Are all push notifications really read? Are they better than in-app notifications? Our experience shows that in-app notifications are better than their reputation says and are more successful in the long term than the push alternative.

Today, the focus is on the direct comparison of in-app and push notifications. If you ask organizers, most of them prefer push notifications for their event apps. However, this desire springs from false or outdated assumptions. We will subsequently clear up and show you what the various types of messages technically mean, what advantages and disadvantages arise for the organizers and participants, and what we think about it.

Push Notifications

When organizers hear the terms “send notifications” and “event apps” together, most instinctively assume push notifications. It’s the classic form of notifications, as we all know from our installed apps. In simple terms, the app can send a signal to the smartphone. Depending on the settings of the smartphone, it rings, vibrates or activates a notification on the display. The app itself does not have to be opened by the user before. This message type is thus able to trigger an activity for the user without having to be active in advance.

In-App Notifications

Unlike push notifications, in-app notifications cannot actively “address” the smartphone, but are only active in the app itself. So if the organizer sends an in-app notification, then the user’s device will not respond to it automatically, so it neither rings nor vibrates, nor shows a notification on the home screen. Here, the initial activity must come from the user. Only when he opens the app in question the message will be displayed.

What do Organizers Think?

Organizers actually always want push notifications for their apps. This has two main reasons. First, they are simply accustomed to seeing messages directly on their smartphone from apps installed from the app store. The second reason is the fear that their visitors do not receive the messages that they sent. Organizers of course only send relevant messages to their guests, who absolutely must read them. The push notification ensures that guests receive this message without opening the app. Many organizers believe that their push notifications are more likely to be read than in-app notifications.

Both of these arguments are outdated and can also be solved with in-app notifications, but more on that in the section “Our point of view”.

What do Participants Think?

For participants, the prevailing opinion is not as clear as with the organizers. Although a relevant mass can handle push notifications very well, the vast majority reject them, at least as far as event apps are concerned. Many people find the constant vibration of their smartphones at events very annoying and simply turn off the push function of the app. Although there is no valid data, if you look around a bit, it quickly becomes clear that most people switch off the push function after at least three useless messages. In contrast to the organizer, the participants’ fear of missing notifications at events is rather low. There are certainly apps where push notifications are very useful, but for the most part, it gets annoying over time. This is also shown by the trend to generally disable the push function on the smartphone.

Push Notifications vs. In-App Notifications

With both push and in-app notifications, it’s about providing your visitors with the latest news. Only the way to the destination is different. Here the pros and cons are summarized:

Benefits of Push
User receives a notification without being active.

Disadvantages of Push
User is interrupted during his activity -> unwanted messages or inappropriate situations lead to rejection and negative emotions.

Benefits of In-App
Users can independently determine when they want to deal with the event and relevant information and then they receive the notifications.

Disadvantages of In-App
Users must become active to receive notifications.

Our Point of View

At LineUpr we currently rely exclusively on in-app notifications. The reasons are both technical in nature and because of our vision. After more than 2 years of experience and more than 700 accompanied events, however, our opinion has changed a bit.

Vision

We admit it. That LineUpr apps do not allow push notification is originally due to the fact that it was not technically possible at that time (more about that). However, having attended more events week after week and immersing ourselves deeply in the industry, this original limitation has become more and more our vision. At the heart of LineUpr should always be a simple, intuitive product that meets the needs of the organizers, but primarily focuses on the participant. Many of them are annoyed by the many unnecessary push messages from the event apps. Organizers tend to spread every little change as widely as possible. The guests tend to care less about this and feel increasingly bothered by the masses of notifications.

An event app should never interrupt or destroy the real programme flow. It should support the participants, always provide them with the latest information and strengthen the positive feeling at the event. This is much better guaranteed with in-app notifications than with push notifications.

Technical limitation

All event apps from LineUpr are web apps. When we launched LineUpr, it was not technically possible to send push messages using a web app. Meanwhile, the Web technology has evolved and it is possible, but unfortunately so far only for Android systems. Apple or iOS does not yet allow this feature for web apps. Until both major operating systems allow push notifications, we cannot release this feature yet because users find it difficult to communicate when the feature works for one but not for another.

Our opinion

Our opinion already came out in the section “Vision”. We clearly prefer in-app notifications, but we will not refuse push notifications. As soon as Apple allows this function, we will implement it. Our goal, however, is to convince every organizer of the in-app variation. Everyone can certainly understand how annoying it is when you’re in a stimulating conversation and this is interrupted because your smartphone rings, only to tell you that the buffet has just opened. However, if the user actively opens the app, he is ready for event information. As an organizer, you want to communicate with your guests exactly in this state, because they not only see and read the message here but also really take it in and do not mentally push it away. Our event data clearly shows that the in-app notifications are on average the third most open pages. And that is all the more remarkable since the first active action clearly has to come from the user. Here his attention is therefore significantly greater than with push interruptions at approximately the same reader rate.

Summary

Organizers always talk about push messages when communicating with an event app. The in-app version is seen as rather critical because they are afraid that their messages will not be read. Event participants see exactly the opposite and could very well do without the constant vibration of their smartphones. We understand why organizers always call for push notifications but at the same time, we can prove with data that in-app notifications are significantly better than their reputation says. They are very well received and are read by the participants, so you do not have to worry about information being lost. Push notifications, on the other hand, often hit the participants in awkward moments and they tend to click the notification away. So although they have seen it, they have not really recorded it.

Feedback

What is your opinion on push notifications vs. in-app notifications? Do you also switch off your push notifications? Do you still have questions which we could not answer? We look forward to your answers.

The post Push Notifications or In-App Notifications – With Which one can You Reach Your Guests More Successfully first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to create items for your schedule in your app and how to present your event agenda interactively. Link speakers, locations, and rooms. Integrate contact information and use images.

In this tutorial, we will deal in detail with the event agenda. We start with the fundamental creation of a schedule item and close with 10 further options such as the integration of pictures and external documents.

As a showcase, we use a demo app where you can experience the results of this tutorial and further examples on your smartphone.

The First Item for Your Schedule

First, login into your account and access the dashboard of your event. Now open the menu item “Schedule” (1) and initiate the creation with a click on “+ Add Item” (2).

Now you should see the creation screen. To set up a new item, enter a „Title“ (3), the time and the date of this program item (4). After that, you can already save and publish it with “Create” (5).

In the next section, you will find more options to bring your agenda to life.

Additional Features

We offer you 10 possibilities to improve your digital agenda:

1. Image (6)

You can include pictures for each item. In contrast to person or location profiles, for schedule items often symbols or pictograms are used instead of classic images. These graphics are intended to illustrate the topic of this program item.

For breaks, most event managers use a coffee cup graphic and for lectures a canvas graphic. So, It is up to you, which kind of illustration you use. In the demo app https://lineupr.com/demo/app you can see examples for both.

To use this option, either drag and drop your image/graphic or click on “Pick Image” and select one of the already existing ones. Or you can also upload an additional image by using the “Upload Images” button.

LineUpr supports JPEG and PNG formats. The image should be at least 300×300 pixels in size and square. We also offer an image editor for optimal depiction. To use it, first select the image. Now you see three options beneath the picture. With the button “Change” you can select a new image, with “X” you delete it and with the „Pencil“ you can change the size (zoom), the background color and the position of the image.

2. Title (3)

Yes, you can change the title of the item afterward.

For this, we have developed the input field “Title” in the first block “General”.

3. Location and Room (7)

Most events take place at a pre-defined location. You can connect a program item to a location and room via the selection field “Location” and “Room”. At best, you have already created a location in the app. How to do this is explained here.

You can also create the item even when the location is not yet known. Then, Instead of the location the placeholder “Will be announced” will be displayed in the app (you can also change this placeholder, more about this in a later tutorial).

To select a location, just click on the “Location” selection box and choose one of the locations already existing. Or you can create a new one by clicking on the “+” button to the right.

You can also connect an associated room. Select the associated entry in the “Room” drop-down field or create a new room for the location with the “+” button to the right.

4. Categories (8)

You can also assign a category to an item.

Categories can be used to distinguish between different types program items such as workshops, keynotes, lectures or breaks. Or you use categories to separate several parallel tracks or themes. Your app users can then filter them by topic or type of items in the agenda.

To use categories, either select an existing category in the “Category” field or create a new one by using the “+” button.

5. Sorting (9)

When several program items start at the same time, they are displayed in one section in the app. The sorting in this section is done in alphabetical order according to the item title. If you prefer a different order, use the sorting input field.

You will find this feature in the first block “General”. The order is then determined alphabetically by this input field. Numbers ranked higher than letters and items with a one are displayed at the top. Larger numbers further down.

Note: The Sorting feature only works within the app. It does not affect how the items are being arranged in the LineUpr CMS. Here, the items are being sorted first by date and time and then by the time of creation.

6. Timetable (4)

You can edit the date and time of the item at any time. Select the corresponding input fields and either enter the data manually or use the selection box. Instead of an end time, you can also select “Open End”.

7. Lineup (10)

Usually, each program item is at least linked to one responsible person. Mostly a speaker or artist. We offer the possibility to associate this person with items. But first, you have to create this person in advance in the menu item “Lineupr”. In this tutorial, we explain how to create such a profile.

To associate a person enter the first letters of the person’s name in the input field. Matching profiles will be shown automatically. Connect the person with a click on the respective profile.

To remove an association from the item click on the “X” at the right edge of the profile. Next to this “X” is also a symbol showing two opposing arrows. With this button, you can determine the order of the displayed persons. Simply move the person up or down.

8. Description (11)

You can add a description text for schedule items. Describe the program point in more detail. What do you want to discuss? What is the added value for the participant?

Enter your text into the input field “Description”. We also offer a simple text editor to set bullet points and use bold, italic or underlined text.

9. Additional Information and Links (12)

You may also want to add external links, information and contact details to your schedule. For example, you could set links to surveys or sponsor profiles in the appropriate schedule item.

Or you can link digital documents such as PDFs to the program item. Many of our event managers link the speaker slides. Then, the participants can receive the materials via the app.

To integrate such information, at first, you have to select whether you want to enter a link, an email address or a phone number and choose “+ New Entry”. You have to enter links in full form of writing like „http://“. The same principle applies to telephone numbers and the area code.

In the “Description” field next to the link, you can also enter a description for that element. For example, the descriptions “Phone number of XYZ” or “LinkedIn profile” are very beneficial.

10. Visibility of Schedule Items (13)

Perhaps you are working with schedule parts you don’t want to publish before a specific date. Some keynotes or closing points will be kept secret until shortly before the event.

Nevertheless, you can still create the item and change the slider in the upper right corner from “Visible” to “Invisible”. Now users cannot see this item, but you have already created all the data. When the time has come, you can publish it with one click.

The Result

This is, how a schedule and a single item could look like:

Learnings of the day

In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how quickly you can create a digital schedule for your event. Present different program items, such as workshops, lectures, keynotes, and much more in your event app. We offer you 10 options to fill the schedule with content and to associate to other parts of the app.

We will present you further tutorials for the creation sponsors profiles, posts and much more on our blog.

What’s your opinion about digital schedules? What information do you usually use? We look forward to your feedback.

“Agenda” Icon created by Mark Shorter from “the Noun Project“.

The post LineUpr Tutorial – How to Create a Digital Schedule for Your Event first appeared on LineUpr Blog.