Data-Driven Event Planning

A lot goes into planning and producing an event—especially the hybrid or virtual kind. Without data to guide and inform, the event may fall short of expectations. Data-driven planning provides insights into trends and patterns of event attendees’ demographics, behavior, interests, and preferences. Knowing the needs and expectations of those attending an event is invaluable for production team logistics, content messaging, and event strategy. Fewer assumptions and more knowledge-based decisions create a better event. The good news is that today’s virtual events provide the producers, planners, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors with tremendous opportunities to track and retrieve data to improve future events.

Gathering Data

The opportunities for data gathering are rich indeed. You can start with your own data from a previous event, including everything from pre-event messaging to post-event web content and surveys. So, event planners can stay aware in real time to early pre-event data that may affect the upcoming event, as well as data from previous events. Also, data from similar events or competitor’s events in your industry can be informative. This kind of data can be found wherever prospective attendees, competitors, and sponsors are posting online. Data “scraping” services can augment this kind of collection across a vast number of websites, social media pages, and online discussion forums and deliver large amounts of data to process. If you don’t want to take this kind of aggressive approach to data collection, you can access shared data from event management software providers in the industry through third-party agencies. You may consider this if it’s your first event and you don’t have existing customers.

The data you can capture and retrieve from past and current events are almost limitless. Being transparent about and managing data collection is imperative. Let event participants know that you are collecting their information, and if possible, allow them to opt-out of some planned use of data. Also, be sure to practice effective data hygiene. Keep your data secure and private by using secure event registration and virtual event platforms. [LD1]? It is important to follow all data privacy and security standards as defined in ISO 27001/02 and the European GDPR.

Partnering with an experienced event producer can keep your event running smoothly, and they create a great experience for both presenters and attendees. The production company can also aid you in data collection strategy. The right mix of platform features and software can make data collection easy, ethical, and deliver the targeted info you want. They understand the need for security and can facilitate the best solutions. The technology is evolving quickly; security issues are a consideration and strategy around timing and methods are all part of a producer’s deliverables. Event planners will be well served by consulting an event producer about data collection, and engagement strategy.

Where To Find the Data

There are so many different sources of information you can gather. Here are just a few examples.

Social Media, Email, and Web Analytics – If you have invested in digital marketing content to promote your events, do not neglect the byproducts of those efforts. This includes social media analytics – how many social mentions, likes, and shares were recorded before and during the event? What kind of content is popular with your followers/target audience? If you conduct regular email campaigns, be sure to track and compare open rates for each campaign. More importantly, track and compare email click-through rates (CTRs). Of those who opened your emails, how many clicked your event registration link and completed your registration form or other CTA? Finally, keep track of basic web analytics. What are the most common web traffic sources for people viewing your event site? How much time do they spend on your site? Out of all those visitors, what are the conversion rates? Is your web marketing strategy working or not?

Event Ticketing and Registration – The vast majority of event registrations are online transactions, so be sure to develop and manage a system that generates useful planning data. This includes not only the number and value of event tickets sold but also details on event session registrations. For planning purposes, you need to know which sessions were most popular with attendees. You also need to know if people are returning attendees from past events. This is an early indication of attendee satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, a good registration system will help you gain more personalized information (with the attendee’s permission) such as addresses and locations, contact details, industry type, job title, and even area of specialization or interest. Judicious use of these data is invaluable in planning the content and venue of future events.

Session/Speaker Performance Measuring – Hybrid and virtual events can provide the perfect means of collecting feedback and ratings of speakers and sessions in general, provided your event producer knows how to use the various platforms and systems involved. Surveys and polls taken before the event can gather attendees’ preferences, opinions, and interests. During the event, they provide feedback on how well each speaker delivered their topics and impacted the audience. Q&A participation is also an effective measurement of performance quality and future topic interest. If you post videos of the event sessions, then content views or downloads are a good measure of which topics resonate with attendees. Similar indicators come from posts on social media, provided you encourage attendees to use event- or topic-specific hashtags.

Other Sources – If your event producer uses the right management tools, these can provide a wealth of planning data, including personalized agendas, networking events, and breakout session participation. You should also look for lead and customer acquisition data, for event sponsors and exhibitors as well as yourself. These include sales and revenue generated by sponsors and exhibitors, new customers acquired by sponsors, new email signups, and significant increases in brand interest before, during, and after the event.

Event planners should always include networking time and multiple opportunities for attendees to participate in events. The platform features and new technologies are making social connections and event participation more natural and easier. Not only will attendees be more attentive and messaging more impactful, but it will provide greater data gathering opportunities. That data will guide the planning of future events that are more cost effective and impactful.

The goal in planning an event is creating a positive, meaningful experience for attendees and increased attention for the products and services of the event planners and sponsors. Event producers are aware of how to engage attendees and how to gather data in the most unobtrusive ways and at the best time. Some aspects of running an event are learned on the ground, in real time. Data, security, and managing the unpredictable aspects of a virtual event are purview of the experienced producer and connecting people in the virtual/ hybrid environment is paramount to a successful event.

Data guides the planning of virtual events. Virtual event producers can execute the planned event to its best affect.

Lee Deaner is President of Leading Edge Training Solutions (www.letstrainonline.com), a leading producer of virtual and hybrid events, informational meetings, and training programs since 2009. He is also the co-author of The Virtual Events Playbook, available on Amazon and directly from Amplify Publishing.