It’s safe to say that everyone is making changes due to the recent social distancing requests to help fight the spread of the Coronavirus. But we’re all in this together, and we are all doing our part to help each other, along with trying to help ourselves adapt. Our team knew right after seeing the first of many in-person event cancellations, we were going to need to help our customers and other Salesforce event planners transition to safer, online formats. I want to give a special pat on the back to Blackthorn’s awesome development team as they juggle kiddos at home, along with other remote challenges we’re all facing during this crazy time.
We’re excited to say that Blackthorn Events users can connect tools like Zoom, Vimeo, and GoToWebinar directly to their existing event management processes, making online events easy to run entirely in Salesforce. The most important piece is that you’re able to keep all of your online event attendee data in Salesforce, which we know from personal experience can be challenging, even with the help of webinars and live-streaming solution integrations.
To help those who are facing temporary budget cuts and need a native, online event management solution, we’re offering extended free trial times and the ability to use our solution for an extended period at a significantly reduced rate. Watch this video from our CEO, Chris Federspiel, for more details and reach out to our team. We want to help however we can.
So what types of events are considered “online events,” and what does Blackthorn support?
- Webinars and Informational Sessions – Usually in the form of a presentation with slides maximized. EX: A demonstration of an online product or service, or providing information to help individuals learn more about an organization or business.
- Live Streaming Events – Any gathering that uses a camera to broadcast live video content. EX: When a speaker wants to share a presentation for audiences both in-person and virtually.
- Virtual Event Conferences – Businesses take in-person conferences online, mimicking the traditional conference showroom experience in a digital, online format. Some, like Salesforce’s Higher Ed Summit, have numerous sessions, sponsors, and booths.
Here’s how Blackthorn Events makes it easier to run online events using Salesforce
- No data imports/exports: Bypass attendee registration forms and data exports from online conferencing tools. While Salesforce integrations might work for simple needs, you might have to import specific registrant and attendee data manually before and after the event. If attendees use Blackthorn’s registration forms in place of the conferencing tool form to register events, the registrant’s information gets automatically logged into Salesforce. No need to move data.
- One confirmation URL: Once someone registers, a confirmation page appears with a video screen linked directly to the online webinar or live-stream event. Watch the video immediately if it’s a recording, or come back to the link when it’s time to tune in live.
- One-person access: To reduce link sharing to people who don’t register, only one person can view the event using their unique link.
- Auto-updated data: Once the attendee views the confirmation page, their event status in Salesforce updates to “attended”
- Supported services: Right now, we’re working on integrations with BlueJeans, GoToWebinar, Pando, Webex, Webinaris, Vimeo, and Zoom.
- A lot more coming: Our goal is to expand on these features, so stay tuned for more updates.
If you’re not focused on events right now, don’t worry. We’re here when you’re ready.
We know businesses right now are facing challenges greater than moving in-person events online. Companies are figuring out how to move entire organizations online and solving the logistical challenges that come with remote work. Give yourself a huge pat on the back if you’re working through IT challenges, juggling family, and trying to have a social life while still following social distancing suggestions.
One thing we can assure you is that when it’s time to get back to your events, we’ll be ready for you with an easy way to manage them inside of Salesforce.
There are some big benefits to running any event, in-person or virtually, using a native-to-Salesforce event management solution. Find out from our customers why our solution and our team is the highest-rated event management application on the Salesforce AppExchange.
Try it out today. Visit the Salesforce AppExchange.
Want to connect with your online event attendees better?
It can be challenging to really connect with your viewers during webinars and other online events. Check out these tips we shared with our higher-ed customers and other institutions.