Neuroscience in event apps increases engagement

The growth of hybrid and virtual events has brought about several changes to our sector, even through channels other than traditional ones, such as apps for events, but the main purpose always remains the same: to connect people and make them share experiences, knowledge and develop profitable and lasting relationships. 

Neuroscience to create memorable experiences 

By trying to understand how the human mind works, it is possible to develop strategies to increase the involvement of participants within event apps.

A simple way to start using neuroscience is to analyze the SCARF model created by Dr. David Rock in 2008. 

This model divides the perception of human experiences into 5 groups: 

• Status → Perception of being considered better or worse than others
• Certainty → Ability to predict future events and plan your life without anxiety
• Autonomy → Level of control over activities and decision-making possibilities
• Report → Feel part of a group and share experiences and goals 
• Fairness or equity → A sense of being treated fairly 

This model is now considered an exceptional standard for understanding how people behave in social situations. The model suggests that the more people feel understood, connected and safe, the more they will respond positively to external stimuli, so as to create memorable experiences.

Leverage the SCARF model in event planning apps

Let's start from status, or how people see themselves in relation to others. 

This perception includes: personal identity, professional identity, values ​​and social contexts frequented. 

• Offering different ticketing options and experiences reserved for specific audience circles will help strengthen the perception of the status of the participants making them feel unique.

With regard to the certainty, that is the perception of the future, it is necessary to work on what are the expectations of the participants about the event in which they will participate.

• Give attendees the opportunity to inquire about any aspect of the event 24/7. News on the platform, on the event website and push notifications are a great way to keep your audience informed about what's to come.
• Make your speeches usable on the event app even after they're finished so that visitors don't feel like they're missing something important. 
• Ensure the security of your attendee data by relying on the right event platform.

Let's move on toautonomy, or the sense of being responsible for one's choices. 

As an event organizer you can use this bias to:

• Include an agenda 100% customizable by the visitor.
• Give them the opportunity to network and interact with whoever they want within the event app.

The fourth element, the report, or the sense of acceptance and participation can be enhanced: 

• By administering questionnaires to ensure that each participant can give their opinion, feel heard and not just a number among many

The last aspect to take care of is that ofequity o fairness, that is all those aspects that concern our sense of justice, inclusiveness and equality:

• Create inclusive content and make it accessible to all. Do you have foreign participants? Make sure they can consume content and interact in their own language, or at least a common language like English.
• Vary the speakers and topics during your event, you will guarantee different worldviews and useful points of view to start reflections or valuable relationships

Conclusions

We have seen how thanks to the SCARF model, it is possible to increase the involvement of participants, analyzing human behaviors in a strategic way for your event.

But studying and using the SCARF model is not enough, to create an impeccable event, you need to have a feature-rich and 100% customizable event app that allows you to put into practice all the advice listed in the article. 

The platform Letz Fair is able to provide you with all these features, and many more. 

If you want to create a successful event and increase attendee engagement, request a free demo!