What are the most effective tools and software for conference registration, ticketing, and scheduling?

1 Registration and ticketing

When planning a conference, one of the first steps is to set up a registration and ticketing system that allows you to collect information, payments, and preferences from your potential attendees. An ideal tool or software should provide easy and secure online registration and payment options with multiple currencies and payment methods. It should also offer customizable registration forms and tickets, with the ability to add branding, logos, and fields. Automated confirmation emails and reminders with personalized messages and attachments are also important features. Furthermore, it is beneficial if the system can integrate with other tools and platforms such as your website, social media, email marketing, and CRM. Lastly, data analysis and reporting capabilities are essential for tracking ticket sales as well as segmenting and exporting data.

2 Scheduling and agenda

When organizing a conference, it is essential to create a schedule and agenda that showcases your speakers, sessions, and activities. To do this effectively, you should use a tool or software that offers flexible and user-friendly scheduling features, such as the ability to drag and drop, edit, and duplicate sessions and speakers. Additionally, the software should have dynamic and interactive agenda capabilities, with the option to display session details, speaker bios, and feedback forms. It's also important to make sure the design is mobile-friendly and responsive, with the option to create a dedicated app or web page for your conference. Furthermore, the tool should provide live and on-demand streaming capabilities to broadcast your sessions online and record them for later viewing. Finally, it should include networking and engagement features such as live chat, polls, Q&A, and gamification.

3 Event management and communication

The final step in organizing a conference is to manage and communicate with your attendees, speakers, and sponsors before, during, and after the event. To do this effectively, you should use a good tool or software that offers check-in and badge printing with the ability to scan QR codes, print badges on site, and monitor attendance. Additionally, you should look for a tool that provides an event website and landing page to create and update your conference information. It should also offer email and SMS notifications to send timely and relevant messages to your attendees. Furthermore, you should look for a tool that offers feedback and evaluation so you can collect and analyze feedback from your attendees, speakers, and sponsors. Finally, make sure the tool or software provider offers customer support and troubleshooting.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?