When it comes to maximizing conference technology capabilities, competitive associations increasingly look for specific event management integrations.
These days, it’s fair to argue that a conference is only as good as the technology supporting it.
Conference technology is no longer a novelty, but an expectation. This expectation poses an exciting opportunity for associations to do more without needing more, relative to resources and staff.
In the words of U.S. Congressman Ron Kind, “Over the last few years, the world has become a smaller and more integrated place with technology that is leveling the playing field like never before.”
This is true and your association can dominate the playing field by evaluating the event management technology integrations that will elevate your efforts.
Check out why associations are seeking specific event management technology integrations in order to manage more successful, streamlined conferences in the future.
What do conference technology integrations offer associations?
Associations are tasked with providing cutting-edge education to their members who are eager to advance their career paths or required to keep up with the latest industry developments for professional licensing, credentialing, and certification purposes.
This task has been recently complicated by the unique expectations of each attendee type: in-person, virtual or hybrid.
The solution for associations has been to innovate their processes by leveraging the right platform in order to better manage events and meet the evolving expectations of their members.
Conference technology integrations provide actionable insights and benefits to associations, and, by extension, their event attendees.
Benefits are numerous, but can be grouped under the following four umbrella categories:
1. Effortless automation
Conference technology software should feature automation in order to save your association time, money, and the manpower required to manage a successful CE event. Automation can apply to various event management details, such as:
- Content collection. By automating critical tasks like content collection, you can better manage submissions and speaker invitations, while having a central source to keep data collected
- Payments. If your association charges an abstract submission fee, you’ll want a software platform to manage the payment process, freeing up your team to take care of other tasks
- Team collaboration. No matter how many team members are needed to review abstract submissions, your association can enjoy a streamlined process with abstract management software. Designate specific roles for each reviewer, giving them access to specific submission portals. From an administrative standpoint, managers can monitor the progress and status of every reviewer, for updated accounting
- Quality control. Eliminate the overwhelm that comes from manually evaluating submission quality. Abstract submission management tools enable auto-scoring based on criteria your association establishes and assigns for certain content components. Although manual evaluations will still be necessary, by providing an automated baseline your team can manage a more comprehensive abstract assessment. These tools make it easy to collect and keep track of comments made by reviewers, ensuring that everyone is moving forward in the same direction
2. Enhanced organization
The right integration will help you easily gather session and abstract submissions, review those submissions, and accept the most relevant content on the spot. Abstract submission means you can finally:
- Say “so long” to spreadsheets and the manual review process for both session and abstract submissions
- Get what you need and want. Forget what the Rolling Stones said, abstract management makes it possible to set submission requirements so that the content coming in is truly in line with your expectations.
- Keep all your data in one space. Whether it’s the event agenda or session schedule, integrations like abstract submission secure all key information in a single intuitive portal.
- Exceed attendee expectations. By spotting and selecting relevant submissions quickly, you are constantly in control of delivering trending session content.
3. Effortless content management
Make content management easier for everyone, including your attendees. Manage and customize learning content while providing attendees with fast claiming for CME credits, as well a personalized web portal where they can access enduring materials and view credentials in one place. Continuing education management software maximizes your efforts, while boosting attendee learning in the process with streamlining features like:
- Activity-specific certificate statement capabilities
- Attendee/user credit claiming
- Accreditation bodies collection
- Board issuance and license issuance reporting
4. Ability to anticipate and accommodate unexpected changes
No matter how much effort and careful attention to detail has gone into your event planning, there will still be last minute changes or unexpected scenarios that require a sudden shift in your programming. Ideally, your conference technology should empower you to anticipate and quickly accommodate these changes. We call this pivot proofing your event planning, whether in-person, virtual or hybrid. Last minute logistics disaster? Session space double-booked? Conference room over capacity? Regardless of the reason, if you need to make a change to the event schedule, your program won’t be delayed or derailed. At least, not as long as your team accesses conference technology solutions that feature built-in logistics solutions in support of event planners, administrators, and attendees. For instance:
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- Check-in: Cut down on crowds and long queues to check-in by using a check-in solution that allows attendees to register and print their own badges, quickly and safely.
- Badge printing: Expedite on-site badge printing with Badge[On]Demand, and save money on printed materials, as well as the staffing required to oversee and manage the check-in process.
- Exhibitor and floor plan management: Leverage a single tool to manage everything from organizing event venue space, attendee registration and payment, attendee participation, and event exhibitor or sponsor assets.
- Attendee tracking: Monitor all attendee session attendance and analyze how attendees are interacting and engaging with your event content throughout your event, from start to finish.
Access the integrations your association needs — and deserves! — with Attendee Interactive
While it’s true that there are plenty of conference technology options to consider, Attendee Interactive has the edge on the competition.
Our event technology solutions are versatile, allowing associations to plan and manage simple sessions, complex events, and everything in between.
Whatever the size of your event or membership, Attendee Interactive’s connected software solutions saves your team significant time and frustration.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, we understand that the best events are never created in isolation. That’s why we take great pride in supporting our clients with expertise every step of the way.
When you partner with Attendee Interactive, you gain access to:
- A dedicated project manager who will create your project plan, featuring important milestones, and remain on hand to answer your questions.
- Customer support for end users available Monday-Friday, 9-5 PM EST.
Our team prides itself on creating client experiences that result in reviews, such as this:
“I manage the logistics for a national conference, this year expecting 1000 attendees. This system is managing our call for proposals, continuing education, and evaluations. It has cut about 150 work hours out of my schedule, allowing me to streamline attention, customer service, and my own mental health. The system has both reinforced existing and expanded infrastructure, allowing us to grow our conference program and attendance.”
— Jeffrey W. A, Senior Program Coordinator, Education Management
