Events Part VI: Engaging your Audience with Text Messaging

Reprinted from Resdida.com 

Sure you can use a text messaging channel to communicate with the audience before during and after the event, but what about in session? Well, there are a few different in-session mobile tactics that you can use to increase participation, like questions, polls and “liking” your speaker.

Questions
We have all been to panel sessions where little slips of paper are distributed to manually collect questions from the audience. This has worked well for years, but also requires a pen, a flat surface, the ability to see in the dark and a bit of labor for the ushers to collect and bring them to the moderator. Imagine instead that, throughout the panel, your audience can text in their questions as they came to mind and that the moderator could receive them live as well. 

This can be setup quickly and easily in Resdida MOBILIZE, using our Field Data functionality. Here are the steps involved:

Step 1: Create a new Field Data Form in MOBILIZE, using the key term “panel”
Step 2: Create an instructions slide for the audience, similar to the below:

You can try this now, by sending the example "Panel-How did you get your start in technology?" to 80474. You will get a thank you/confirmation response acknowledging that your question has been received.

The moderator will receive the questions as they are sent and can interpret them to the panel seamlessly.

Quick Polls
Another way to engage your audience in-session is to do a quick live poll. Let’s say that you wanted to know how many people in the audience are with Verizon, ATT, Sprint or TMobile. You could post a slide asking folks to text in which carrier their organization uses. Then, you can use that information to help guide and tailor your discussion. 

Setup is pretty straight-forward and would use the Keyword functionality in Resdida MOBILIZE. The most time-consuming part is figuring out what you want to ask and the categories you wish to use. Here are the steps involved:

Step 1: Decide what information you want to collect
Step 2: Create answer categories, like ATT, Sprint, TMobile, etc.
Step 3: Enter the categories into the Keywords tab of MOBILIZE
Step 4: Test each category once by sending it in a text message to 80474

Arrange the carriers in a table and choose a keyword for each. Then create some example text to help the audience understand what to do to participate.

You can try taking the poll right now by texting any of the carrier keywords above to 80474. The data will flow into Resdida MOBILIZE and can be viewed in the interface. 

The key is allowing ample time for folks to take out their phones and prepare the text message. It’s usually best to precede the poll by asking the audience to prepare by taking out their cell phones and providing the audience with verbal instructions. Allow three minutes from the time of the announcement for folks to finish their SMS message. See Part II for tips on implementation. Watch the audience to see that folks are done before you continue. 

Once the texts are sent, the results begin to tabulate in the interface, and you will know the popularity of the carriers.

“Like” your Speaker
With the growth of the “un-conference”, it is important to understand which if your speakers is in greatest demand and to know this in enough time to plan the afternoon sessions. 

Empower your audience early on. Tell them at registration that if any speakers resonate with them to text the word “Like” and the speaker’s last name at any point during the conference. Then, tell the speakers to promote their chances of winning by displaying their last name and reminding folks to text “Like” plus their last name if they want to hear more in the afternoon. See Part II for more information on implementation best practices.

This is a quick setup in Resdida MOBILIZE using the Field Data functionality. The only thing you would need is a list of speaker names so that you can interpret the results.

In Summary
Mobile should be facilitating your sessions, engaging your audience, and preventing unnecessary paperwork. The keywords and field data functions discussed here are excellent ways to add flair and excitement as well. 

This is the final part of the six-part series on text messaging at events so don’t forget to visit other sections in the series for more examples, tips and tricks:

• Part I: The Key to Successful Text Messaging at Events
• Part II: The Steps to a Successful Text Messaging Program
• Part III: Using Text Messaging to Save Staff Time
• Part IV: Using Text Messaging as Marketing to Increase Event Attendance
• Part V: Using Text Messaging for Real-time Voting and Live Ratings
• Part VI: Engaging your Audience with Text Messaging

No matter how you incorporate mobile into your events, implementing is affordable, easy and not something that you need to tackle alone. Resdida is there to lend expertise every step of the way.