Intuitive Event Management: Our Experience Using the Blackthorn App
[created in collaboration with the team at Blackthorn]
Have you ever found yourself struggling to import contact lists into your events management system? Or rushing to send last-minute emails to attendees before your event starts? These were headaches the Idealist Consulting team was determined to avoid last month when we started planning our Dreamforce event, the Engagement Party. Luckily, we knew the folks at Blackthorn and decided to give their Salesforce-native events management app a try for our event.
If your organization needs an event platform update, use our takeaways below as a guide to determine if the Blackthorn app could be your perfect fit. Here’s what we loved:
1. It’s native!
Blackthorn is native to Salesforce, making it easy to learn and easy to sync with all of our existing data and contacts. Our team was anticipating a steep learning curve in adopting a new events-management system. We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly we found ourselves feeling confident using the platform. Since Blackthorn is built in Salesforce, using the app on a day-to-day basis is as easy as switching tabs in your existing Salesforce instance.
2. Mobile check-ins
Quite possibly our favorite feature was the mobile check-in configuration. After we downloaded the app, we were able to view and edit our attendee list in real time, check our guests in at the door using a simple QR code, and make changes to the list and event info as needed. We found this process to be extremely intuitive and we know it saved our team valuable time on event day, not having to troubleshoot or configure a guest check-in system.
3. Easy email creation
If you’ve created an email in Salesforce, you can create one in the Blackthorn app. Our team found the email template builder to be very user-friendly and seamless to edit. The app provides drag-and-drop content options including images, buttons, video, and social media connectors, no code required. With the built-in automation available, we could focus on other priorities knowing that confirmation emails and other critical communication were set up and automated.
4. Connected registration
The Blackthorn app provides a registration page builder that can be configured as an iFrame page, a standalone event page, or an Experience Cloud page. This allowed us to fully customize the page, adding features like an FAQ tab, an embedded map to the venue, a promo code field, and donation options.
5. Campaign sync
Since the Blackthorn app is native to Salesforce, it was an easy step to connect the app to our existing Salesforce campaign. We were able to pull our segmented lists directly into the Blackthorn platform, without having to import data or create lists from scratch. Being able to easily measure impact and see engagement rates directly in Salesforce allowed our team to glean event insights in real time. The seamless data sharing also equipped us for any future nurture campaigns with event attendees, syncing all the engagement data directly to our contacts within Salesforce. It’s the ultimate tool for building current and future connections.
In planning and executing our event, the Engagement Party, we felt fortunate to have the Blackthorn team as our partner, answering questions and guiding us along the way. At Idealist Consulting, our mission is to educate, guide, and empower the missions of nonprofits. We’re excited to share what we learned using the Blackthorn app with our nonprofit community.
If you’d like to learn more about using the Blackthorn app for your event, you can find more information on the app here, on the AppExchange listing, and at Blackthorn’s next webinar.
Still have Salesforce questions? Click the button below to chat with an Idealist!
