Every meeting planner knows that one of the biggest challenges with event apps is getting attendees to download them. Some users are reluctant to download an app that they’ll only use for a few days and others are worried about using too much storage space on their phone.
But what if meeting and event attendees didn’t have to download an event app to use it? What if they could simply click a link and get the full app experience without having to visit an app store or download anything? Google is making that possible.
At its annual developer conference, Google I/O, held May 18–20 in Mountain View, California, the tech giant announced an exciting new feature, Android Instant Apps, that lets users experience an app without having to install it. Here’s how it works: Users click on a URL, which opens an Android app instead of a web page, even if the user doesn’t have that app on their device. Because it is a small, temporary download, Android Instant Apps opens just as quickly as webpages do. In spite of this, users get full app functionality. If they like what they see, they can press a button in the corner to download the app.
It’s not only easy for consumers to use: Google is also helping developers by making it easy to implement Android Instant Apps. If you have already created your event app, there’s no need to build a separate application to get this feature; all you need to do is update your existing Android app. It’s a small change that makes a big difference for meeting and events.
How exactly will this change affect events? Of course, Instant Apps makes it incredibly simple for planners to promote an event app just by sharing a URL. Most importantly, it eliminates the need for attendees to download the app. By removing this barrier to entry, planners should see an increase in app usage, participation, engagement and even downloads.
