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  • 1.  Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-03-2021 11:38

    Hey there, Community members! We hope you are having a great first week of February! For this edition of Tip of the Week, we are covering a feature that is not new to the Cvent platform, but may have some new uses for you in our ever-changing virtual environment. Read on to learn how to use Internal Calendars and Event Calendars to the fullest.

    Internal Calendar:

    Everyone loves to stay organized and track their busy schedules, especially in our industry. Internal calendars are used just for you and your colleagues in your own Cvent account. Consider it your private schedule, where you can include the important dates related to your events, organization, and other milestones.

    A few ways to use this function in the current environment:

    • Many of us are working remote and juggling new responsibilities or work/life balance. Create a special internal calendar and make it private so it is just for your visibility. If it doesn't need to be private, you can still limit it by user group to control who in your account has access.
    • Take it the next level by only including what really matters to you. Use calendar filters to filter by planner name, such as yourself, event dates if you are looking for a certain time period, or even a custom event field.
    • If your account is using custom event fields to track the type of event, or if it is virtual, this is a perfect way to either filter entirely by these fields, or simply include it in the Displayed Fields which will be visible when you hover over the calendar.
    • Are you more of a visual person? Choose how your events will be displayed, and then color code them to take it the next level! You can color code by Registration Status, Planning Status, or even a custom field (as long is it is created in the Choice format).
    • We mentioned including what's most important to you on this calendar. Sometimes, that isn't just your Cvent events. If that's the case, use Additional Calendar Items to add more to track. Suggestion: add any meetings and events that are not created in the Cvent system, days you may be off work, or the dates you are taking Cvent training or certification.

    Event Calendar:

    Similar to the Internal Calendar, everyone loves to stay organized and track what's important to them. Event Calendars differ from Internal Calendars though, as you can share these externally, whether through a weblink or web widget, to give visibility to your invitees and registrants.

    A few ways you can use this function in the current environment:

    • With virtual events, most organizations have seen a great increase in the number of events they are hosting. That can sometimes be tricky for an invitee to keep track, hence the immense value of a clean and concise Cvent Event Calendar for them to browse your events schedule.
    • Choose only the events you'd like to display, such as launched registration events, to ensure your invitees can take immediate action to register.
    • Choose the event and session fields to display, which can include basic details such as date/time/description, but also categories or custom fields. If you have expanded your event program while switching to virtual, these organizational methods will help your invitees find the right event for them in a more efficient way.
    • Similar to Internal Calendars, there are filtering functions, however Event Calendars take it a step further. Not only can you filter on the back-end to control which events you'd like to display, but you can also offer a 'Filter' display so your invitees can easily browse your schedule and again find what's right for them.
    • Use Tags to assign text and background colors to easily find events and sessions on the calendar. For our visual people, here is another great way to use custom fields. As an example, your custom field may be "Virtual Education Training," and you can then assign background colors and text for the offerings of Product Training, Industry Training, and Advanced Certification.
    • Enhance your Event Calendar website through the Calendar Website designer. Include images, text instructions, and more to impress and inform your invitees while they browse.

    Questions for you:

    • Did you already use these features? If so, what is one tip that you would share with others while configuring them? 
    • How else would you use the calendar features to support your virtual or hybrid event programs?

    Let us know any ideas, suggestions, and questions below! #CventTip

    P.S. – Want to stay in the know on virtual events and the Attendee Hub through the Community? Check out our new Virtual Event Resource Center page – access it under Helpful Links in the navigation menu! 


    #Flex-Creating/ManagingEvents
    #PromotingYourEvent

    ------------------------------
    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-03-2021 17:13
    Thanks Danni for this information. I've tried to use these calendars but only see the internal calendar available to me. Is there an additional cost for the event calendar or is that just something that needs to be turned on in our account.

    ------------------------------
    Linda White
    Marketing Communications Specialist
    FCCS
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  • 3.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-05-2021 10:53
    Hi Linda,

    Thanks for reaching out! Event Calendar access does depend on your event licensing in your account. Feel free to check with your Account Manager if this feature is included with your license and should be enabled for you.

    Best,

    Danni

    ------------------------------
    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-04-2021 08:17
    We do use the event calendar. It is the central place where our employees look for continuing education offerings. It is user-friendly and employees can easily filter by credit type. We color-coded the various credit types to make it easy for someone to scan through the listings and find what they need.

    Feel free to check it out:  www.LVHN.org/ContinuingEducation

    ------------------------------
    Donna Stout
    Continuing Education Program Specialist
    Lehigh Valley Health Network
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-10-2021 07:26
    Hi,

    From our point of view, the look and feel of the calendar is really outdated. Is there a plan for when you will look into the design so it looks more up to date? Now it looks like something from the 90s. 
    For us it is important to show both current and past events, easily accessible through a button for a example. Now the visitors need to backtrack past events through the date/time module.

    Anyone else who is looking for a more modern looking calendar?

    Thanks!

    ------------------------------
    Elli Holm
    Technical product manager
    Bonnier News AB
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-10-2021 11:55
    Hi Elli,

    I hope you are well! The Event Calendars did go through a redesign, similar to our other solutions like Flex, New Reports, and Surveys. Here is a screenshot of a sample - if you do not see this interface in your account, we can check in with your Cvent Account Team to ensure everything is enabled properly.



    Here is a great Knowledge Base article, as well, that goes through the different functions mentioned above and has some more screenshots.

    Let me know any additional questions!

    Best,

    Danni

    ------------------------------
    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-11-2021 10:35
    I'm with Elli, it's not super modern, and lacks functionality still. I've been asking for 3 years to be able to toggle between list or calendar view like other calendars we have used, not everyone wants to view a calendar in just one way. Additionally, Cvent still doesn't support the proper embed of this into other tools we use. Reading the articles it looks like you can and where to get the codes but they never work. The embedding being MS Teams...our whole company use now and they want everything in one place without having to go to external places. If we could embed the calendar it would stop people from wanting to use other tools/creating additional ones.

    ------------------------------
    Anna Friday
    Global Events Manager
    U.s. Soybean Export Council
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  • 8.  RE: Event Calendars in a Virtual Environment

    Posted 02-12-2021 13:33
    Hi Anna,

    Thank you for this feedback! I can definitely understand why toggling between list view and calendar view would be valuable. That's also interesting to know regarding MS Teams, as you are correct that there are external widget functions currently.

    I would definitely encourage you to share this feedback in Ideas here in the Community! This will allow other users to upvote if they agree, add comments, and provide visibility to our Product Team who review the ideas regularly. 

    Best,

    Danni

    ------------------------------
    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
    ------------------------------