Before giving your networking session the final all clear, it is a good idea to check these common issues, to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
This article will address the following aspects of the networking module, which occasionally cause problems or confusion:
- Networking Profiles and Types
- Timings (Deadlines and Restrictions)
- Meeting Locations
- The Networking Agenda
- Notification Configuration
- Badges
- Events with both Exhibitors and a Networking Session
- Meeting Evaluations
1. Networking Profiles and Types
Networking profiles and categories are a fundamental part of a successful networking session. Profile types allow you to categorize your participants, for example into 'Buyers' and 'Sellers', to make it easier for participants to request meetings with the right people.
- To see how to create a profile type, read this article.
Your participants' individual networking profiles display all the important information which helps other participants decide whether they want to meet with them. These profiles can be edited by the event organizer through the "Networking" module or by the participant himself through the "My Profile" section of the app.
- To see how to edit a participant's profile, read this article.
2. Timings (Deadlines and Restrictions)
Ensuring that the timings of your networking session are clear and well thought out is essential for the smooth running of your event. It is important to define the times when meetings can take place, how long they will be, and when participants can request meetings.
- To learn more about these various deadlines and time periods, read this article (especially Step 2).
Time restrictions during networking sessions are also very important, preventing participants from scheduling meetings during certain time slots. It is important to define these restrictions before launching your session, as you will not be able to alter them or add more once a meeting has been scheduled.
- To learn more about time restrictions, read this article.
3. Meeting Locations
The location of virtual meetings will always be through the Virtual stage of the event.
For in-person evets you will also need to assign locations to your participants, telling them exactly where their networking meetings will take place. This can be done either manually or automatically. Once you assign a location to a participant, they will have all their meetings at that fixed location.
- For more information about meeting locations, read this article.
4. The Networking Agenda
The agenda is of course central to your networking session, telling you and your participants where they should be, with whom, at what time. The event organizer can view, edit, and print agendas, or send participants their individual agenda for printing.
- To learn how, read this article.
5. Notification Configuration
It is important to keep your participants informed about all stages of the networking process. Because of this, Eventtia lets you configure the notifications participants receive when taking certain actions, like accepting or rejecting a meeting request.
- To configure these notifications, go to the networking session in question. Go to the "Networking profiles" tab, then to "Meeting notifications".
- Here you have the option to configure the three different messages which a participant receives when they receive a meeting request, when a meeting request is confirmed, and when a meeting request is denied.
- You can change the subject of the email directly here, using the text box.
- It is also possible to change the main body of the message and add your own template, but to do so you will need to contact help@eventtia.com.
6. Badges
Badges are very useful to ensure that your networking session runs smoothly, by allowing participants to locate each other quickly and simply. They are also very versatile, thanks to the high degree of personalization made possible by Eventtia's "Badges" module. These badges can be sent to participants for them to print, or they can be printed on location on the day of the event.
- To see how to create and personalize a badge, read this article.
- To see how to print badges on location on the day of the event, read this article.
7. Events with both Exhibitors and a Networking Session
Some events will have a networking session as well as an exhibitor space. Sometimes, exhibitors will also take part in the networking session. In these cases it is important to make it clear to your participants that they will use the same login credentials to log into both the exhibitor space and the networking session.
- The networking credentials found here in the "Attendees" section of the "Registration" module will also be used to login as an exhibitor.
8. Meeting Evaluations
Once your networking session has come to an end, you will probably want to know how your participants found it, so that your next event can be even better. Eventtia lets you set up meeting evaluations so that your participants can tell you exactly what went well, and what could be improved.
- To find out more, read this article.