Lots of products out there promise to make your life easier. And aside from a portable coffee press, few live up to the hype.
However, these 12 must-have event apps deliver the goods. After all, a lot goes into planning New York events. From seating charts, Gantt charts, and revenue charts to contactless check-in and contact management, a lot goes into a New York event planner’s role. Think of these event apps as little assistants living in your smartphone that will make event planning a cinch.
1. Capsule for Collecting Photos
Back in the day, wedding tables were strewn with disposable film cameras. Wedding guests were meant to have at it and fill the camera with candid shots of the festivities. Later, the bride and groom took dozens of cameras to the neighborhood store to be developed. And while there, they stocked up on feed for their horses, had their wagon wheels repaired, and bought candy for the youngins.
In modern times, there’s event technology for collecting and sharing photos. Capsule instantly uploads event photos from any device and is a more private platform than social media.
Capsule was created with weddings in mind. However, NYC event planners can use the app to capture photos from any event. You can invite attendees to share photos. Or you can recruit a select group of team members with an artistic eye to capture photos to augment the professional shots.
2. Swoogo for Conference Event Management
Are you planning an event with multiple presenters, workshops, and lots of moving parts all around? Then Swoogo is the event technology that will help you bring it all together.
Attendees can use Swoogo for everything from event registration to hotel booking to planning an individualized itinerary. You can use Swoogo on the backend for everything from marketing to tracking attendees to communicating with presenters. Swoogo is the all-in-one solution in the world of event apps.
3. Whova
Whova is one of the best event apps out there, and it has honors from the Events Technology Awards to prove it.
Like other event planning apps, Whova offers in-app registration, contactless check-in, and event itinerary. However, Whova stands out with a couple of other extra features, especially its attendee networking features. Within the app, attendees can participate in a community board where they can participate in icebreakers and discussions or even find a meet-up. They can also search for other attendees based on name or common interest. Then, they can message attendees from within the event app.
As a New York event planner, you can send announcements to attendees, create polls, and collect feedback. You can also keep attendees engaged with photo and caption contests. Whova is event technology that can help you manage vendors, attendees, and every other aspect of planning a large event.
4. Eventify
Recognized as one of the best event apps out there, Eventify is a complete event technology solution. Like other event planning apps in our list, Eventify offers in-app ticket sales, agenda scheduling, and a venue map to make the attendee experience easier.
However, Eventify goes a little further with an in-app social media platform where attendees can get to know each other before and during the event. You can also gamify your event with custom challenges, complete with a leaderboard and rewards.
As a New York event planner, your reputation rests on your results. Eventify lets you measure your outcomes with real-time analytics in an easy-to-read dashboard.
5. Teamwork.com
Never forget to follow up with the florist or contact the caterer again with Teamwork.com. This project management app is just what every NYC event planner needs to make sure all of the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted.
Teamwork.com is robust enough to manage your team and resources across several large-scale events. You’ll especially love the new client onboarding checklist to help you nail down exactly what each client needs. Using Teamwork.com, you can create processes and milestones and assign tasks to team members. The app also tracks your progress so that you’ll always know how profitable each event is.
6. Boomerang
Boomerang has all the usual bells and whistles you expect in an email client, plus some neat features that make the life of a NYC event planner easier. Track responses, receive follow-up reminders, or schedule a newly composed email to send later. Plus, Boomerang has a full range of scheduling features that integrate with your current calendar.
But what puts Boomerang on our list of must-have event apps is its AI writing assistant. Trained exclusively on email messages, Boomerang’s AI writing assistant can help you write winning emails on the fly.
Boomerang has another awesome feature: voice assistant. Schedule meetings, find emails, and more with just your voice. Whether you’re a New York event planner double-fisting cappuccinos or you hate typing with your thumbs, Boomerang is the email app for you.
7. Social Tables
NYC event planners have, shall we say, certain fetishes. And diagramming the perfect party, complete with centerpiece placement and seating arrangements, tops the list. Social Tables is event technology that will take you to your happy place.
Create a virtual mock-up of your event with customized everything. Play with furniture, floor plans, and layouts to your heart’s content. Put together a 3D tour to wow and woo your clients. You can even create winning seating arrangements using data about attendees. Social Tables is digital nirvana for New York event planners.
8. Pro Party Planner
Pro Party Planner is simple enough for your Aunt Betty to use for planning her bridge club night yet robust enough for you to rally your team around several events. Create a seating chart, track your progress, and set reminders.
Pro Party Planner even has an augmented reality feature so that you can plan how your event will look. Voted the best all-in-one party planner by CNET, The Pro Party Planner is an event technology that is small but mighty.
9. Tixel
If you’re a New York event planner putting together an entertainment event, you want a packed house. Tixel helps you make it happen.
Refunds and no-shows are unknown variables when it comes to event planning. And second-hand ticket sales can be sketchy dealings that hurt your client’s brand.
Tixel provides a way for you to divert refunded tickets into quick revenue. One of the most secure event apps out there, Tixel verifies and guarantees tickets. Current ticket holders can sell their extra tickets on the site, saving you the hassle of issuing refunds. NYC event planners can create and manage waiting lists on the Tixel app.
No matter how you leverage Tixel, attendees will arrive at a packed house, and your client’s clout will increase.
10. ClickUp
If you’re an NYC event planner and a solopreneur, ClickUp is a free project management event planning app with all the features of pricier team apps.
Creatives will especially appreciate ClickUp’s visual features, such as whiteboards, sticky notes, and mind maps. You can create projects, attach tasks, and track your time. ClickUp also integrates with Google Docs. ClickUp also has an event planning template that is worth playing around with.
11. Planning Pod
Planning Pod is an elegant solution for busy New York event planners. Ditch the spreadsheets and single-purpose event apps when you use this platform. Planning Pod puts everything a NYC event planner needs within one solution.
Track everything from payments to tasks to revenue projections. Create itineraries and reports. Planning Pod even includes a color-coded calendar and sales, billing, and CRM tools. Simply put, Planning Pod has it all.
12. Localist
When you’re a New York events planner putting on several events for an organization, use Localist to create a branded events page. On the backend, Localist allows you to track visitor behavior, social activity, and attendee geography. Analyze each event’s success based on your desired outcomes, such as revenue or community outreach.
Localist integrates with your existing CRM so that you can focus your networking and marketing efforts long after the event is finished. This event technology also works seamlessly with Meetup and Eventbrite. You can also market your events from within the app on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Be a New York Event Planner Pro with These Must-Have Event Apps
We can all do with a few gadgets and apps to make our lives easier. A portable phone charger that doubles as an electric hand warmer? Yes, puh-lease! A spam blocker that answers and keeps spammers on the hook with an AI-generated voice? Now that’s karma.
When it comes to event apps that are well worth the download, look no further than these gems. Every New York event planner could do with an elegant interface to organize events and tasks. Or how about a comprehensive event app that handles everything from registration to sponsors to revenue projection? And when the days are especially stressful, you can Zen out with a 3D mock-up and seating chart app.
Whatever you need from your event planning apps, these 12 powerhouses have you covered.
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