The Apps taking centre stage to promote digital engagement

The strive for audience engagement is paramount to the success of your digital event. It’s not breaking news to know that people are using social platforms to connect with others and entertain themselves, especially during this time of lockdown. Yet, there are certain apps out there that could be utilised in order to boost your digital event planning and overall engagement in very different ways.

Slack

Although Slack has been around since 2013, its popularity greatly increased when the world had to move their work online. Slack saw its user numbers jump up over 2 million within six days last March when the UK lockdown was being instated [1]. With its robust features and project-friendly structure, 65% of companies now use it [2].

Internal emails can be a thing of the past as Slack allows not just one-to-one messaging, but also the ability to have audio and video calls. Channels can be set up for all your projects to keep discussions more organised and you can search the chat for earlier comments. It also does the basics of setting reminders and pinning messages to the top of channels. What’s even better is you can integrate other tools into the app. Slack allows you to link your project management tools or even just your Google Drive to keep the work going. A nifty app that keeps digital projects moving and allows teams to interact with each other in an engaging way.

Clubhouse

Clubhouse has only been around since early 2020 but people quickly caught onto the benefits of its features. The social networking app allows you to listen in to interviews and discussions as it’s happening like live podcasts. Clearly becoming a welcomed change from text-based social media during lockdown, the audio-chat app is now valued at $1 billion less than a year old [3].

Clubhouse is also announcing upcoming features like tickets and subscriptions to support its creator community, along with soon opening it up to everyone as it is currently invite-only [4]. The app is appearing to fill a gap in human connection that other platforms were missing, allowing online conference rooms to offer space for people to meet and be entertained, learn new things, and join in with debates. It’s a start-up that has big plans in the pipeline and it would be an effective add-on to digital events providing discussion-based content.

TikTok

Like marmite, people either love or hate TikTok. Yet it can’t be denied it’s one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world. Initially launched in 2016, the app now has over 2 billion downloads, with the average time spent on the app 52 minutes per day [5]. So with the right expertise, TikTok can be a great platform for creative event promotions and to really stand out against traditional marketing methods.

Creating content that advertises your event such as announcements, line-up of guest speakers and teasers can generate buzz on the build-up to the day. Adding trending, relevant hashtags or creating your own is an essential detail, along with linking tickets and descriptions to create awareness. It can be said that the most prominent demographic is the younger generations, with a mammoth 41% of users aged between 16-24 [6]. Yet that is changing as its popularity grows, as the number of adult users jumped 5.5 times in just 18 months. An effectively engaging app that, used correctly, can boost your event to new heights.

[1] Slack breaks user records as demand surges for remote working - The Verge

[2] Teams or Slack: Why Organisations Use One or Both (ithow2.com.au)

[3] Meet Clubhouse, the voice-only social media app setting the internet abuzz (theconversation.com)

[4]. 🎉 Welcoming More Voices - Clubhouse (joinclubhouse.com)

[5] 10 TikTok Statistics That You Need to Know in 2021 [Mar 2021 Update] (oberlo.co.uk)

[6] How to Promote Your Event on TikTok (eventtia.com)