Socio Events is top of it's class for both the platform and the people behind it.
Updated March 04, 2024

Socio Events is top of it's class for both the platform and the people behind it.

Eric Thut | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Webex Events (formerly Socio)

Our Main Event each year is a convention. Usually, it is in person with about 4000 people. For two years during the heith of COVID we went virtual and I don't know if it would have been as successful as it was without Webex Events (Socio).

It has continued to evolve over the past few years and now we use the platform for registration and having a now hybrid event with both in-person and virtual content. This year, we will be integrating the in-person registration capabilities and using the web plugins in place of our legacy WordPress pages for the agenda and speaker information.

One of the best things about the system is that they continue to evolved and make changes routed in needs of the customer. This year we are excited that much of the speaker and sponsor management will be able to happen directly in the app by the speakers and sponsors themselves, freeing up moe time for our very small staff.

Pros

  • Customer service and attention are the best that I have seen. We have use 4-5 different event app systems over the past decade and no one came close to socio in terms of both meeting our needs and responding to questions and issues. (addendum - while I am always worried when a smaller company gets bought by a bigger one - in the few years since Webex took it over, there has been no drop in customer service.)
  • The product itself is flexible but fairly easy to use. We have a fairly complex event (120+ sessions over three days with hundreds of speakers) and not only did it handle it - but it looked good.
  • Socio continually adds improvements to the product that really do make it better. They provide ample information on how to use each new feature as well.
  • Many of the changes to the product I know came from direct requests made by our organization.

Cons

  • For an organization like out with so many sessions, speakers, and sponsors, but only a few staff members, it would be nice if there was a level of access to the back end content that we could give to the speakers and sponsors for example so they could upload their own information or make needed changes. (ADDENDUM - They have addressed this situation and we are excited to try out the new capabilities this year)
  • Within the Virtual Studio - currently there is not an easy way for presenters to interact with chat or to handle Q&A.
  • Pulling Session and Speaker info from our website successfully. (3/24 update) Now improved such that we will be using platform to handle this information and just present it on our website)
  • Presenting our complex agenda in a way that is accessible for the attendees
  • Customer service that is available and responsive when you need it to be.
  • The integration fo the registrations system with the evet app has be a valuable addition.
  • WIthout socio, I am not sure we could have put on a successful virtual event during COVID. Their tool and level of customer service literary kept our business alive. Since then it has helped up grow our numbers in a time of increased cost for live events.
  • We heard from multiple attendees that are simply sick and tired of coming to virtual events, however, that socio was the best platform they had used and set us apart from other virtual events they had joined.
  • In a post event survey, 2/3 of our attendees rated the socio platform 4 or 5 stars (out of 5).
Socio was the only one who was able to meet its promise to connect to our website and perform as hoped. Their customer service far surpasses the others but they also were price competitive.

Do you think Webex Events (formerly Socio) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Webex Events (formerly Socio)'s feature set?

Yes

Did Webex Events (formerly Socio) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Webex Events (formerly Socio) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Webex Events (formerly Socio) again?

Yes

(Updated review 3/24) There are always plusses and minuses to various platforms and nothing is ever going to be a perfect fit for everyone, but Socio (now Webex Events) has continued to provide topnotch customer service and made improvements that have been, for us, valuable additions.

There are still a few items on my wish list but it remains one of the best solutions we use at our org and everyone whom we have recommended it has had a good experience. When I first wrote this review I gave it a 9 out of 10, but since it has only gotten better since then and continues to improve, I had to up my rating to a 10 and will continue to recommend it strongly to anyone looking for an event app solution.

Webex Events (formerly Socio) Feature Ratings

7.3
Registration, RSVP, and ticketing
8
Livestreaming
7
Audience engagement
6
Event recording
8
Virtual booths
7
Networking
7
Event analytics
8
6.5
Live chat
8
Audience polling
Not Rated
Q&A
5
9.0
Branding options
8
Attendee list export
10
10.0
User authentication
10
Participant roles & permissions
10
Confidential attendee list
10
8.5
Record meetings / events
8
Event registration
9
9.3
Responsive Design for Web Access
9
Mobile Application
10
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
9

Using Webex Events (formerly Socio)

5 - This is our whole team - and people use if for different purposes from focusing on registrations and user experience, to content and accessing analytics for sponsors and exhibitors.
Not large enough to have someone dedicated for this but many of us have various levels of expertise with the product but if we ever have a question that we don't know how to handle - we know support is easy and accessible. Even if the answer is at time "I am sorry we can't do that at this time" (we are often throwing our somewhat fantastical what-ifs) it is great to get a definitive answer and also know that they will actually mark to request and there is a good chance that a solution may end up on the roadmap for a future iteration.
  • Our major in-person annual conference.
  • Registration only for virtual trainings.
  • Incentive tool for signing sponsorships
  • Using just the registration part to manage one off virtual trainings.
  • As new capabilities are added we are always looking at them for ways we can incorporate it into our business.
Of course something could happen to our orgs ability to put on a conference or Socio could fundamentally change their product or their customer service - but barring any magor shift there is nothing that is even close to competing for our attention here.

Webex Events (formerly Socio) Support

Socio (now WebexEvents) is one of two products I use that gets customer service right. Not only can you get an answer from an actual person quickly during business hours - but if you are asking after hours, you know the response will be waiting for you in the morning.

Not only are they fast, but they are also smart about their products and customers. There is very little back and forth trying to explain the problem I am having, or the new way I am trying to use their product, that may even be novel for them.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
As for as I know - the level of support I get is part of the package.
Yes - In all cases but one yes. There was a time last year when a custom solution they had built for us to integrate with our website was failing, and we and they couldn't figure out the problem. I had been so used to immediate results with the support team that waiting for the programming team to get to it took me a bit by surprise. In the end it was resolved however.
Their support is so good regularly that it is hard to pinpoint a time when it went above and beyond. However, when a feature we had been asking for was made available, our rep practively reached out to us to let us know it was coming and then provide a demo as soon as it was available.

Comments

More Reviews of Webex Events (formerly Socio)

  1. Home
  2. Event Management Software
  3. Webex Events (formerly Socio) Reviews
  4. User Review of Webex Events (formerly Socio)