The simplest tools can be the most powerful when used correctly, and announcements are no exception. Use the Announcements feature to keep your Event App users informed about event activities, cancellations and room changes, key sponsors and features, and networking opportunities! Schedule announcements at specific times or send them right away. Send announcements to everyone, or choose only certain groups or Sessions.
This article shows our top announcement best practices and offers ideas for sending push notifications to attendees before, during, and after your event. 📣
For detailed instructions on sending and managing announcements, read our Announcements feature setup guide.
General recommendations
Notification opt-in - As with all apps, Mobile App users must opt in to push notifications from the Webex Events App or your Branded App. If people feel the Event App is "spamming" their phone, they may turn notifications off. To avoid spamming, don't send more than one announcement per hour and no more than five per day. Now let's discuss how to break that rule. 😅
Know your audience - The type and tone of announcements you send need to fit your event and attendees. Think about what's important to your audience. If you're reducing emails by using announcements, your audience may be okay with more announcements. Remember that attendees appreciate critical updates like room changes and reminders about the Event Game and other social features more than sponsored notifications.
Tailor to specific groups - Send announcements to specific groups to personalize the experience and avoid spamming. With announcements sent to specific groups, everyone gets only relevant information. For example, you could send push notifications to your 'Staff' group or special messages to your 'VIP' group.
Link to content - Give attendees a next step by linking the announcement to a feature or item in your Event App or to external web content. Information attendees can act on right away improves engagement.
Example (the link would lead to the Maps feature): Lunch is starting soon in the Shire room! Follow the map or the lovely smells to join the food fun. 😆
Focus on value - Start your announcement with a statement that tells attendees why they should care about your message, then end with an action. Which of these would motivate you more?
🥱 Don't forget about the Video Rooms feature.
😍 Connect with your fellow attendees in a Video Room. Tap here to join a room and start talking!
Before the event
Engaging attendees before your event is a great way to build event hype, send pre-event reminders, foster Event App adoption, and much more. Here are some examples to inspire your own communications! 🧠
Welcome message or reminder - Share parking reminders, check-in or registration instructions, or directions. Link to more information, like the venue's website or an Event App feature.
Profile completion reminder - Networking is important for nearly any event, so make sure attendees know the importance of their "digital business card." A quick prompt with a link to a short instructional video can go a long way.
Feature highlight - Consider which features are most important to your event and tell attendees about them. Make an attendee resource that highlights and gives a brief tour of these top features.
Activity reminders to encourage excitement - Remind attendees about the next major activity or session and tell them you're excited for everyone to be there.
Agenda update - Give attendees vital information about changes to sessions in your agenda, such as a time or location change.
Updates to the Event App - Let attendees know when you add new features or items. Show them the value of the app early, and they'll keep coming back. 🔁
During the event
After an event starts, everything can seem like a bustling blur. Timely notifications can help keep attendees oriented and aware of what's next. Continue to highlight key features, sessions, and sponsors.
Sponsored notifications - Send an Announcement on behalf of a Sponsor that prompts attendees to go to their booth or website.
Important Agenda reminders - Remind attendees that the keynote presentation starts in 5 minutes, or that snacks are available in the rotunda.
Promote app engagement - Announcements are a great way to promote the Event Game or any other app feature that's important to your event.
Staff updates - Have moderators, speakers, captioners, and other event staff join the event as attendees and add them to hidden groups. This lets you quickly send reminders for upcoming duties, sessions, and event meetings exclusively to your stakeholders. 🤫
After the Event
When your event is over, use announcements to communicate with staff and sponsors, thank attendees, and more. Here are some ideas and tips for post-event notifications:
💡 Keep in mind, some attendees might uninstall the app after the event.
Ask attendees to complete an event survey - If you're using a post-event survey, send a reminder after the event to increase the completion rate. Link directly to the survey so that attendees can easily complete it!
Sponsored notifications - Send announcements "from" a sponsor thanking attendees for coming to the event and prompting them to visit the sponsor's website.
"Thanks for attending. Join us again next year!" - Thanking everyone for attending goes a long way. Include a link to next year's event RSVP with early-bird pricing and get people excited to come back.
Link to the Agenda feature - Let attendees know that they can watch session recordings and revisit session materials in the Agenda feature.
Exhibitor and staff reminders - Remind your vendors to clean up their booths or follow up with their leads, and remind staff to complete any final tasks.
With all these great ideas, your ready to use the Announcements feature! 🎊 For a step-by-step guide to creating and managing Announcements, read our Announcements guide. 👍
Questions? Chat with us, email support@socio.events, or attend a Face to Face session.