant in your CTAs.
Instead of using the generic “Register Now” button switch it up to “Count Me In!” or “Save My Seat.”
These simple small tweaks can have a big impact, as these changes have seen a 28% increase in click through rates.
3. Building Loyal Attendees and Utilizing Progressive Registration
Progressive registration breaks the registration into 4 phases:
- The Basics: Start registration early and grab basic details. Name and email address are enough. This acts as a “fan verification” moment.
- Ticket Sales: Use your list of “verified fans” and send them a special link to register.
- Agenda Customization: Attendees log back in and select the sessions they want to attend. It is recommended to do this 4 week prior to the event.
- Know Before You Go Email: Sent 7-10 days before the event with all the details an attendee needs to know to feel prepared for the event.
If you plan to execute a progressive registration, it is vital that all emails include a call to action to keep your attendees engaged and excited.
The Basics
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Attendees are able to show interest early and add your event to their calendar without fully committing to attend.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
No need to have your agenda or speakers finalized, you can still build interest and engagement with your loyal attendees before tickets are on sale.
Agenda Customization
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Choosing their sessions provides choice and control back to the attendee. By doing so, the attendee knows they will be attending sessions they are most interested in.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Using the “modify widget” and the magic link allows for seamless and effortless registrant updates during each step of the process.
4. Data, Data, Data
The word data gets thrown around all the time these days; however, data tells a detailed story, and it is in the best interest of event planners to use the data shared to refine the event strategy.
Inclusive Experience
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Attendees can share information such as dietary restrictions, accessibility concerns, preferred pronouns and more!
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Attendees can share information such as dietary restrictions, accessibility concerns, preferred pronouns and more!
Curated Content
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Attendees are able to share what topics they’d like to see featured during the event and/or can pick their own sessions to get a more personalized experience.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Attendees are able to share what topics they’d like to see featured during the event and/or can pick their own sessions to get a more personalized experience.
Reporting data back to your client is an integral part of the event planning process so it’s crucial to identify what data points are priorities for them to capture, and then build the registration form in a way that collects that data.
Swoogo makes it easy to track and share data in different formats that can best suit your event preferences – through the Swoogo platform you can also create reports and graphs to showcase trends.
5. Design and Purpose Matter
Everyone can think of a time they visited a website that was confusing or even just not aesthetically pleasing and your first instinct may have been to close the browser tab.
At LOMA Agency, our goal is to always avoid that experience, and to do so it starts with design.
Mobile Experience
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
Don’t forget that attendees often use their mobile devices to register or access that event website. This means the site needs to be designed to be user friendly and responsive!
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Focus on concise text, limit the amount of scrolling – use carousels to allow swiping, instead. Limit videos as that takes more time to load on mobile devices and can disrupt the website functionality.
Easy Navigation
ATTENDEE PERSPECTIVE
A nicely branded website is much more appealing to look at and easier to explore and navigate.
EVENT PLANNER PERSPECTIVE
Make use of the Swoogo website templates.
Swoogo’s widgets allow to implement links, buttons and photos in a visually appealing way that takes less time to load.
Bonus points go to the Swoogo Team for creating intentional Unconventional Moments to stay on theme for the conference!
Here are a few of our favorite moments:
- Thoughtful swag- instead of giving bulky items with their logo on it, we received an Austin hot sauce, personalized bandana, and notebook for sessions. In addition, each attendee was able to choose a non-profit of their choice that Swoogo donated $50 on their behalf via Cauze.
- Fun and stress-relieving activities- our favorites were the plate smashing and paint by number mural.
- Infusing the event with some Austin flare, pedicabs were used for attendee transportation.
- Burning Question Session with hot sauce- attendees submitted burning questions via the event app and members of the Swoogo team answered while completing the hot sauce challenge.
- The conference had a late start (10:00am) allowing attendees time in the morning to catch up on work and respond to emails, allowing us to be focused and engaged during the conference sessions.