Conferences are the lifeblood of most industries. In fact, they can be a great way to network and disseminate information, but are they equally effective in building and engaging an audience? In the post-pandemic world, there is a renewed focus on digital alternatives to physical events such as virtual events because they offer an exciting world of possibility in the metaverse. However, one question still remains: which one is better, in-person or virtual events?
Unlike physical events, virtual events offer live user-generated data and metrics that help determine how successful an event is. Virtual events also make it easy to track interaction between various attendees including the audience, speakers, vendors, etc.
This puts planners in a much better position to organize successful events and enables them to continuously improve their messaging and overall user experience. A post-event evaluation can help organizers understand which elements of the event received higher engagement and areas that require more work.
If you are curious to know some key event metrics and data that can only be acquired in a virtual event setting? Read on!
Repeated Participation
Capturing useful data in a virtual setting is faster as compared to a physical event where gauging engagement is possible, but can be a slow and sometimes an inaccurate process.
If a substantial percentage of your audience participates repeatedly in your virtual event, you’re in for some good news. They are most likely fans of your brand and content. Gathering and analyzing users participating more frequently can also provide you with additional information about your target audience
Participation Longevity
As an organizer, you’d like for everyone to spend as much time as possible at the event. You can set a retention rate benchmark by holding regular events. If the average amount of participation time per user rises with each event, you can consider your strategy to be successful.
If some people drop out in the middle, it means their level of involvement wasn’t very high. You can also assume that the event did not meet their expectations in terms of content. This specific metric is very difficult to gauge at an in-person event.
Questions From the Audience
We all would love active participation from our audiences, to show they enjoyed the sessions. Some sessions and speakers may draw a lot of attention, giving you a sense of what went well during the event. This is yet another metric that you can gauge very quickly in a virtual setting as compared to a physical event.
Response To Live Poll
Conducting live polls is one of the most effective strategies to maintain high levels of engagement during a virtual event. Attendee participation and response can be useful virtual event indicators that determine the level of audience’s engagement. It will help you gain better insights so that you can better organise your future activities. Live polls, while possible at in-person events, are rarely as effective as they can be in a virtual setting.
Conversion Rate and Lead Generation
The majority of virtual events are focused on generating leads. If lead generation was your prime objective, the virtual event conversion rate could be the most important metric for your event. It’s far more crucial to get qualified leads than it is to simply get leads. The different types of leads and their trigger points can help you figure out what worked best at the event.
Final Thoughts
The success of your event can be measured using a variety of metrics. Many of them would be contingent on the purpose for holding such an event. Whatever metric you choose, ensure it provides you with actionable information to help you plan and execute your next event more effectively.
With HoloFair, metrics you can track for your virtual event are endless. Some of our most effective metrics are total registrations of attendees returning attendees, time spent in booths, popular areas, number of clicks on the content, number of questions attendees asked during sessions, find user interest in gamification tactics, the list goes on! Reap the benefits of acquiring powerful metrics for your virtual event on HoloFair. Get in touch with us to learn more!