Events Management
The Events Management App allows you to receive RSVPs for events, workshops or seminars via your website.
In this article:
Events
Management App Features
Events
Management App Requirements
Enable
the Events Management App
Creating
Events
Promoting
Events
QR
Code Check-in
Running
Paid Events
Hosting
Invite-only Events
Events Management App Features
Host
paid or un-paid events.
Host
invite-only or public events.
Restrict
the number of event attendees.
Specify
an RSVP deadline.
Allow
attendees to bring guests, or send someone else in their place.
Use
custom fields to capture additional data, such as dietary requirements.
QR
code check-in.
Discounts
may be applied to paid events.
Print
a guest list, and name tags for your attendees.
Configure
reminders and confirmation messages to be sent to attendees via e-mail or SMS.
Events Management App Requirements
The Events Management App is available alongside Oncord's Marketing features. If you wish to run paid events, the Commerce features are also required (click here to review Oncord pricing).
To enable the Marketing, or Commerce features:
Click
the Settings icon, located at the bottom of the left sidebar of the Dashboard.
Click
the "Features" option to review the features you have enabled.
If you have any questions about upgrading your Oncord plan, you can contact us for assistance.
Enable the Events Management App
To enable the events management app:
Navigate
to Dashboard > Settings.
Click
the "Features" option to review the features you have enabled.
Within
the Marketing feature, click the "ON/OFF" button located in the Events Management Option.
You will notice that a new events page appears under the "Marketing" heading in the left-hand sidebar.
Creating Events
After installing the Events Management App, get started by creating a new event.
Navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events to manage and create events.
Click the New Event button to get started entering details for your event.
You will be presented with a configuration form. The minimum required information for a new event is a title, start time and end time. Set a
sensible event title, as this will be displayed publicly when your users RSVP.
New Event - Basic Options
* Event Title: Displayed as a heading on the RSVP page, and when an attendee adds the event to their Google or Outlook Calendar.
* Start Time: The time when the event will start. Users may still RSVP for an event after the start time, so if you'd like to prevent this from happening you need to ensure that you set the RSVP deadline (in the RSVP Options tab). Both the start and end time will be displayed on the RSVP page.
* End Time: The when the event will end. Users cannot RSVP for an event after the event end time.
Timezone: Confirm the timezone that the start / end times are being specified in.
Maximum number of Attendees: Select this option to restrict the number of attendees allowed at the event.
QR Code Check In: When this option is selected for an event, a QR code can be included in the event reminders sent to attendees, which allows admins to quickly check-in attendees at the event.
Location: The location is displayed after the user has RSVP'd, and also when an attendee adds the event to their Google or Outlook Calendar.
Description: This description is displayed on the public RSVP page, above the RSVP form.
New Event - Additional RSVP Options
Invitation Required: You may opt for this event to be invite-only. Public users will be unable to RSVP or view the event details until they login, and as long as they have been invited to the event. You can send an e-mail marketing campaign with an RSVP link to attendees, they will be logged in after clicking a link in the e-mail campaign.
RSVP Deadline: Contacts will not be able to RSVP after this time (you may still manually RSVP attendees though). Ensure that the "Timezone" field has been set correctly, as the RSVP deadline will also use that timezone.
Allow 'Maybe' RSVP: If you select this option attendees can select 'Maybe' as an option on the RSVP form for the event.
Alternate RSVP: This option will allow contacts to specify someone to attend in their place when they RSVP. This option is mostly applicable to invite only events, allowing attendees to send another person in their place instead of the user who was invited.
Allowed Guests: Select this option to allow attendees to bring guests, you may specify the maximum number of guests allowed.
Require Address on Registration: To encourage event registration, by default Oncord will not ask attendees for their address. Tick this option to require the user to enter their address.
Custom Fields: Custom fields may be used to include more custom options in the RSVP form, such as dietary requirements.
Promoting Events
Advertising & Marketing for Events
Oncord posts are generally used for advertising events on your website (more on this below), and you may also send an e-mail campaign with an RSVP link to your contact database.
After installing the Events Management App, the "Conditions" engine will be updated throughout your Dashboard, allowing you to target email or SMS messages based on event attendance.
This section will explain how to setup Posts and Pages to advertise an event on your website. This tutorial assumes that you have already created an event, so if you've skipped that step please create an event using the instructions above before continuing.
There are two common Methods for users to RSVP for events via the website:
1. User clicks a Post > Completes RSVP
2. User clicks a Post > Reads Page, clicks a button or link > Completes RSVP
The first method is usually recommend, all you need to do is create a post, and for the "Full Version / Link to" option you will set the Post to link to your event. This means that when users click the post, they'll just be directed straight to the events RSVP page.
With the second method, you'll setup a Post, and for the "Full Version / Link To", you'll create a new page. On that page you'll have some info about the event, and normally add a link to the page somewhere that links to RSVP for the event. This method is ideal if you've setup multiple events for different ticketing options, because you can add buttons for each different event.
Linking a Post to an Event
Following the first method listed above:
Create the event.
Create a Post, advertising the event on the website
As part of Post creation, set the "Full Version / Link To" to the relevant Event.
Link a Post to a Page, and a Page to the RSVP Form
Following the second method listed above:
Create the event.
Create a post, advertising the event throughout the website.
As part of the post creation, you'll create a new page which will drive traffic to the event.
Link the page to the events RSVP page.
Steps to Create a Post
The aim of the post is to act as a small "Teaser", which will link to a full page dedicated to the event.
Step 1: Go to Dashboard > Website > Posts.
Step 2: Select the "New Posts" button, located towards the top of the page.
Step 3: Configure your new post. As seen in the Example below, add a title, select a category (the category determines where the event post will display on your website), upload an image and write a small teaser / short description.
For the "Full Version / Link To" option, select the option "Create a New Page". This will generate a new page for the post to be linked to.
Step 4: Click the "Save & Create Linked Page" button, located at the bottom of the form. Clicking this button will take you to the new page, where you'll enter more details about the event.
Steps to Create an Events Page
After creating a post using the steps above, you should be looking at an empty page with the page editor open. The aim of this page is to list more details about the event, convincing users to RSVP. Use the page editor to add content, and perhaps an image. For an example of how an events page might look, see the image below.
Linking a Page to the Event RSVP
To allow users to RSVP, you'll need to place a link or button on the page which links to the RSVP form. To link your new page to the events RSVP form:
Step 1: In a new tab or window in your browser, Go to Dashboard > Customers > Events.
Step 2: Select your Event, and select the "View Online" button. Clicking this button will open the RSVP form for your event. Copy the URL.
Step 3: Go back to the Page and create a link (eg. "Click here to RSVP"), select the text and click the link tool in the
page editor toolbar.
Step 4: In the URL field, Paste the URL that you copied earlier. Need more help adding a link? click here.
Congratulations! You have now created an event, a post article and an information page for your event! You can now use the event information
page to advertise your event through Social Media and Email Marketing.
QR Code Check-in
The QR code check-in feature can help reduce time spent checking-in attendees at events. When this feature is enabled for an event, a QR code will be included in the events reminder sent to attendees, which can then be scanned when they arrive at the event.
How to Enable the QR Code Check-in For an Event
Follow the steps below to enable the QR Code Check-in feature:
Navigate
to Dashboard > Marketing > Events to manage your events.
Click
the event you want to edit or create a new event.
Click
the "Edit Event" button under the Page Title.
Tick
the "Enable Check In via QR Code" option in the "QR Code Check In" field.
Click
the "Save Event" button.
How to Configure the RSVP Confirmation With the QR Code
After the QR Code Check-in feature has been enabled, then you need to configure an RSVP confirmation with the QR code for the event.
To configure the RSVP Confirmation with the QR code:
Click
the "Configure Event" button at the top right of the event page.
Click
the "RSVP Confirmation" option to add a new reminder for the event.
Click
the "RSVP Confirmation" at the top to edit the reminder.
The
"Include QR Code" option is selected as default, you can then adjust the Email Subject and send a test to a specified email.
Once
you are happy with the configurations, tick the "Enabled" option.
Click
the "Save Reminder" button.
Then
the attendees will receive a confirmation email with a unique QR code after they RSVP for the event.
How to Check in Attendees via QR Code
You may use a mobile device to better access the QR code scanning tool.
To check in attendees via QR code:
Click
or tap the "QR Check In" button at the top right of the Event page.
Click
or tap the "Request Camera Permissions" button.
Click
or tap "Allow" to access the camera of your device.
Scan
the QR code displayed in the attendee's RSVP confirmation email.
A
notification will pop up at the top right corner when the attendee has been successfully checked in.
A
green icon will also be displayed in the "Attendance Status" column next to the attendee.
Running Paid Events
This article will explain how to setup paid events.
Requirements
A paid event needs to correspond to a Product in the Oncord Commerce component in order to allow purchase. Upgrading to your Commerce feature is very easy:
Navigate
to Dashboard > Add Features located in the left-hand panel.
Click
the "ON/OFF" button located in the Commerce package.
Click
the "Enable Commerce" button in the pop-up window.
It
will take a few seconds for the installation and a new module called "Commerce" will appear in the left-hand panel.
Note: Enabling the Commerce feature will add the listed cost to your monthly Oncord subscription, starting with the next billing cycle.
If you have any questions about upgrading your Oncord plan, you can contact us for assistance.
Create / Edit an Event
To get started:
Navigate
to Dashboard > Marketing > Events to view and create events.
Click
the "New Event" button, or select an event that you have already created.
Configure the Paid Event
When editing an event, select the "Pricing" tab to configure payment and pricing options for the event.
Tick the option "Admittance requires purchase" to view additional options for configuring pricing and payment. You will be presented with an option to either create a new product, or find an existing product.
The event needs to correspond to a Product in the Oncord Commerce component in order to allow purchase. When the " Create New Product" option is selected, the details you enter into the Price, Brand and Category fields will be used to create a new Product.
Alternatively you may select the "Find / Edit Existing" to search your Product catalog for a product that already exists.
The Product will be created when you click Save Event. The next time you visit the Pricing section, "Find / Edit Existing" option will be selected, because the last time you submitted the form you created a new product and now you're referring to that existing product.
As suggested by the [change] link, the product that is linked to the Event may be changed easily. You may want to consider removing Products that you have created but no longer use, as they will appear in the Products database (go to Dashboard > Commerce > Products to review your product catalog).
Guest Pricing
You may opt to charge guests a different price.
If guests are allowed (allow guests through the "RSVP Options" tab), an additional field will display at the bottom of the pricing section to enable guest pricing.
If the "Different" option for guest pricing is selected, an Additional Attribute will be added to the product specifying the guest price as an ordering option.
Taking Payment & RSVP for Paid Events
It is important that you direct users towards the events rsvp page & form - don't direct users towards the product page.
If your event has been configured to require purchase, your configured payment methods will appear below the RSVP form.
To configure payment methods, go to Dashboard > Settings > Commerce > Payment Methods.
When a user completes payment for the event, an invoice will be raised and sent automatically.
Hosting Invite-only Events
This article will walk you through the process of hosting an "invite only" event, which involves creating the event, and then sending an e-mail campaign with an invitation to guests.
The Workflow
To receive RSVPs for an invite-only event you will follow these steps (more details below):
Create the event through Dashboard > Marketing > Events
Add attendees to the event
Send an e-mail invitation to attendees requesting they RSVP to the event
Send an e-mail follow-up reminder to attendees who haven't RSVP'd.
Invite only events do not allow general users to RSVP. You will send an e-mail campaign with an RSVP link, when the contact clicks the RSVP link they will be automatically logged in to the website, allowing them to RSVP for the event.
Create and Configure an Invite Only Event
Navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events, and click the New Event button.
Enter your event details (title, start time, end time, timezone etc).
Click the "RSVP Options" tab to reveal more configuration options.
Change the "Invitation required" field to select the option "Invitation Only"
If you would like to allow your guests to send an alternative person in their place if they are unable to attend, select the option "Allow Alternate Guest Registration".
Click "Save Event" when you have configured your event.
Adding Attendees
After you have configured your event, it's time to start adding attendees, who will later RSVP. Think of attendees as the contacts who you would like to attend the event. Don't worry, Oncord won't automatically send an invite as soon as you add an attendee to an event.
After saving the event you will be directed to a page where you can view attendees and their RSVP statuses. Otherwise, navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events and click select your event.
Select the "Add Attendee" button, and a dialog box will appear. Search for the contact you would like to add as an attendee. If the contact doesn't exist on your database yet, you will need to close the dialog box, and navigate to Dashboard > Customers > Contacts and add the contacts to your database first.
You can specify the RSVP status of an attendee when you add them. In most cases you will specify the Attendance Status of "No RSVP", to specify that they haven't RSVP'd yet.
Inviting Attendees
After you have added attendees to the event, you're ready to send an e-mail marketing campaign with a link to RSVP.
To do this, open the event (Dashboard > Marketing > Events, click the event), and then click the "E-mail" button.
A dialog box will appear, which allows you to specify which attendees you would like to e-mail. You will have added your attendees with the RSVP status of "No RSVP", so select this option. Click the "Create E-mail" button.
After you click the "Create E-mail" button, Oncord will create a new e-mail marketing message, and copy across the event details to save time. At the bottom of the message there is a link to RSVP for the event.
Oncord will configure the e-mail campaign to only send to Contacts as you have specified (contacts with RSVP status of "No RSVP"). When you prepare to send your e-mail campaign, you can check the contacts who will receive the message by clicking the number next to the text "Number of contacts to send to".
When a user clicks the RSVP link, they will be taken through to the website to RSVP for the event. When a contact clicks a link in an e-mail marketing campaign they are automatically logged in, so the RSVP page will recognize that they are invited to the event.