Creating an Interactive Event Schedule with Dryfta: Tips and Best Practices

Introducing Session Q&A and Chat in Dryfta Event App
 

In the ever-changing landscape of events, one thing remains constant—the need for a robust and interactive event schedule. An effective event schedule can make or break your conference, webinar, or seminar. This is where Dryfta's Event Schedule Builder comes into play.

From hosting live virtual meetings to providing real-time notifications and engagement tools, Dryfta offers an all-in-one solution for all your event planning needs. In this blog post, we will dive deep into how Dryfta can help you craft the perfect interactive event schedule and offer best practices to maximize attendee engagement.

Effortless Schedule Crafting

Imagine a platform that allows you to seamlessly create and display an event schedule on your event website and mobile app. Dryfta lets your participants browse schedules, create personalized plans, check into sessions to earn Continuing Education (CE) credits, and much more. Attendees can view and download session slides and even participate in virtual sessions remotely.

Features at a Glance:

  • Display sessions in parallel tracks
  • Sort sessions by speakers, tracks, formats, and time slots
  • Add sessions to a personal schedule
  • Check-in to sessions
  • Share sessions on social networks

program schedule

Interaction and Engagement: A New Paradigm

Real-time Tools for Real-time Engagement

Dryfta allows you to host interactive virtual meetings with up to 500 participants. These virtual sessions support audio, video, and screen-sharing for an immersive experience. You can even livestream these meetings directly on your website.

In addition to this, speakers and attendees can engage in real-time discussions, upload files, and participate in live polls. The platform sends real-time notifications to attendees, keeping them in the loop about new polls or Q&A sessions.

Attendance and Reporting

To further improve your event management, Dryfta offers features like downloading attendance reports, manually adding CE credits, and monitoring the waiting list for each session. This allows you to keep track of session popularity and adjust future events accordingly.

Boosting Attendee Experience

Tracks, Formats, and Locations

Dryfta's Tracks and Formats editor helps you organize sessions into parallel tracks and formats. It also lets you easily manage attendees who have checked in, those on the waiting list, and any comments or questions posted during the session.

Expansive Session Editing

You can customize each session with a plethora of options like:

  • Session date, time, venue, and track
  • Downloadable presentation files from speakers
  • Attendee capacity, and more

Utilizing Dryfta's Import and Export Capabilities

Dryfta offers seamless import and export functionalities, allowing you to import sessions and speakers from a spreadsheet and export attendee lists with various filters. The platform automatically checks for scheduling conflicts, ensuring a well-organized event.

Selling Tickets and Monetizing Your Event

Hosting an event often involves various costs such as venue, A/V equipment, and speaker fees. So, monetizing the event effectively is crucial for sustainability. Dryfta offers an integrated ticketing system that can serve as a revenue stream for your event, and it's designed to be incredibly user-friendly for both organizers and attendees.

Paid Workshops

Running specialized workshops alongside your main event can provide great value to attendees willing to pay for an in-depth experience. With Dryfta, you can assign specific ticket types to these workshops. Attendees can easily purchase tickets for these exclusive workshops right from the session’s dedicated page, eliminating any friction in the transaction process.

On-Demand Videos

In today's digital age, not everyone can attend your event in real-time. Dryfta allows you to upload speakers' pre-recorded presentations and sell access to these on-demand videos. This feature not only extends the lifespan of your event content but also offers an additional income stream.

Webinars

Virtual events and webinars are now an integral part of the event landscape. Dryfta seamlessly integrates with platforms like Zoom, enabling you to schedule and monetize webinars directly. Attendees can purchase tickets and attend the webinar all within the Dryfta platform, providing a unified and hassle-free experience.

Session-Specific Ticketing

Different sessions can have varied value propositions. Some may feature industry leaders or exclusive content that attendees are willing to pay extra for. Dryfta lets you set up session-specific ticketing, allowing you to monetize the most high-value parts of your event individually.

Streamlined Purchase Experience

One of the significant advantages of Dryfta's ticketing feature is its integration within the event schedule. Attendees can browse the schedule, learn about each session, and make a purchase—all without having to navigate away from the page. This streamlined experience significantly reduces the steps required to finalize a purchase, thereby increasing conversion rates.

Workshop tickets

Leveraging Session Surveys and Feedback

One of the most valuable aspects of hosting an event is the feedback you gather. With Dryfta, you can create session-specific surveys to collect attendee insights both via the event website and the event app. This feature is especially useful for organizers to gauge the effectiveness of each session and make data-driven decisions for future events. Whether it's about the content quality, the speaker's performance, or the relevance of the topic, session surveys offer a window into your attendees’ thoughts and preferences.

The Power of Analytics: Making Data-Driven Decisions for Event Success

In the age of big data, merely hosting an event is not enough. To truly make your event a success, leveraging analytics is crucial. Dryfta provides a comprehensive suite of analytics features that can help you make informed, data-driven decisions. Here's how you can take full advantage of this functionality:

Understand Attendee Behavior

With Dryfta, you can track various metrics related to attendee behavior, such as session attendance, engagement level in live chats and polls, and ticket purchasing patterns. This data is invaluable for understanding what piques your audience's interest, allowing you to tailor future events more effectively.

Session Popularity Metrics

One of the most straightforward yet powerful analytics Dryfta offers is session popularity. By tracking how many attendees register for each session, add it to their personal schedule, and actually attend, you can gauge the success of different topics, speakers, or formats. This can be critical when planning future events or even making last-minute adjustments.

Real-time Analytics

The ability to access data in real-time is another benefit Dryfta provides. Whether it's ticket sales, attendee check-ins, or live interaction during a session, real-time data can offer immediate insights that enable you to make quick, informed decisions. For example, if a session is proving unexpectedly popular, you can allocate additional resources to it right away.

Post-Event Analysis

The analytics journey doesn't end when your event does. Post-event metrics can provide insights into what worked well and what didn't. For example, you can assess the effectiveness of your marketing channels by analyzing where your attendees came from, or dive into session feedback to understand the quality of content and speakers.

Dryfta's analytics features offer a well-rounded view of your event's performance, equipping you with the tools to continually refine and improve your events. In today’s competitive event landscape, such data-driven insights are not just a 'nice-to-have,' but essential for achieving long-term success.

Dynamic Resource Allocation with Personalized Schedules

Dryfta’s "Add to Personal Schedule" feature is more than just a convenience for attendees; it's an invaluable tool for organizers. By allowing attendees to add sessions to their personal schedules, organizers can gauge interest levels in each session in real-time. If a particular session is drawing more attention than expected, you can dynamically adjust seating arrangements and allocate additional A/V resources to meet the demand. Conversely, if a session is not generating enough interest, you can reallocate resources accordingly, ensuring that your event is both cost-effective and responsive to attendee interests.

Tips and Best Practices

1. Leverage Session Recommendations

Dryfta offers session recommendations based on participant interests. This personalized approach can increase attendee engagement and overall satisfaction.

2. Utilize Automated Conflict Management

Dryfta automatically checks for scheduling conflicts in real-time, reducing the likelihood of overlapping sessions and ensuring a smoother event experience.

3. Enable Fraud Checks for CE Credits

For educational events, the fraud check for verified CE credits ensures that only legitimate attendees receive the credits.

4. Use the Waiting List Wisely

A waiting list can help you gauge the interest level in a particular session, allowing you to adjust room sizes or even schedule additional sessions as needed.

5. Maximize Social Sharing

Encourage attendees to share sessions on social networks using Dryfta’s share buttons. This not only amplifies your event but also fosters a sense of community among participants.

6. Leverage Color-Tagging for Tracks

Utilize Dryfta's color-tagging feature to visually differentiate tracks. This will help attendees easily identify and navigate through various session topics.

7. Take Advantage of Real-Time Notifications

Use Dryfta's real-time notification feature to keep attendees informed about session updates, making them less likely to miss important sessions or announcements.

8. Enable Authorized Check-in

To enhance security and manage attendance more effectively, enable authorized check-in so that participants can only check-in to the session once they arrive at the premise.

9. Incorporate Multi-Paper Sessions

For academic or research-focused events, use Dryfta's ability to group together multi-paper sessions. This will provide a more in-depth look at a particular subject and can potentially attract a wider audience.

10. Utilize Custom Reports

Make the most out of Dryfta's custom reporting feature to evaluate the success of each session, helping you to plan better for future events.

11. Encourage Session Feedback

Prompt attendees to rate sessions and provide feedback, giving you valuable insights for future events.

12. Use Push Notifications for Urgent Updates

Sending push notifications for upcoming sessions or last-minute changes can keep attendees informed and engaged.

13. Foster Community Through Networking Features

Enable networking features in the Dryfta app to allow attendees to connect with each other before, during, and after the event.

14. Customize Session Descriptions

Tailor session descriptions to provide all the necessary details, making it easier for attendees to choose sessions that interest them the most.

15. Run A/B Tests

Experiment with different session titles, descriptions, and images to see what attracts more attendees. Use Dryfta's analytics to measure the impact.

Create Interactive Event Schedules with Dryfta

Creating an interactive and effective event schedule is no small feat, but Dryfta's expansive set of features makes it more than achievable. From crafting a seamless event timeline to fostering real-time interaction, Dryfta provides the tools you need to engage and excite your attendees. So, whether you're hosting a small seminar or a large international conference, let Dryfta help you create an event schedule that truly resonates with your audience.

Ready to Get Started?

Don’t wait! If you want to create an event schedule that leaves a lasting impression on your attendees, Dryfta is the way to go. Click here to get started or reach out to us for a personalized demo.

For more information, visit our website or contact us to schedule a demo. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need further customization!


Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Q: What is Dryfta's Event Schedule Builder?

A: Dryfta's Event Schedule Builder is a comprehensive tool that allows you to create, manage, and display a seamless event schedule. It's designed to provide both event organizers and attendees with a highly interactive and personalized experience.


Q: Who can benefit from using Dryfta's Event Schedule Builder?

A: Any event organizer looking to manage sessions, tracks, and attendee schedules in an organized and user-friendly manner will find Dryfta's Event Schedule Builder extremely beneficial. It is also perfect for attendees who want a personalized event experience.


Features and Functionality

Q: How can I sort sessions in the Event Schedule?

A: You can sort sessions by speakers, tracks, formats, and time slots. This feature provides a tailored browsing experience for attendees and organizers alike.


Q: What is CE credit and how do attendees earn it?

A: CE stands for Continuing Education. Attendees can earn CE credits by checking into sessions, and the total time spent in those sessions is recorded. Dryfta can automatically assign these credits to attendees' profiles.


Q: Can I sell tickets for sessions using Dryfta?

A: Yes, you can associate ticket types with specific sessions, allowing attendees to purchase tickets directly from the session page.


Q: What does the 99.9% uptime SLA mean for virtual meetings?

A: The 99.9% uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA) means that the virtual meeting feature is guaranteed to be operational 99.9% of the time, ensuring a reliable experience.


Tips and Best Practices

Q: What are some tips for using Dryfta to its full potential?

A: To maximize Dryfta's capabilities, consider using real-time analytics for on-the-spot decision-making, employ the power of session popularity metrics for resource allocation, and take advantage of post-event analysis for continuous improvement.


Q: How can I make my event schedule more interactive?

A: Utilize Dryfta's interactive tools like real-time discussion boards, live polls, and Q&A to engage attendees. These features help to create a dynamic and interactive environment.


Technical Questions

Q: How do I import sessions from an Excel file?

A: Dryfta allows you to import sessions from a CSV file directly into the Program Builder. The system will also check for any conflicts related to time, speaker, and venue automatically.


Q: Is Dryfta mobile-friendly?

A: Yes, Dryfta offers a seamless experience across devices. Attendees can browse schedules, check into sessions, and engage in discussions through both the Dryfta website and the event app.


Q: How secure is the Dryfta platform?

A: Dryfta places a high emphasis on security. All data is encrypted, and various layers of security measures are in place to protect both organizer and attendee information.