How can you tell if your virtual events and online engagements are successful? What data do you collect and rely on to evaluate each? If you’re still figuring that out or aren’t quite committed to a full-blown post-event process for evaluating virtual events, here’s the roster of tips to help. These are typically the metrics that make the most sense to measure and will ensure you continue to improve attendee engagement and client results with each online event you plan.
Number of Registrations vs. Attendees
This is a great dataset to collect and for sharing with your event client or brand rep. Getting all those who registered to sign in for the virtual event is a great metric. You can also compare registrations and attendance with previously held virtual events to hopefully measure growth in both categories.
Returning Guests vs. New Guests
If your virtual event is an ongoing occurrence, you’ll want to also measure returning guests. When the same group continues to attend remotely, it signifies they’re finding value in doing so. And by measuring new guests in attendance, you can gauge the growth and scaling of your virtual event, demonstrating your ability to attract new attendees or build on an already successful, recurring event.
Virtual Event Conversion Rates
Depending on the theme and nature of your online event, you might also need to be collecting data for conversion rates. Those events with specific opt-in calls to action, whether it’s a direct purchase, a subscription, or a participation decision, will have datasets for those actions. Event planners can be collecting that relevant data to measure success and for sharing with the client.
Attendee Participation Metrics
Live polls, in-event responses, and post-event surveys are fantastic methods for collecting data to support attendee engagement. Leveraging real-time audience engagement will allow you to make adjustments in the moment, too. Look for chat metrics and get feedback about virtual event speakers or segments. And keep track of how many attendees ask questions throughout. These KPIs will be crucial for identifying areas of improvement and for confirming with your client just how successful the engagement was.
Virtual events continue to be a valuable service offering for today’s event planners, along with hybrid online engagements for those in-person events. Keep these metrics in mind when you plan yours so you can gauge the success of the event and find additional ways to improve.
If you’re looking for more insights about growing the virtual side of your event planning, get to The Event Planner Expo 2022 this October. Thousands of top industry professionals will be in attendance! Get your Expo tickets today!
