Event technology trends are continuously adapting. Those that adopt the most recent advancements often have a competitive advantage. In fact, studies have shown that event technology can increase in-person attendance by up to 20% and technology is an integral part of the events world.

But with so many new and emerging technologies, how do you make the right choice for your event that is going to benefit everyone? 

Event technology offers a huge number of benefits to the industry and in this article, we are going to take a look at some of the biggest tech trends and how they might benefit your next event.

1. Facial Recognition Offers Convenience

Facial recognition technology is very widely used. People employ facial recognition on their mobile devices and in their workplaces. This technology makes mundane tasks such as logging into your phone, opening apps, or signing into an event easier than ever before.

Facial recognition technology scans a person’s facial features, uploading the photo during registration as they check into an event. 

Video Source: Vimeo

Once facial recognition has been activated, you can apply personalised actions such as badge printing, confirmation emails, scannable vouchers, and contactless payment solutions automatically. 

Facial recognition cuts down on queues, reduces staff at the doors, gets rid of the need for paper tickets, and streamlines the entire check-in process.

2. Branded Event Applications Increase Engagement

On average, people use 9 mobile apps every day and around 30 apps per month. So, it’s fair to say we are all pretty used to the convenience and ease of using mobile apps. Now, branded apps are being built for integration into events. 

These apps provide attendees with all the information they need in one place. This can include everything from conference maps and speaker bios to schedules and important updates.

Branded event applications help you create a customised experience for your attendees so that they engage with your event, get involved, and come back again. Applications are the perfect way to boost your event success.

Here’s a guide to help you build your own virtual event application - How to Build a Virtual Event Site for React & Node.js

3. Interactive Event Live Chat Improves Engagement

Successful conferences, events and summits always offer an opportunity for attendees to meet industry leaders, mingle with like-minded individuals and strengthen existing relationships. 

Virtual networking with key figures, hearing how they approach business and having the ability to ask direct questions are some of the best ways to improve engagement for your event and can all be done with CometChat. 

CometChat’s in-app communication helps improve engagement by bringing the best of communication technology and flexible accessibility to help build those important connections for your attendees. Virtual events are often held globally, In-App Chat helps overcome language barriers and adopting real-time message translation within your virtual event can help facilitate strong communication and networking between participants - boosting engagement at a global scale.

As explained in our post on how to use web chat to engage attendees, most virtual events are likely to consist of the following few key features to improve engagement between attendees:

• Audience Introductions
• Question and Answer Segments a.k.a. Q&A
• Exercises and Games
• Sharing Exclusive Content

In-App Chat and Web Chat allows attendees to fully express themselves and find connections with like-minded individuals that they likely wouldn’t have the opportunity to at an in-person event without this technology. 

CometChat Helps Scale Event Companies and Improve Engagement

Live Group is one example of a sustainability-first event service company that specialises in organising in-person, virtual and hybrid events and approached CometChat looking to scale and improve engagement for their virtual events. 

Using CometChat chat API, Live Group users are now able to exchange thousands of messages during virtual events and gives attendees the ability to video call, face chat, and collaborate on different documents during conferences and summits. 

‍HeySummit also scaled their virtual events with CometChat. HeySummit were looking to add in-app messaging to their platform so event attendees can chat with each other in real-time. Choosing to opt for a ready-made solution (CometChat’s ) which offers plenty of shortcuts and customization features that would be easy to implement.

 HeySummit are looking forward to using the following CometChat features in their continuous expansion: 

• One-on-one & threaded conversations
• Voice & video calling and conferencing
• Advanced moderation features like In-flight Message Moderation and Image Moderation

4. Event Diagramming in 3D Keeps Things Simple

Planning events requires a huge amount of time and attention to detail. And it doesn’t take much for things to get missed or forgotten about completely until the event is well underway and it’s too late to make any changes.

Thankfully, event technology has you covered. Event diagramming in 3D lets you have a complete, detailed layout of your event so that you can check floor plans, seating, foot traffic, cabling, and other room elements. 

3D event diagramming is a fantastic way to ensure an accurate event plan where all moving parts are mapped out beforehand to prevent any last-minute surprises.

5. Wearable Technology Speeds Up Processing  

Continuing to trend in 2022 will be wearable tech. Everything from wristbands to smart badges are being utilized at events now and providing incredible benefits such as:

• Access to different areas at an event
• Receive exhibitor marketing material
• Exchange contact information
• Make cashless purchases

Wearable tech lets you speed up almost every aspect of your event. You can speed up the check-in process, control access to different spaces, monitor numbers with less staffing, and stay in contact with attendees with ease. What’s more, wearable tech lets exhibitors make sales more easily and boost business interest. With wearable tech, you can keep everyone connected.

6. Radio Frequency Identification Targets Marketing

RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is an affordable technology utilized at events for storing attendee information. This allows events to personalize experiences to each attendee by reviewing their patterns at the event, seeing what they interacted with, and notifying exhibitors immediately when interested attendees come into their booth.

Gathering behavioral data is an essential element of building a successful event. By using RFID to gather attendee data, you can build customer avatars and send out targeted messaging. If you want to deliver a quality customer experience with very few overhead costs, using RFID can help.

7. Gamification Helps Create Connection

A huge trend in events is gamification. According to CrowdCompass, gamified events see a 44% increase in engagement, making them an extremely beneficial tool to boost the attendee’s experience.

If you want to boost the downloads of your mobile event app, alert users to the interactive games available within the app and watch as the downloads skyrocket. 

People love gamification; it promotes collaboration, increases engagement, entertains, and helps people connect. By promoting gamification at your event, you let people know you’re all about meeting customer demands and creating a memorable experience.

Final Words

Planning an event can be tricky. Often, there are so many moving parts it can feel overwhelming trying to manage them all. Technology continues to advance rapidly but rather than shy away from it; embrace it. 

If you want to stay competitive and run events that are on the cutting edge of the industry, you will benefit from integrating technology into the process. Technology will transform your event from something pretty average into a memorable and exciting experience that will keep people coming back for more.

Get started by building your own virtual event app with CometChat’s interactive in-app chat -

1. Build a Virtual Event Platform with React
2. Build a Virtual Event Platform with PHP Laravel
3. Build a YouTube Live Clone with Angular JS
4. Build a Virtual Event Platform with Laravel & Javascript

About the Author

Daniel Groves has collaborated with a number of online publications with the aim to further develop his knowledge and share his experience with like-minded entrepreneurs, business owners, and growth strategists.