Event technology has come a long way and how we manage, host, and plan events has changed dramatically over the years. Whether you’re planning to host an online conference or a physical event, online registrations have become the go-to choice for all event organizers.
Registrations and ticketing platforms make collecting registration and payments, and managing event user data quick and easy. In this blog, we dig deep into how you can set up online registrations for your event, choosing the ideal ticketing platform, and its must-have features. We will also share some essential tips and best practices to increase attendee engagement and ensure a better event planning experience.
Benefits of Online Event Registration
Before we indulge any further on the whats and hows, let’s take a moment to talk about the “why”. Moving your event registration online is the right move, and there are a multitude of compelling reasons for it.
Streamlined Process
First of all, online registrations will help make the event planning and execution process a lot more straightforward for you. Collecting registration details online and then compiling the data through automated processes brings convenience and efficiency. Moreover, it also adds convenience to the event attendees’ experience. They don’t need to fill out and submit forms manually and can completely avoid long queues.
Added Features
Online registrations are also a great way to leverage additional features like automation of data collection, email marketing campaigns, integrations with CRMs, payment processing, etc. Event organizers can do all of that within the same platform and save time and valuable resources.
Data Collection & Analysis
One of the biggest benefits, however, might be data monitoring and live analytics. The online registration process will allow you to collect all of the data and analyze it through actionable insights. Many ticketing and registration software offer full dashboards for live event stats.
Choosing an Event Registration & Ticketing Platform
After you create an event online, the next natural step would be to choose an event ticketing and registration software that meets your needs. Choosing the right platform can significantly enhance your event planning and management experience and will also be a huge value-add for attendees.
If you’re planning to begin registration for an event online, the right platform can make all the difference. Here are some things that you should consider:
- Event Goals: Always keep your event goals in mind before you choose a ticketing platform. Make an informed decision by making sure the platform you choose can help you achieve your goals.
- Budget: Your event budget should always be a top priority as some ticketing solutions might be more expensive than others. Evaluate the platform’s pricing structure, including ticketing fees, processing charges, and any hidden costs in order to determine its affordability and fit within your event budget.
- Ease of Use: The platform you use should have an intuitive interface that is easy to use for all your staff and attendees.
- Customization Capabilities: Every event registration form can have different fields and that’s why it is important to choose a platform that allows you to fully customize everything.
- Integrations with Popular Software: Registration forms should be able to directly integrate with a CRM or popular payment gateways of your choice for added convenience.
- Reporting Features: As discussed earlier, live event reporting and analytics are the most important benefits of online event registration. Make sure you choose a platform that offers robust reporting features so you can track ticket sales and general attendance stats.
- Mobile-Friendliness: You have to consider mobile responsiveness for your event registration and ticketing as an increasing number of attendees will access it from their mobile devices.
- Data Security & Compliance: While handling sensitive attendee data and their personal information, you have to consider data security. The platform you choose should be compliant with strict protocols to safeguard attendee information.
- Customer Support: You may come across issues throughout the process of setting up your online event registration process. While that might be unavoidable, what you can do to mitigate the effects is to choose a platform known for quality customer service.
Choosing the right platform can depend on your event goals and requirements more than anything else. What works for one event, might not work for others. However, to reduce the friction that comes with dealing with multiple event managing tools, it can serve you well to choose an all-in-one event management platform. You won’t need to juggle between various platforms and teams as it is possible to do everything through the same platform.
Must-Have Features for All-in-One Event Registration Platforms
A complete registration and ticketing system can make online event registration a delightful experience for all stakeholders. Event organizers can leverage its features to create a customizable and branded experience that will not only delight attendees but is also convenient for them.
Here are some of the most important features that you should be looking out for in an all-in-one event registration and event ticketing system.
1. Branded Event Registration
Online registration for an event can have various goals and requirements. Therefore, a completely customizable solution is required to make sure the event landing page, registration form, ticketing prices, and payment gateways are exactly what you need. Here are some of the most important customizable solutions that your online registration process should have:
Customized Landing Page Builder
Your landing page is where you will put all of the event information, sponsor logos, speaker list, registration form, and the full event agenda. So, this might be the most important place of your entire event and probably needs the most attention and customization. You should be able to design a landing page from scratch or choose a template from available designs.
Variable Ticketing Options
Event organizers should be able to create different types of tickets based on price, access, or the number of people allowed with one ticket. Many events can have multiple ticketing tiers for attendees and having this option is important for online event ticketing solutions. For example, you may want to add a free ticket option, one with included meals for in-person attendees, or a full access pass that includes additional content. Some additional ticketing features also include the option to create group registrations, add discount codes, create customized tickets with add-ons, etc.
2. Automated User Segments
Attendee segmentation can be a great way to collect and group information for further action. You can do that easily with a ticketing solution that automatically segments users based on the details they put in their registration form fields. This is a great way to take away these user segments for running custom email campaigns, sharing relevant information, or offering each segment more targeted content.
3. Social Media Community Building Tools
When an attendee registers for your event online, they become a potential lead that you absolutely don’t want to lose. Moreover, registration doesn’t always mean that they will attend the event. So, you need to start looking for event registration features that also give you the opportunity to build a community.
For example, vFairs offers an amazing LinkedIn Community Builder that you can leverage to enhance attendee engagement and ensure all registered users attend the event. This is easily linked to your registration form. Every time someone submits the form, they will be prompted to join the event community on LinkedIn. This is an easy solution for all event organizers’ community-building woes.
4. Email Marketing Tools
After you have attendee data, you will need to keep sending reminder emails to all prospective attendees that have shown interest in your event. For this, you need an all-in-one event registration solution with built-in email marketing tools. Email campaigns are an important feature as you don’t need to export your data to another platform to create and send out these emails.
Read more about what you can do with email marketing features to market your event like a pro and boost event engagement.
5. Integrations
Your online event registration solution should be able to integrate with popular software and payment gateways to ensure that the experience is smooth for both event organizers and attendees. Some important integrations can include CRMs like Hubspot, ATS software like ZohoHR, and other attendee data management solutions. Your solution also needs to integrate with popular payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, etc.
This can be done easily through solutions like the vFairs App Store. It is a completely self-serve system where you can add integrations easily without any technical help from developers. All you have to do is choose the integration you want and then follow the on-screen instructions to add it to your event.
You can do all of that and more with the vFairs event registration and ticketing system. The myriad of features will help you run a smooth online registration process from start to finish.
How To Set Up Online Registration For An Event: 5 Quick Steps
Setting up registration and ticketing is an essential step in event planning and execution. vFairs event ticketing and registration solution is easy to set up, intuitive, and can help you boost ROI for your next event.
Here are a few quick steps on how to set up event registration with the all-in-one vFairs solution:
1. Start Building a Landing Page
The first step to accomplish this is to build a landing page for your event. The vFairs backend has a quick and simple drag-and-drop landing page builder that makes this process super quick and easy.
The vFairs event landing page builder is an easy tool that anyone can use to create a landing page in minutes. The landing page builder has templates that you can choose from and customize with additional elements. You can add text blocks, banners, change fonts and colors, and play around with it. It also integrates an AI-powered image generator that uses textual prompts to create website banners for you.
2. Create Ticket Pricing
The next step is to start creating your ticket tiers and price range. You can use the vFairs solution to create various ticketing tiers and types and distinguish them with levels of access. So, someone with the highest-priced ticket can get access to the entire event and its content. Whereas, a user with a lower-tier ticket will only be able to access a few areas of the venue.
3. Allow Add-Ons & Group Registrations
The vFairs solution also offers event organizers to create group registrations through the same form. So, this is the time to create the event registration form and packages for group registrations if your event will allow it. You can also add special add-ons as paid features to the registration form. For example, you can gate a webinar as a paid add-on and anyone who wants to attend it can pay a certain amount of money at the time of registration. This is a great revenue model as you can increase ROI by creating a certain level of FOMO around the add-ons and attracting more attendees to register for them.
4. Add Payment Options
Most online event registration forms have multiple secure payment gateway integrations. Now is the time to add them to your registration workflow. vFairs supports some of the most popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, Paymaya, Moyasar, Fatora, etc. You can add the option to pay with a credit card as well.
5. Customize and Brand Your Registration Page
Now that you have all the essentials locked down, you can create more brand uniformity through customizations. The event registration or landing page is your playground and you can add logos, banners, and change layouts as per your liking. You can also use your company’s brand imagery, fonts, or colors to wow your audiences and make a great first impression.
You’re all set! You can now start collecting registrations with your vFairs ticketing and registration software. The all-in-one solution ensures a uniform and holistic experience for attendees and event organizers. It reduces the friction between moving from one tool to another and makes the whole process extremely efficient.
Bonus Tips to Quickly Increase Event Registrations
Collecting registrations for any event can be a huge take on as it requires a great deal of preparation and planning. While you may have all the essentials like a responsive and efficient registration form, a branded landing page, a killer agenda, and a marketing plan, sometimes you need to add a little bit of pizzazz and go the extra mile.
Here are some amazing tips that you can use to boost online registrations for your event even more:
Leverage Event Marketplaces
Platforms like vFairs Discover are one of the best ways to boost event registrations and get the ball rolling on your marketing efforts. This marketplace holds tons of events and users visit these landing pages from all over the world. It is a great way to make sure you get the attention of individuals who are looking to attend events like yours. You can add special discounts for people who register from a marketplace or give them a free add-on to incentivize more people to register.
Offer Early Bird Discounts
Nothing boosts interest more than discounts and early bird promotions are a great way to get people excited about your event. The first few registrations might be the most difficult to get but such discounts can help create an easier path to more attendees. Many users are waiting for a discount to pop up before they register, even if they’re interested in your event.
Host Free Pre-Event Sessions
If you’re hosting a conference or summit, chances are that your attendees are just aloof about what your event is about and might need more context. Hosting free webinars or in-person sessions for prospective attendees can be a fantastic way to get their attention and spread more awareness about your event. However, don’t give away everything in those free sessions and keep your attendees intrigued and wanting to learn more.
Create Event Video Promotions
Event videos are a great way to get attendees interested in your event through visual media. It is obvious in the present age that video content performs a lot better than written text. So, if your content marketing efforts aren’t fulfilling your goals, shift to videos and you will see a difference. You can read our quick guide on event videos to understand more about how to create promotional videos that will attract attendees.
Social Media Hype
You can create awareness on social media about your event but you can also use it to create buzz around your event. Create event pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media channels. Use community-building strategies to get more people to interact with your event page and run polls or giveaways to increase engagement. Social media event marketing is one of the best ways to get in direct contact with your audience and create content that resonates with them.
Partnered Marketing
If you have exhausted all your personal marketing channels, it is time to leverage others’. You can get in touch with your sponsors and speakers and ask them to promote your event to their audiences as well. This not only boosts engagement with your content but also adds credibility to your event’s name as more people start talking about it. Another way to do this can also be to leverage influencer marketing and get the right people to post about your event.
You’re all set! Online event registration can completely transform the game for you and open new opportunities for improving attendee experience, engagement, and data collection. If you’re interested in seeing what the vFairs all-in-one event registration and ticketing software can do for you, book a demo with us today.
