Why is budgeting important when planning an event? Well, for starters, a thoughtful budget can mean the difference between a financial flop and a massive success story.

By bringing your financial details into one place, event budgeting makes it easier for you to:

• Understand your event cost breakdown
• Control your event expenses and revenue
• Measure the ROI of your event or conference

So, although event budgeting might not be the most exciting part of planning an event, it should be one of your top priorities–especially if you want to deliver amazing event experiences without going over budget.

According to Knowland’s 2023 State of the Meetings Industry, increasing event expenses is one of the biggest concerns for event organizers. In fact, almost half (46.3%) of event professionals said rising costs are their biggest obstacle when planning events. Another 21% named shrinking client budgets as their top challenge.

The same survey asked event organizers about their predictions on rising costs and most respondents felt food and A/V costs were most likely to continue increasing:

• 39.8% of event planners expect A/V costs to increase 20-50%
• 15.6% of organizers think A/V costs will increase by more than 50%
• 48.1% of event organizers expect F&B costs to rise by 20-50%

What Is an Event Budget?

An event budget is a financial roadmap for your event. It helps you organize your projected expenses and revenue so you can effectively manage your resources and stay on track to achieve your event goals.

Categories within your event budget may include:

• Fixed costs. Fixed costs are expenses that stay the same regardless of how many attendees join your event. These may include your venue rental, entertainment, and event registration software fees.
• Variable costs. Expenses that vary according to your attendee count are called variable costs. Examples include food and beverage and event staff costs.
• Revenue. The money you expect to make from your event is your projected revenue. Common sources of event revenue include ticket sales, sponsorships, and exhibitor booth fees.
• Profit and loss. Taking the above factors into consideration, the profitability of your event depends on the number of attendees who show up. To determine how many attendees you’ll need, you may add a section to your budget that summarizes your projected expenses and revenue for different potential attendee counts.

Planning your budget ahead of time prevents your team from overspending and sets realistic expectations for how much money you can afford to allocate to different areas of your event. That way, you can better prioritize which aspects you’d like to spend more on. For example, if you find that you have to choose between a larger event venue or an upgraded catering package, you can make an informed, data-backed decision based on which is more important to your team.

Developing a clear event budget also helps you measure your success at the end of your event. In reality, your actual revenue and expenses will likely differ from what you projected, but these benchmarks help you determine whether you generated more or less revenue than expected and adjust your budgeting strategy accordingly for future events.

Ultimately, an event budget is a necessary tool for managing your event finances and making careful decisions during the event planning process.

How to Plan Your Event Budget: 7 Steps to Follow

One of the key challenges for planners is managing expenses and revenue sources to achieve the financial goals set by your organization.

A budget provides a detailed forecast of your event’s finances. It helps you manage your spending and expectations by outlining exactly what you’re spending on (including fixed costs and variable expenses), your predicted revenue, and how much revenue you need to earn to meet your goals. This applies whether you’re creating a corporate event budget, trade show budget, or conference budget.

So, when you begin event budget planning, focus on determining which items represent expenses and which are sources of revenue that can help cover costs. You’ll also need to distinguish between fixed and variable costs to effectively forecast a budget for your next event.

Leveraging event management software like EventMobi which offers event apps, virtual event software, and a hybrid event platform can help streamline many of the processes. 

Step 1: Set financial goals for your event

One of the first steps for every event planner is preparing an event profit and loss budget and predicting as accurately as possible if the event will result in a profit, loss, or break even. However, determining what financial success means for your event depends on the type of event and objectives. 

Although you won’t be able to forecast all expenses and revenue from the beginning—and some of these could even change during the planning process—it’s vital to plan your budget with consideration for the most common expenses and revenues.

Step 2: Determine your fixed and variable costs

As part of your event cost breakdown, it’s critical to differentiate between fixed costs and variable expenses. 

Fixed costs are costs that do not change based on the number of attendees. These costs are calculated as a total amount. Variable costs are event expenses that change based on the number of attendees. These costs are calculated on a per-person basis.

Expenses for In-Person Events

According to a Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) survey, 36% of all in-person event expenses are for food and beverages (F&B) alone. This chart shows an overview of the most common expenses for meetings and events. Note that event technology can be incorporated into all of these common expenses. For example, event registration software can help with marketing and promotion by allowing event planners to automate emails about important speakers and sessions.

Your meetings and events are about the attendee experience, so you have to ensure that you’re investing in aspects of your even that add value to your target audience.

For instance, attendees don’t care if you pay $240 for a gallon of coffee or $45 per person for a continental breakfast. They do, however, care about an overall great experience–and the quality of your food and beverage is a large component of attendee satisfaction. 

PCMA suggests spending 55% of your budget on food and beverage, audiovisual, and speaker or entertainment, because these items have a direct impact on the overall attendee experience.

Expenses for Virtual Events

For a fully customized and branded virtual event, there are three common expenses that planners should consider budgeting for:

1. The virtual event platform you’ll host your event in
2. Design of your virtual event space
3. Your streaming service

The costs attributed to each of these line items will vary based on the scale of the event you are organizing. In many cases, there are do-it-yourself design options for the platform, or you may want to have your event space custom-designed to embody the essence of your brand. Streaming services also vary widely. You can use ZOOM to self-produce at a low cost, or some virtual event platforms (like Eventmobi) have built-in DIY live streaming tools that will allow you to create live streams from within the platform. This tends to be a mid-level price option. Alternatively for higher-end budgets, you may prefer to hire a full-service professional production team like Eventmobi’s GoLive! Production Team, or an outside A/V company.

There are a number of fixed costs for virtual events that need to be accounted for when calculating your cash flow. Fixed costs for virtual events tend to include:

You will also have some variable costs such as speaker fees and engagement items including swag boxes. 

Expenses for Hybrid Events

Unsurprisingly, hybrid event budgets are a mixture of line items typically found in an in-person-only and virtual-only budget. However, some additional technical costs need to be budgeted for to create a shared experience between your in-person and virtual audiences.

Hybrid event planners should budget for two A/V costs. One for your onsite A/V equipment, and the other for your remote A/V equipment. Onsite, it is preferable to have two camera placements with an operator for each, an IMAG operator, and a video switcher. For your remote A/V equipment, you will need:

• A solid, wired, and dedicated internet connection with minimum speeds of 100mbs download and 30mbs upload
• Streaming and encoding hardware/software like OBS (free) or vMix (paid) to capture the cameras, presentations, and audio of the presenters

Having two separate A/V teams with the necessary equipment allows you to create the best experience possible for your audiences. This is particularly important if you want to keep engagement high with your virtual attendees.

Step 3: Identify your sources of revenue

To cover expenses, consider different revenue avenues like: 

Use budget planning tools such as Excel or Google Sheets to track these sources of revenue. Group your revenues in categories relevant to your event, such as “site,” “decorations,” or “publicity.” For hybrid events, consider broader categories like “in-person” and “virtual,” then subcategorize accordingly.

A critical aspect of budget planning is forecasting expenses and revenues. This can be done by reviewing past events or sourcing quotes for new costs. Remember to keep all invoices and receipts to back up your budget. 

Also, you should always allocate a contingency fund for unexpected expenses. Finally, ensure your event is financially viable before moving to other aspects like venue selection, promotions, and staffing.

Step 4: Create an event budget proposal 

An event budget proposal is a document or presentation you’ll put together to convince stakeholders at your business to sign off on. 

Fortunately, if you’ve already put together your projected budget for the event, you’re more than halfway through creating a solid budget proposal for your event. In addition to showing your expected revenue and expenses, you’ll want to include: 

Step 5: Calculate cash flow for your event

To calculate your cash flow, add up all your revenues and subtract the uncollected accounts receivables (money that is owed to you for services/work performed). This is your cash on hand before expenses. If you then subtract all of your accounts payable (money you owe for services/work provided to you) from that number, you will have your cash on hand. If the number is positive, you have a positive cash flow.

Cash Flow Calculation

All Revenues – Uncollected Accounts Receivable = Cash on Hand Before Expenses

Cash on Hand Before Expenses – Accounts Payable = Cash on Hand

Starting cash is the amount of money you have readily available at the start of any given period.

Step 6: Review and track your event budget

As mentioned earlier, not all expenses can be forecasted and your budget will likely change during the event planning process. This makes it crucial to review and track your budget as you go. 

If possible, arrange a meeting with your company’s accounting or financial officer to review the format of your event budget. This will help ensure that you’re in good shape before continuing the event planning process. 

As demands for your meeting or event might change, it’s also a good idea to confirm in advance who would have the authority to spend beyond the approved budget. However, the earlier-mentioned contingency fund will come in handy when dealing with unplanned expenses.

Tracking your budget throughout your event, including the planning stages, is also important. Several helpful technology solutions on the market will support you in this quest like Expensify.

Transferring all of your financial systems to a cloud-based system will enable you to manage your financial operations anywhere, and anytime. Some examples of financial management software include CendynArcaneo, FreshBooks, and Certify. 

Step 7: Analyze your event’s financial performance

First, go back to your success measures and benchmarks that you set before your event to determine if you were successful. 

In the past decade, the emergence of new technologies has enabled planners to measure the overall performance of an event in multiple ways. Using qualitative and quantitative event data you are better able to quantify the performance of your event and show impact.

Return on Investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate how successful your event was. You might also want to compare different budgeting strategies based on their ROI. For example, do you get a higher ROI from the money you invest in outbound marketing, or from nurturing your existing attendee base?  

Moreover, there are additional options for you to measure non-monetary business impacts that will help you calculate your event ROI, for example:

The EventMobi Event Management Platform offers advanced analytics to enable you to calculate your event ROI and easily share it with stakeholders and sponsors. With Eventmobi, you can track:

These data points can highlight the most valuable leads to sponsors whilst demonstrating the ROI of participating in your event.

Event Budget Templates

Did you know that your existing tech stack probably already has event budget templates that you could use? For example, if you’re a Microsoft 365 user, you can type “event budget” into the search bar of the budget template designs page to find one that suits your needs. Sites like The Good Docs can also give you access to event budget templates for free.

Event Budget Examples

Now that you know what an event budget consists of, what does it actually look like? You can build your budget however you’d like, but the easiest way may be to put it into a table like we’ve done in the event budget examples below. 

Event budget example #1: Planning an in-person event

In this example, you’re running an entirely in-person event for a single weekend, onsite at a hotel. You expect anywhere from 500 to 1000 people to attend, with the ultimate goal of bringing in revenue. You anticipate you’ll hire more booth rentals and sponsorships if you draw a larger crowd, but you’ll also require more staff on hand and more accommodations. 

Here’s an example of what that event budget might look like:

Laying out your event budget like this allows you to see exactly how any given scenario will turn out for your profit or loss. 

In this example event budget, you would stand to profit if you could get at least 750 attendees, and your profit would increase the more attendees you can bring in. 

However, if you only can get 500 people to your event, you would actually lose money. 

Knowing this can allow you to take certain actions, such as: 

Event budget example #2: Budgeting for a hybrid event

Let’s have a look at an event budget example for a hybrid event. Here’s what that might look like: 

This event budget example makes a compelling case for hybrid events. The high-ticket cost for in-person attendees is justified by the expenses associated with venue rental, design, F&B, and live entertainment.

Moreover, if you communicate how unique the onsite experience will be when marketing your event, you could even increase ticket prices beyond what you would charge for a strictly in-person event.

Meanwhile, virtual attendees require fewer resources and expenses, but the lower ticket price reflects that they will miss out on the multi-sensory elements of the in-person event experience.

Event Budgeting is One of the Keys to Your Success

Evaluating and analyzing your event’s financial performance can be complicated, but doing so allows you to make smarter choices for future conferences or meetings. 

Event budgeting tools are just one aspect of how event planners today are taking advantage of event technology. 

With an all-in-one event platform like EventMobi, you can unlock more ways to add value for attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, and more–which can translate into new revenue streams and opportunities for financial success.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Event Budgets (Examples + Templates Provided) appeared first on EventMobi.

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

EventMobi‘s end-to-end event management app makes it easy for event organizers to plan, promote, monetize and deliver engaging virtual, hybrid and in-person event experiences. Over the last 13+ years, EventMobi has supported 30,000+ event planners in creating thousands of events for hundreds of thousands of attendees.

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

Cvent is an event management platform that includes a conference app called the Attendee Hub Event App. Features include personal agenda building, push notifications, networking, messaging, exhibitor profiles, chat, Q&A, polls & surveys.

vFairs

vFairs’s mobile events app offers easy event check in, branding & sponsorships, badge scanning, attendee networking & engagement, virtual booths, webinars, digital resources, and more.

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

Swapcard’s mobile event app helps simplify the event management process, whether your event is in person or hybrid. Features include push notifications, dynamic dashboard, newsfeed, social media integrations, and more.

Sched

Sched’s branded mobile app allows your attendees to have the event details right on their phone or tablet, sends push notifications, and stores data offline so attendees can interact with the schedule if their connection drops.

Brella

Brella’s app for in-person events provides a home page optimized for engagement with stories, announcements, sponsor mentions, people display, maps, and more.

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

Attendium is an event check in app used by leading brands and over 17,000 event professionals. You can search for and check in your guests by name, guest list, or custom fields on smartphones, tablets, and computers

Guest Manager

Guest Manager is an event check in app that allows you to import your guest list spreadsheets, check in guests using iPads or phones, and export attendee lists for reporting purposes.

EventX

EventX is an event management platform that includes an event check in app, providing features for registration, ticketing, and on-site check-in.

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

Eventbase is a trade show app that offers robust features for interactive maps, location-based messaging, and gamification.

CamCard

CamCard is a digital business card management app, helping attendees scan and store contact information easily.

iCapture

iCapture is a lead capture app, enabling exhibitors to segment & score leads or add conversation details to leads to help sales teams re-engage.

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

Monday.com is an event planning app that offers robust project management features, enabling teams to collaborate, track progress, and manage tasks efficiently.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a comprehensive project management app that provides features for task management, real-time chat, goal setting, time tracking, and workflow automation.

Trello

Trello is a popular project management app that uses a Kanban board system for task management and collaboration.

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

Eventbrite is a event management platform that includes a basic event app for creating and managing events, ticketing, and attendee registration. They offer no fees for free events.

RSVPify

RSVPify is an event registration and management platform that’s free for small events (up to 100 invited guests and RSVPs).

Airmeet

Airmeet is a virtual event platform that offers a free plan if you host small webinars (50 attendees or fewer per webinar, up to 90-minute session duration).

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!

Get in Touch

The post How to Find & Select The Best Mobile Apps for Conferences appeared first on EventMobi.

On top of all these logistical considerations, you also need to be sure the outcome of the event is worth the budget you plan to invest. 

To maximize your return on investment (ROI), you’ll need to set goals ahead of time, and measure the outcome once it’s done. This is where a hybrid event platform, like ours, can come in handy.

Though every event is unique, there are certain methods anyone can use to set goals and measure ROI. Here are some of the top tips from the event planning experts at EventMobi.

Planning a hybrid event? Download The Complete Hybrid Event Checklist, a free end-to-end template that will ensure your event goes off without a hitch.

Why Hybrid Events Can Bring Greater ROI

You may still be trying to decide between hosting an in-person or hybrid event—but here’s something to consider: Getting a strong return on investment is often much easier when you choose a hybrid option.

With an in-person event, your audience is limited to only those who can travel to your event’s location. If something unexpected arises—like travel restrictions, venue closure, or bad weather—you’ll be able to recoup your losses by offering a virtual program to those who can’t attend. 

On top of that, a hybrid event allows you to reach a larger audience—you can extend invitations to anyone who has an internet connection, no matter where they are. You’ll still be able to get mileage out of your in-person attendance, without restricting your audience to only people who can be there in-person.

Setting your Big Hybrid Event Goals

The goals you set for your event hybrid will largely depend on your organization and the purpose behind your event. So to get started, sit down with your planning team and consider the big question: 

What do we want to get out of this event when it’s over? 

Here are some potential big-picture goals you can consider: 

Overall attendance: If your event is about promoting your organization, growing your brand footprint, or reaching potential new customers, then high attendance numbers may be the big goal you’re going for. In such cases, the more people who attend your event, the more successful you will be in spreading the word about your company. 

Attendee engagement: Beyond just selling tickets to your event, you may want to set goals around how engaged your attendees are. For example, you may put engagement at the top of your list of goals if the primary purpose of your event is to provide opportunities for networking, interaction, and collaboration. 

Financial earnings: You can use events to grow the revenue of your business. In this case, you’ll still want to measure the number of tickets sold, as well as things like revenue earned from sponsors or product purchases made during and after the event. You’ll also need to carefully monitor the expenditure of putting together the event, so you can subtract these from the income generated for a true picture of ROI. 

Attendee satisfaction: This goal is particularly useful if you plan to run several events, as satisfied attendees are more likely to purchase tickets to your next event or spread word to others in their network. 

Education and assets: Perhaps the primary goal of your event is to educate your audience about a specific subject, or to create valuable assets for your business. If so, your goals should include the evergreen content and marketing assets you get as a result of hosting your event. 

Setting Specific KPIs for Your Hybrid Event

Once you know what the big goals are for your event, it’s time to drill down and set some key performance indicators (KPIs), which you’ll be able to measure during and after the event. 

Once again, your KPIs will vary based on what your larger goals are. For example, if you are mostly focused on generating revenue from the event, then you may want to set a KPI for the specific number of tickets you need to sell to earn the amount you want, based on the cost of each ticket. 

If your goals are more focused on reach, then you can focus less on the cost point of each ticket, and more on the overall audience number. This is why so many businesses opt for hybrid events rather than just in-person events. With a hybrid event, you can vastly expand your audience numbers by offering an enriching event experience for people who can’t attend in-person.

Planning a hybrid event? Steal this 9-step strategy for your hybrid event’s success!

If your big goals are centered on engagement, then you can set your KPIs around how many people attend your various sessions or participate in things like networking opportunities, 1:1 meetings, live polls, surveys, and other interactive aspects of the event. 

For events that are focused on education, you can plan your event around the number of assets you’ll have when the hybrid conference or meeting is over. Those using the EventMobi hybrid events platform can easily transform their live sessions into an evergreen library of content to be used in marketing materials once the live conference is over.

How to Measure the ROI of Your Event 

Setting goals and KPIs for your event is only half the equation—you also need to make sure you have systems in place to measure the success of the event once it’s over. Not only will this help you determine how successful your event was but you’ll also be able to use the information you glean to plan and improve any future events you host. 

EventMobi’s hybrid event analytics makes it easy to analyze your KPIs, all through the same platform you use to manage your attendees and drive engagement.  

The platform makes it easy to track how many tickets you sold and how many attendees actually came to the event (in-person or online), but EventMobi’s intelligent analytics go much deeper than that. 

EventMobi allows you to: 

Analyze individual sessions to determine which speakers or activities were most popular, and which ones had lower attendance. 

Track data in real time so you can monitor your goals during the event, and make adjustments to increase ROI even as the event is ongoing. 

Measure engagement activities like 1:1 networking, participation in live polls and quizzes, and sponsorship visits among both virtual and in-person attendees at your hybrid event. 

Lead generation and sponsor engagement, showing you exactly how many people visited sponsors, built new connections, or made purchases during the event. 

Monitor content engagement, allowing you to see how many people download or watch the various assets you create, during and after the event. 

With EventMobi’s event platform, not only will you be able to use these metrics to inform your own success and future events, but you’ll also be able to present your findings to sponsors and other stakeholders, so they can see how much of a return on investment they received as a result of participating in your event.

Final Thoughts: Making the Most of a Hybrid Event 

There’s more than one way to host a successful hybrid event. 

With a bit of planning, you can go into your event with specific goals in mind. And with an hybrid event platform like EventMobi, it’s easy to measure just how successful you were when all is said and done.

To learn more about how EventMobi can help you host a successful hybrid event, book a free demo with one of our event specialists.

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