Every 6-12 months I evaluate the tools, software, and platforms I’m using because when you’re growing an event business, it’s important to review pricing (I love saving money when and where I can!) and to level up as much as possible.
In other words, how do you continually improve your systems and your bottom line?
Regardless of what type of events you plan or how many clients you have, finding the best platform to organize events is really important to you, your business, and ultimately your clients.
Best Platform to Organize Events – The Features
For instance, when it comes to the best platform to organize events, they may have different titles, but almost all the platforms promise similar results:
- Increased attendance
- Optimal organization
- Data tracking and analyzing
- All-in-one event management
But do they have the features that you need for your events?
5 Questions to Ask First
Before choosing a platform, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions:
- What does the industry say about the platform? Checking reviews online and getting your colleagues’ opinions can help you determine if they offer the features you need?
- What features do you need? Do you need surveys, an event website, a ticketing system, a digital brochure, or a networking app for the attendees?
- Is the software user-friendly and easy to learn?
- What is the cost? If it’s “free,” are all the helpful tools locked up in a paid version?
- Are you running an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event, and can the software accommodate each option?
With all the event planning software out there, knowing the best platform to organize events is crucial to your success.
So, how do you choose?
More importantly, do you have to choose just one, or is mixing and matching your best bet?
The best platform to organize events
One of my favorite platforms to organize events is Monday.com because it’s an amazing platform that allows you to manage, plan, run, and track your teams’ remote work in one place.
There are many reasons to choose a platform to organize events, but above all, choose one that’s easy-to-use and intuitive platform that allow users to hit the ground running with no training required.
As someone who places a lot of importance on visualization, Monday.com lets you see your data in a variety of ways:
- Kanban (this view helps teams map out tasks and sprints)
- Calendar
- Timeline
- Gantt charts
- Maps
- Forms
- Workload (this view lets managers’ see who’s busy with what task)
In addition to the many ways to view and sort your data, you can sort it further through color-coding – from colorful and complex to basic and muted.
Monday.com features:
- 200+ ready-made templates
- 30+ customizable column types
- 40+ integrations for centralized data
- Real-time progress tracking
- File and image uploads
- Board linking capabilities
- Responsive design
- Notifications
- Status changes
- Recurring tasks
- Assigned due dates
- Drag and drop templates and files
- File storage
- Fast search engine
- 24/7 customer support
- Daily webinars
- Tag and notify teammates
- Chat and video conferencing
- Enterprise-grade security
Whova is the top-rated platform in app stores and software reviews. It received the People’s Choice Award and the Best Event App Award at the Event Technology Awards (the ‘Oscars’ of event technology) and is also the only event management software on G2’s Global Top 100 Software Companies.
Whova features:
- Mobile-friendly
- Unique features for all event participants: organizers, attendees, sponsors & exhibitors
- All-in-one event management platform
- Works for in-person, virtual or hybrid events
- Creates a mobile brochure that allows attendees to access the agenda, maps, and announcement alerts
- Live streaming and video recordings with its virtual conference platform and hybrid event platform
- Facilitates check-in process and generates name badges
- Attendee engagement and networking through an event app
- Open topics community board
- Event website and marketing creation
- Digital Sponsors and Exhibitors, with digital booths to display their products and services, create a lead collection, show promotional offers, encourage booth interaction, and displays a QR code scanner
- Creates lead generation
- Live polling, surveys, and Q&A
- Top-notch customer support, with a quick response of 30 minutes on business days, as well as weekend and holiday support
- Free app for attendees, and flexible pricing plans for event organizers
Bizzabo is a flexible, enterprise-grade platform that supports all event types: immersive in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
This event management platform helps you:
- Manage at scale with streamlined operations, using the same playbook regardless of event size
- Collaborate across stakeholder groups
- Simplified workflow with responsive updating
- Manage team members, assigning tasks to individuals with custom roles, access, and permissions
- Manage advanced registrations
- Build multi-day schedules
- Grow a client base through meaningful interactions and networking
- Create stunning websites
- Monitor event success metrics
Hubilo is the virtual and hybrid event platform designed to drive the most meaningful and authentic audience engagement, leading to greater business results.
Hubilo connects with your Tech Stack, including:
- Salesforce
- Mailchimp
- Hubspot
- Marketo
- Zapier
This platform is highly customizable in terms of brand integration, allowing you to grow your brand while delivering your message.
With a proactive and full-time customer success team that is available to you, Hubilo ensures that every event runs smoothly every single time.
With the best and most comprehensive event analytics in the industry, Hubilo allows you to segment your stakeholders and audiences to gain the best insight into each cohort.
PheedLoop is powerful, easy-to-use, end-to-end event management software that supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid events — with the added bonus of time-saving automation.
It takes care of repetitive emails and tasks such as reminding people to register and attend the event, following up with speakers for their bios, and automating engagement with scheduled games and notifications during the event.
PheedLoop powers:
- Mobile apps
- Registration
- Touch-free check-in
- Live streaming
- Floor plans
- Sponsors
- Badge Printing
- Virtual exhibit halls
- Automated surveys
PheedLoop is the ultimate streamlined event management system and is used by events of all types and sizes up to tens of thousands of attendees, primarily serving corporate, association, academic, and government clients.
Cvent powers the meetings and events industry with a comprehensive suite of solutions for marketers, planners, suppliers, and venues.
It connects all your events and audiences through an all-in-one event platform, supporting webinars and virtual, in-person, and hybrid events.
It provides end-to-end solutions like:
- Venue sourcing
- Diagramming and seating
- Content management
- Event marketing
- An event registration website
- Room block and travel
- Onsite check-in and badging
- A mobile event app
- Appointment management
- Event insights and data
- Meeting approval and budgeting
- Supplier sourcing
- Audience engagement
- Virtual content creation
- Sponsor value maximization
- Capture important event data
- Manage group hotel reservations
While Trello is not technically an event management tool, it helps you manage your team and projects at a glance.
Even though I prefer Monday,com for planning and managing events, however, I use Trello A LOT to manage other projects.
Trello is a visual tool that empowers your team to manage any type of project, workflow, or task tracking.
Simply create a board where you can add cards that house: task assignments, calendars, productivity metrics, files, checklists, timelines, and more.
You can even utilize the automation feature and customize the experience based on how your team works best.
It allows you to effectively track, assign and manage your projects by moving your tasks through the process, going from ‘to-do’ to ‘doing’ to ‘done.’
Slack is not a platform to organize events, per se, but a communication tool that helps keep your team connected, allowing for document sharing, image uploads, real-time messaging, group chats, scheduling, and reminders.
Available on your phone or PC, Slack is a great solution in a work-from-anywhere world and works well WITH other platforms like Monday.com or Cvent.
You can create multiple channels (groups), adding teammates to each group, as needed. Within the groups, you can
- create to-do lists
- set reminders
- attach documents
- Insert links
- Bookmark someone’s comment
- React to a teammates comment with an emoji
- Schedule a message for a specific date and time
If you need to make sure you get someone’s attention within a channel, you can tag them with their name @likethis.
You can even send direct messages to your team, with the option of linking them to other chats and conversations within different Channels.
Want to set a reminder for yourself? You can do that too! You can even link yourself and others to various tasks, lists, reminders, and chats within Slack.
Google Workspace is an innovative solution that allows you to connect, organize, and collaborate on projects with teams of all sizes.
It’s highly secure and customizable, allowing you to set various permissions for each and every team member.
The ability to work on projects offline is an amazing and fairly unique bonus feature I love!
Formally known G Suite, Google Workspace includes:
- A Gmail account
- Calendar
- Meet
- Chat
- Drive
- Docs
- Sheets
- Slides
- Forms
- Sites
- Jamboards
- Keep
One of the most popular event planning software options for event organizers (professional planners and community organizers) looking to sell tickets and manage event registration is Eventbrite.
With their fast, easy setup, you can manage the details of your event and promote it on your website or through social media sites like Facebook, with the option to promote your event on the Eventbrite site too.
Above all, consider your needs first and what will allow you to do the best job for your clients.
Mixing and matching a few platforms might be the best solution for you.
Now, let’s turn this into action…
Grab a piece of paper or notebook and write down the top three features you need in a platform to organize events. Think to yourself, “wouldn’t it be cool if…”
don’t worry about budget right now.
Once you have a list of three, go back to this list and find the platform that will work best for your business.
