Dodging Covid with Conference Tracker
Engineerica Team
Covid is a constant concern, whether the conference is Hybrid or not.
For many, we are now stepping into our 20th month of Covid, and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had more than enough of it. Thankfully, many events are opening again, albeit with restrictions. Masks are still commonplace, and those with weakened immune systems or older loved ones at home are understandably still worried about sharing a space with hundreds to thousands of strangers.
While the risks of a physical event can never be 100% avoided, Engineerica’s Conference Tracker, which is an event technology tool, has options to eliminate the worst germ centers. Conference Tracker is a one-stop-shop for organizing and gathering event information. It tracks event attendees, makes seminar agendas easily accessible, provides virtual streaming, and much more.
The Issue
We all know the rules by this point, stand 6 feet apart, wear a mask, get vaccinated, wash, wash, then wash your hands again. However, the unfortunate truth of the matter is it's realistically impossible to expect that a large group of people will do exactly as they're asked. People want to converse normally as they have for the past several years, and they don't want to wear an uncomfortable mask all day. Never mind the people who didn't get their vaccine jab in the first place.
Even if everyone did as they were supposed to, as of writing this article, the CDC states that while vaccinations go a long way to preventing hospitalization, they aren't 100% effective. Those who are vaccinated can still carry Covid 19 or its Delta variant. Short of bolting a gas mask to everyone's head and strapping Spider-Man'esque wrist shooters to keep palms viscously lubed in hand sanitizer, someone is going to touch something and leave a chance of Covid germs behind.
Typically, recording peoples' attendance at public events would require them all to touch a log-in station's keyboard, or a pen and clipboard. If you don't trust everyone in the room to have hands as devoid of germs as moon rock, then Conference Tracker has several solutions for you.
Stop Touching Things
Conference Tracker comes with an easy-to-use tool that designs and prints off "Badges." These are name tags that can be mailed to attendees before the conference or given to them at the front door. A QR code unique to each attendee can be placed on their Badge and scanned at events to mark their attendance. No touching of any kind involved. However, if you'd prefer to keep things digital, the QR codes can be placed on a phone. Using the Conference Tracker app, attendees can download their unique QR codes, effectively using them as Badges.
"Alright article, but what if my attendees don't have phones?" Then Conference Tracker STILL has you covered. It's not outside the realm of possibility for someone to have left their phone at the hotel, or for some trendy attendees to show up with flip phones. Maybe their battery died, or the lobby goblin ran off with their device. Whatever the reason, attendance can still be logged. As long as a staff member is nearby, they can look attendees' names up in the system and manually log them in. Whichever way you choose to go about it, instead of ten thousand fingers tapping onto a single keyboard, you have exactly zero touching anything.
Online Alternatives
In-person conferences are coming back in force, but Covid still has many concerned for their health. There are going to be people who would have flown to your event two years ago but aren't willing to take the risk now. This has created a unique situation where Hybrid events are coming into play. If one of your concerns is reducing the risk of Covid infections, Hybrid might be an answer that comes with bonuses.
Some people are too concerned for their well-being to make the trip, but there are also those who just can't be bothered to travel to your conference. It's hurtful, I know, but a reality. These people also happen to be the prime reason why Hybrid events are cementing themselves in the conference world. Covid isn't going to be a threat forever but convincing someone to take a 15-hour flight will be a constant hurdle. At least until we figure out how to beam people from their houses to the other side of the planet.
Virtual events are unlikely to replace physical ones, because nothing quite compares to meeting and socializing with our peers in the flesh. However, if you can stream and record your conference, your reach will go further. That means more tickets sold, more potential leads, more attendee engagement, and greater monetary earnings from exhibitors. As far as your attendees are concerned, staying home is more convenient, and it saves them money on flights and hotel rooms. For some, that's going to mean the difference between paying for a ticket or skipping your event.
So it's a good thing that Conference Tracker supports all this. Its tools were designed to work just as well for online events as they do for in-person ones. Viewership tracking, Q&As, message boards, built-in exhibitor options, certifications, it all works just as well from the plague-free end of a monitor as it does a venue. Whether you're holding continued education classes for a few hundred attendees or streaming a showcase event to a few thousand, Conference Tracker has what you need.
To learn more about Conference Tracker's many features, click here or schedule a free demo with an Engineerica staff member today.
