This article was updated in July 2022.
There are so many details involved in a successful event. How do you keep track of them all? From the signage to catering to speaker details, one missed point can result in a huge headache.
Thankfully, there are many great tools to help you stay organized throughout the entire planning and production process. Below are a few of our favorites.
Event Planning and Organization Software
Event tools that consolidate all the event details in one place.
Smartsheet
Templates are a field and event marketer’s secret weapon. Whether you produce three events a year or 100, you need to be able to scale your organization. Establishing repeatable ways to track your event details allows you to create efficient and reliable processes.
Smartsheet provides templates for every aspect of the event planning process. Some of our favorite templates are:
- Event Task List
- Event Plan and Budget
- Event Registration and Tracking
- Event Packing List
- Trade Show Shipping
Use Smartsheet to set up workspaces for each event that can be shared with your team. All the information is kept in one place. Users can easily request updates, submit changes, and collaborate with your team even if they’re halfway around the world.
Notion
Platforms like Notion aren’t necessarily designed with event planners in mind but are robust enough to meet event management needs and more.
Event planners use Notion to track all the important pre-event details. Use its event planning checklist to create a giant event to-do list with notes, deadlines, the ability to assign tasks, and an easy way to view status updates. Notion pages are easy to share with both users and non-users.
Social Software for Events
Social solutions to help promote and showcase an event.
Hootsuite
Creating and maintaining social amplification around your event is a full-time job. You need a plan to drive awareness and excitement before your event, a plan for promotion and conversation during your event, and a plan for post-event follow-up and continued discussions.
With Hootsuite, you can get in front of your social promotion by scheduling posts ahead of time and monitor conversations and interactions in real time. Easily track keywords, hashtags, and industry influencers to maintain an active presence in social conversations about your event. Hootsuite integrates with all the major social channels and has a variety of plans to choose from based on your event needs.
Everwall
Capture the social chatter around your event and display it for your audience with Everwall. A social media wall is a fun way to showcase the conversations happening online while encouraging your attendees to participate through their own social channels.
You can display your wall in a variety of ways, including on your main stage screens during breaks, on a display in your networking area, or even embedded into your virtual presentation. Event planners use Everall to make announcements, conduct polls, ask for a vote, and even create an attendee leaderboard.
Virtual Event Software
Software for producing engaging, ROI-generating virtual events.
Demio
Demio is the virtual event and webinar software for marketers looking to run personal events in a scalable way. It requires zero downloads and boasts a long list of integration options that make hosting impactful webinars a breeze. Marketers use Demio to run live webinars, produce a virtual event series, and host automated and pre-recorded presentations.
Demio’s engagement features include clear audience featured actions, the ability to provide resources easily, a robust chat, and simple poll participation. The beautiful and minimalist user experience is bound to wow even the most seasoned webinar attendee and provide engaging experiences your audience will love.
Confetti
Confetti is the event management tool all about producing #unforgettable experiences. Events range from cookie decorating to laughter yoga, professional development events, and more. The team at Confetti takes care of all the planning and logistics and even ships any necessary event materials ahead of time.
Breakroom
Virtual events can’t completely replicate the in-person experience, and that’s okay. Software like Breakroom creates a new attendee experience that embraces the strengths of in-person events to enrich virtual ones.
Event planners use Breakroom to produce an online 3D environment where attendees can move throughout the virtual event space, attend sessions, talk to their peers, and even create personalized avatars. The platform is completely customizable so event leaders can produce an experience that’s unique to the event.
Venue Management Software
Tools to help event planners select the perfect event venue.
Social Tables
There are many factors to consider when choosing an event venue. Event planners use Social Tables to access more than 5,000 venue floor plans so they can determine if a space is the right fit for their event. They can diagram floor plans and seating arrangements to organize all the details in one place, making it easy to collaborate and share with other team members and vendors.
Conference Management Software
Software designed to make your conference unforgettable.
Slido
Event presenters and planners use Slido to generate audience participation and create engaging experiences. The program supports real-time Q&As, polls, and word clouds. Interactive tools like Slido can guide conversations and provide immediate feedback to speakers and event teams.
Slido works within tools event planners already use, including Powerpoint, Teams, and Google Slides. It can be added directly to an event app and managed on the go via a smartphone. Solutions like Slido are a great way to host more inclusive events that enable everyone to participate and provide feedback in the way they feel most comfortable.
EventHub
Managing event sponsors and partners can be complicated. Event sponsors will have questions, logistics and technical issues, and unique, unplanned for needs. As such, event planners use EventHub to manage sponsors and partners. It easily sends out batch messaging, including reminders and logistical information. EventHub also has live floor plans that are helpful when setting up a networking pavilion and making sure every sponsor booth is in the right place.
Guest Manager
Issues at the registration booth can set the tone for the rest of the event and leave a bad taste with attendees before it even starts. Event planners use Guest Manager to streamline the check-in process, and it can also work offline, which is a major plus if there are internet issues. Event managers can print badges on demand and easily add last-minute registrations to the list as well.
Event Marketing Software
Event software that drives event registration and attendance.
Reach
Having empty seats is a planner’s nightmare. Event marketers use Reach to get butts in seats at their events. But it’s more than just a seat filler: The solution makes sure the right targeted audience registers for and attends your events. Reach uses a database of more than 475 million people, audience AI to identify the right contacts, and strategic marketing and outreach channels to invite and register quality event attendees.
EventCreate
EventCreate makes it easy to launch a conference website geared towards driving registrations and providing attendees with the information they need to get the most out of an event. Event planners can modify one of the many website templates with unique content and branding. Not a website developer? No problem! EventCreate offers a no-code experience that anyone can use to create a beautifully designed event website quickly.
Whether an event sees 10 people or 10,000, event planners have to keep track of its many moving parts and ever-changing logistics. The right event management tools will help organize this information and keep your events running smoothly.
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