School is hard. Running events and engaging students in today’s hybrid collegiate world? Well, I’ll let you do the math.
Chances are, if you’ve clicked on this blog, it’s likely that you’re working as either an event planner for a higher education institution, and/or are involved with some aspect of planning university events. If I’ve earned a solid nod, keep reading.
So let me ask you a question. Or rather, a few.
- Do you often find yourself drowning in the manual labor of inputting registration data into Excel spreadsheets?
- Puzzled at how to keep distance learners connected with their in-person counterparts?
- Mind boggled at how you’re going to throw together a university event in three days’ time?
- Are you going gray just thinking about your event budget while reading this?
- Do you often find yourself drowning in the manual labor of inputting registration data into Excel spreadsheets?
Now let me ask you this.
Are you/your team currently using event management software to help plan your events?
My guess is no—not yet.
Still with me? Here are 5 ways higher education can benefit from using event management software, or as we like to call it here at Swoogo, EMS.
1 Personalize the student journey
From registration and student onboarding, through reunions and faculty parties, to job fairs and course tracks, event management software makes it all easier. Easier for you, easier for your students, and easier for your faculty.
With the help of an intuitive event management software, such as Swoogo, create unlimited attendee types that feel tailored to each participant, using conditional logic that makes sending the right students and faculty down the right pathways, crystal clear. Then, use attendee types to segment your data to have the right conversations with the right people.
Go a step further by creating unique event experiences for every attendee type by driving bespoke on-page experiences with our super-intuitive, super-flexible visibility settings.
2 Improve the student experience
Ever heard of an Event Hub? No? Well, say hello to higher education’s new best friend.
In short, an Event Hub functions not as a freestanding event, but as a gathering place for content, speakers—and most importantly, people—with an event timeline that stretches before, during, and after the live or main event.
Swoogo’s Event Hub lets you create unique opportunities for students to network and engage, during and after your events. Students to students, or students to teachers, your Event Hub helps you prioritize person-to-person connection at your events.
Just when you think it did it all …
Create a browsable attendee library, instantly spin up 1:1 or small group meetings, or encourage students to connect using live chat. Plus, build out instruction tracks and tag subjects and topics for easier student use.
3 Increase engagement & improve future higher education events
I’m going to sling another one at you. Ever heard of the term Attendee Intelligence?
Attendee Intelligence is a simple but extremely powerful concept: the combination of registration data and event activity data. That’s it. And without it, you’re running your event blindfolded from start to finish, and heading into your next event with zero insight.
With Attendee Intelligence, improve your events and foster repeat attendees by better understanding what content will bring the most people back next time.
With a robust event management software like Swoogo, easily track on-site traffic, page visits, and content clicks. Then provide this info to students, clubs, professors, advisors, or whoever you think will benefit at your higher education institution. And don’t forget alumni.
Plus, see your event’s most important stats with our pre-built reports, or customize your own.
4 Less dough, more show
We think that per-registration or per-event pricing models are outdated.
I mean, why would you penalize someone if they run more events, or have more registrations? Successful events should be a positive thing.
Many higher education event planners run a wide variety of events; from orientation, seminars and workshops, to career fairs, alumni reunions, commencement ceremonies, and more. You shouldn’t have to pay more for extending your portfolio.
Pro-tip: Choose an event management partner that offers pricing packages based on users. This way you can easily scale up without worrying about dishing out extra cash at the end of the year.
And hey—we happen to know just the one.
Swoogo’s user-based pricing model is a higher education super feature.
With Swoogo, higher education event planners have the power to host unlimited events, with unlimited registrations. Yep, you heard us. Chances are you’re throwing lots of free events; so don’t get stuck with software that makes it impossible to predict your yearly budget.
5 Control your access gates
When you’re operating across an array of different departments, faculties, and student groups, event management software makes it easy to keep your data separate and secure.
Link student IDs to portal profiles, and use single sign-on (SSO) or two-factor authentication to take control over who has access to your students’ data.
Plus, create unlimited sub-accounts with gated folders, and define user roles that can restrict access within accounts. Link student IDs with personal portals to manage registration, class schedules, and tuition payments seamlessly, with data security you can bet on.
Wrap up
No matter which way you slice it, event management software is no longer the new kid on the block. It’s a must-have technology for higher education event professionals.
A modern event management software (EMS) is far more than a simple form; event management software helps planners capture valuable information about their different attendee groups and types, while allowing them to also create sophisticated conditional-logic questions, badges, seating plans, session selection, and much more.
In-Person, distance, or some of both, higher education events look great and run smoothly with Swoogo. From campus tours and orientation, to graduation and alumni reunions, Swoogo makes bringing students together simpler, no matter where you are in the world.