Social Media Examiner Invests in Its SMMW Conference Volunteer Program

Every year, thousands of attendees from all over the world come to the Social Media Examiner's three-day mega-conference, Social Media Marketing World (SMMW). But the event had become so popular, event staff found, old methods of volunteer management were no longer as effective. Today the SMMW conference volunteer program is more connected, efficient, and focused than ever. Read on to discover why the Social Media Examiner invests in their conference's volunteer program each year with InitLive.

Event scope 

The only one of its kind, SMMW provides a venue for companies and individuals to learn the latest on social media marketing. The last SMMW conference was run by an event staff of over 200, welcoming more than 4500 attendees. In addition, staff and volunteers worked over 4000 hours on more than 600 shifts. Its next event will be held in San Diego, California, from March 1st through March 3rd, 2019 -- and it's expected to be even larger.

The problem

Not too long ago, the conference's management team used Excel sheets to prepare the schedule. They would then download and email a copy of the schedule to each of their 50 volunteers. This process was tying up their time, and there was no room to expand the volunteer team to meet the growing needs of the conference.

Improvements with in InitLive 

InitLive's broad range of digital capabilities changed all that. Here are the areas where the management team found vast improvements:

Empowered leaders and improved communications

Volunteer leaders were promoted to Role Managers, who used InitLive to keep tabs on which volunteers work specific roles and shifts. With InitLive's direct communication in real time, schedules and updates were easy to send and receive. Role managers also saved time by using the broadcast option to send one message to the entire team.

Flexible scheduling

InitLive allowed management to make instant scheduling changes. So each volunteer always knew where and when they had to show up.

Customer service 

Jaci Feinstein, SME's event manager, found InitLive's customer service to be superb. "I have always been impressed with the support InitLive offers," she says.

The final result: Increased efficiency

Lastly, the Social Media Examiner found that using InitlLive made their conference volunteer program super-efficient. The SME states:"InitLive really allows us to focus on the goals of our volunteers and the goals of events and not get bogged down with all the logistical details that go into scheduling, tracking, and communicating with 200 people." When it comes to creating a rock star volunteer program, it doesn't get any better than that. 

Use InitLive as your all-in-one communication, safety, and volunteer management tool. For more information on how to use the best management app in the industry, please contact us. 

Interested in learning more? Read how SME was able to increase their volunteer team by 200% using InitLives volunteer and event staff management solution.