Top Tips for Getting the Most Out of Presdo Match

So you’ve decided to take networking to the next level at your event!

After working with many event organizers who have used Presdo Match, we have compiled a list of tips to help you get the most out of the application.

  1. Promote Presdo Match to your audience

    If you can only do one thing, make sure you do this. The most important, proven factor leading to your success will be how well you promote the service to your audience. Most of them will be new to this service, and no surprise, people need time to learn new things. Make sure they know about that the service exists.

    Promote the networking service before and during your event, and even afterwards, as an effective way for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors to connect. Like anything new, it helps to promote it in multiple places and multiple times. It is a new and exciting benefit for your participants.

    Here are some really great ways to promote it:

    • Send a pre-announcement - consider pre-announcing the application to your audience, especially if this will be the first time you are using it at your event. For example, include it as part of your planned communication and tell them that they will receive a separate message welcoming them to the application. You will find that they are more likely to participate!
    • Presdo Match’s welcome email - Presdo Match will launch by the sending of welcome emails to people that invite them to your event’s networking application. You control when welcome emails are sent and. Each email contains a personalized link that takes the user back to Presdo Match to get started.
    • NEW!Enlist champions to lead the way - Get your key staff, your speakers, and key attendees and exhibitors, at your launch to show how it’s done. Have them set up their own profiles, reach out to others by “liking” others’ profiles and by sending out meaningful messages. Also, use this opportunity to do a test run with a select group of people to see how the product works.
    • Promote it in the registration confirmation - while you have their attention, promote it in the confirmation page and/or confirmation email that attendees and exhibitors receive right after registration. Let them know they will soon get access to the networking application.
    • Link Presdo Match to your event site - when you setup an event on Presdo Match, you create a Presdo Match URL that will be the well-defined entry point for users. Create a “Networking” button, tab, or link, to your main event site so that your audience can easily see and access the application.
    • NEW!Develop a weekly communication campaign around your event community... but with a twist - engage your users by providing them with a useful tip or easy task every week. Presdo Match contains an easy-to-use “Announcements” feature that lets you, the event organizer, communicate with all your Presdo Match users via email notifications. You can create announcements by visiting the menu under your name on any the page header.

      Each announcement that is sent has a prominent link that lets the user easily go back to Presdo Match. Although you might have other communication means, the key is to use announcements to provide a convenient link back to Presdo Match so they can engage with the community, and announcements are simple to create.

      Here are some suggested topics for the weekly communication, and of course, you might come up with many more:

      1. Simple steps on how to use Presdo Match
      2. Benefits and ROI if they use Presdo Match
      3. Encourage people to use Social Invites (i.e. invite their friends to come)
      4. Feature a speaker by sending out a link to their profile on Presdo Match
      5. Provide input to a speaker on a particular session - you can provide a link to the session detail page in the announcement
      6. Connect with at least three fellow attendees to start a conversation or request a meeting
      7. Connect with at least one exhibitor and plan to meet them at the event
      8. Connect with featured event staff
      9. For exhibitors, connect with attendees and schedule time on the show floor
      10. Pre-event use of the session planner - if promoted effectively, the sessions content has proven to be one of the most widely-used parts of Presdo Match
      11. Easy step-by-step instructions to create an icon for the Presdo Match mobile app for on-site use
      12. Easy step-by-step instructions on "keeping the connection" with fellow users after the event by connecting on LinkedIn and Twitter

      You can plan the entire campaign and have the content prepared ahead of time. Then, simply send out announcements on a weekly basis.

    • Link it to your mobile app - if you have a separate mobile app for your event, link Presdo Match to it. We can tell you how.
    • Mention it in webinars for event participants - whether you’re organizing webinars for attendees or exhibitors, include Presdo Match as a topic so that they become aware of the application and understand the benefits it will bring to them by using it.
    • Follow-up with one or more email campaigns or through social media channels - you are probably sending regular communications to attendees and exhibitors until the last minute, so take the opportunity to include periodic communication about the networking application. For example, you can add a section about it in planned event newsletters, or mention it periodically on the event social media channels that you use.
    • Place "meeting point" signs at your event - Presdo Match is ultimately about getting everybody to connect face-to-face at the event. Consider setting up specific “meeting point” signs at locations where people can go to find others. If you have networking lounges or a well-defined registration area, these locations can also serve as meeting points. You may even label them as "Presdo Match Meeting Points". Ask us for a logo and we’ll send you one! (You will be able to set up Presdo Match to automatically recommend these meeting locations. If you have exhibitors at your event, their booth locations are the default meeting points whenever they have meetings.)

    Remember, your networking application is only as valuable as its use by your audience!

  2. Launch Presdo Match before your event

    Since Presdo Match is available on web and mobile, your users can start experiencing the event before the actual event starts. Although there are no strict rules, launch Presdo Match 4 to 12 weeks before the actual event depending on its size. At the latest, launch one to two weeks before the event. Here are some numbers to go by:

    Number of PeopleWhen to Launch
    Up to 2502–4 weeks before
    Up to 5,0006 weeks before
    5,000 and above8 weeks before

    The more people you will have, the earlier you should launch Presdo Match. The key is to have enough registrants so that the first users will have enough other people to interact with. Don't launch too late... or too early!

  3. Take advantage of Social Invites to increase your attendance

    The Social Invites feature of Presdo Match is one of the most effective tools to help you bring more people to your event. It works by enabling your registered participants to invite their own contacts on popular social networks and email to your event, promoting awareness and ultimately motivating new people to register.

    With Social Invites, you can automatically embed a link to your event registration page in the invitation messages that are sent by users. You can also set up a promotion, such as a registration discount or another special benefit, to make it more interesting for invitees to register for your event.

    When you set up Presdo Match, take a minute to set up Social Invites so your users can help you share and market the event.

  4. Send out welcome emails at the right time

    Welcome emails are Presdo Match’s way to launch the networking application for your participants. As the event organizer, you control when welcome emails are sent, so make sure they end up in your users’ inboxes when they are most likely to pay attention to their emails.

    Just like an effective email marketing campaign, it is best to send welcome emails during normal business hours between Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  5. Develop a regular schedule for importing new attendees and exhibitors

    After launching Presdo Match for your event, people will continue to register until the actual event begins. Develop a regular schedule for transferring attendee and exhibitor information from your registration systems into Presdo Match via CSV files. The schedule could start off weekly and become more frequent (every couple days) as the event draws near.

    After you have imported the newest attendees and exhibitors, don’t forget to send out welcome emails. Only new users will be receiving them.

  6. If you have initial exhibitors and sponsors, launch Presdo Match for them before launching for attendees

    Your exhibitors and sponsors need time to prepare their company profiles before attendees come to the application, so schedule a launch for your exhibitors and sponsors first. The launch can occur one or two weeks before the launch for attendees. Promote the Social Invite feature to exhibitors and sponsors and recommend it as a way to engage their customer base while it promotes your event.

  7. Identify a social media champion on your team

    Do you have someone on your team who is responsible for your event’s social media efforts? Give this person responsibility to manage Presdo Match for your event. If they know their way around managing other social media tools, they will easily be able to set up Presdo Match for your event.

    For each event, we can set up more than one administrator for you upon request. Please contact us if you are interested to add more administrators. Please provide their names and email addresses in the request.

    Typical launch timeline

    If you have mostly attendees:

    5 weeks before Start setting up Presdo Match for your event. Setup is easy and will only take 30 minutes in total, but it might take you some time to pull together various items such as your event logo, initial attendee registration list, and sessions information.
    2–4 weeks before Launch Presdo Match for your attendees so they can begin connecting with others before the actual event.
    5 days before Presdo Match sends an automated reminder to all attendees to remind them to take advantage of the application.
    0 days before Your event begins. Your attendees are satisfied customers of yours because they have already connected with and started meaningful interactions with other people!

    If you have a mix of attendees, exhibitors and sponsors:

    9–13 weeks before Start setting up Presdo Match for your event. Setup is easy and will only take a few minutes in total, but it might take you some time to pull together various items such as your event logo, sessions information, attendee registration list, and exhibitor list.
    8–12 weeks before Launch Presdo Match for exhibitors first so they can set up their company profiles before attendees are invited.
    4–8 weeks before Launch Presdo Match for your attendees so they can begin connecting with others before the actual event.
    5 days before Presdo Match sends an automated reminder to all users to remind them to take advantage of the application.
    0 days before Your event begins. Your exhibitors and attendees are satisfied customers of yours because they have already connected with and started meaningful interactions with others!

  8. Import your people, company, and session information

    Presdo Match allows you to easily import people, companies and sessions using CSV files. CSV files can be saved directly from major registration and exhibitor systems as well as from spreadsheet applications including Microsoft Excel, and then imported directly into Presdo Match without modification. In some cases, you may need to change a field name or two in a CSV file to something that Presdo Match recognizes.

    For more information on the formats that Presdo Match accepts, see Presdo Match CSV file import formats.

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