Event organizers are a beast of their own and more than able to juggle multiple roles at once. But an extra hand every now and then is always welcome – even if it happens to be a virtual one.
From music festivals to summer camps, we’ve worked with all kinds of event organizers. And we’ve done so often enough to vouch for tools that can be useful for event planning. Whether it’s organizing team meetings, setting up promo pages, or figuring out your logistics – yup, we’re just going to go ahead and say it – there’s an app that helps you get it done.
Here are some of our favourites:
Manage your projects
1 – Asana
Manage your team’s projects by sharing ideas, requests, and current tasks, so you can iterate fast and ensure transparency across the board.
2 – Front
Daily recurrence for organizers: anxiety peaks related to overwhelming amounts of emails. Front helps ease those pains by organizing team inboxes, archiving old messages and streamlining communication channels. End result? Requests are answered faster and stress levels get cut down.
3 – Google Apps
With its vast range of services, the Google Apps suite is one of the easiest ways for teams to share and collaborate on different files at the same time.
Keep your team in the loop
Snapchat
Use Snapchat to keep track of what your team is up to with live updates on the fly. During our time at Y Combinator, our team was split up and worked on opposite coasts. Sharing fleeting snaps was one of the more creative ways we stayed in touch!
5 – Slack
There are few things more satisfying than the ability to pester your team within just a few clicks. Slack makes it far too easy to communicate with your teammates, i.e. ask them for favours. You can also use bots like Meekan, Scheduler, or Howdy to set up meetings, share files, ask for daily updates, and slide in the occasional gif.
6 – Breather
Sometimes creativity drops. Switch up your usual work routine and host some of your team meetings offsite in a carefully designed space to jumpstart fresh ideas.
Gather the info you need
7 – Typeform
Nobody enjoys filling out forms. But you can make it less boring for attendees by creating beautiful and more engaging forms to collect their information.
8 – HelloFax
Some of our partners still insist on using fax machines. We, on the other hand, aren’t so keen on that. With HelloFax, you can nix the fax machine when working with more traditional clients. Simply send and receive all your faxes online while the other party gets to stick with their old school routine. Win-win compromise.
9 – DocuSign
It’s time to part ways with stapling (and often times losing) all those flying loose sheets! Make your life easier and keep yourself sane by going paperless when signing documents.
Design assets on the whim
10 – Snappa
Designer-less? No sweat. Create visuals to promote your event on social channels regardless of your design skill level.
Unsplash
Back away from those cheesy stock images once and for all. Instead, browse free high-quality photos on Unsplash, and use them as you please for your all creative purposes.
Spread the word
12 – MailChimp
Get the ball rolling on those registrations! Build up hype by sharing news of your event with attendees and sending important email updates.
13 – Splash
Create beautiful event pages that represent your brand and connect with your attendees while tracking your promotional efforts through Splash’s simple all-in-one event marketing solution.
14 – Eventbrite
As the world’s largest self-service ticketing platform, Eventbrite is the place where events go to live. Successfully promote your event, sell tickets, and keep track of your registrations in one place.
15 – Unbounce
Short on time and rushing to put up an event site? Build landing pages quickly with Unbounce for any of your promotional needs – no technical expertise required.
16 – DoubleDutch
Last year, 44% of attendees used mobile event apps. That number is expected to grow to 56% this year. Keep your attendees engaged by facilitating networking and sharing important information, like schedules and live announcements, on DoubleDutch’s interactive platform.
Organize your transportation
17 – Bus.com
Easily organize transportation to move people to your event by chartering a bus, and know exactly where your buses are with our real-time GPS tracking app. You can also personalize the bus ride with special requests to curate the most memorable of experiences for your attendees.
18 – Transit App
Need to get from one place to another without hassle? With Transit App, you’ll be able to hop on the closest transit line, request an Uber, or even get to the nearest bike share rack.
Book your venue
19 – Eventup
With exclusive access to upscale venues, Eventup helps you easily search, compare, and book top-tier locations to host your next event.
20 – Airbnb
Neat little hack: Airbnb isn’t just for travel accommodations. Browse original event venues with one of its lesser known features. By checking off the “Suitable for Events” option, you can search listings for places holding more than 16 guests.
These were some of our favourites, but we’d love to know what else is out there.
What are your personal standout tools when you’re planning an event? Give us your most interesting suggestions by shooting us a tweet or leaving a comment below!
