Today's guest post is by Jason Tucker, digital marketing executive with Organic Development , and a big fan of mobile apps for meetings.

As developer Quickmobile says, mobile event apps are “the printed guide on steroids.” No one wants to carry around the cumbersome welcome pack with the map that never folds back the way it’s supposed to. Instead of engaging with all the activities and networking potential at your event, people may well just ditch all the printed materials out of frustration and miss out on key seminars.

But with mobile event apps, you can put all of the necessary information right in the palm of their hands. They’re easily accessible, they’re far more engaging, and in many cases, they actually improve the relationship between the brand or event holder and the potential customer.

There are a good few providers on the market, each with varying price ranges and selection of services, but as a general rule, you’ll almost always find that mobile apps compile things like exhibition attendee lists, interactive guides, and floor plans, as well as seminar and presentation schedules. Everything they need at their fingertips.

Not only do these slick services give you a better way to interact with your customers or guests, they actually raise the profile of your organization. They remove the frustrations and give them an altogether more positive impression of your business—and that can only be a good thing.

Some mobile event app developers also give you the option to add some kind of gamification to your app. Not only does this make your particular brand far more memorable, but you’ll also find that the propensity to share within their respective social networking groups is much higher too. That’s word of mouth that just can’t be beaten, as the added interaction helps you promote your brand.

Better still, some of the more developed apps actually have all the aspects of social networking built into the app itself. Attendees can connect through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks to enhance their experience of the event. There are even opportunities to add location services to the app so that people can physically declare their attendance and further their enjoyment of the event itself.

When it comes to actually putting the apps together, you’d be amazed at how easy it can be. Many providers have a very simple content management system, or CMS, on which to upload your own personalised event information. It gives you full control of what you want your guests to see and know. They also often offer training in how to use the software; not only are you getting a higher level of service and passing that on to your guests, but you’re effectively increasing the skill set of your business, too.

When combined with a very thorough corporate event management company, a good app will really push your event into the next level of success—not only enriching the experience for your guests, but strengthening the bond between them and your organization.

Image by Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net