One of the biggest advantages of hosting a virtual meeting is the ability to collect specific data that maybe you wouldn’t be able to see at an in-person event. Like a website or social media platform, virtual meetings can track interactions that occur. This provides valuable information that you can utilize for promotions or improvements that might need to be made to better the attendee experience. There is a lot of data from virtual meetings that looking at it can seem overwhelming at first. Break it up and look at it from different perspectives such as pre-event, live-event, and post-event valuable data.
Pre-Event Data Elements
Demographics
Demographic analytics looks at the population concentrating on age, race, ethnicity, gender, and more. This data element is what helps you know your audience more and be able to target other audiences like it. You can collect demographic data during the registration process, but also via the virtual platform. When asking demographic questions during the registration process, be sure not to make the registration seem like a chore. This is how potential attendees will turn away from your virtual meeting.
Registration Status
The registration process can provide you a report of who registered, who started but didn’t finish, and who hasn’t looked at it. This gives you important information on how to tailor your marketing strategy to get your potential attendees to complete the registration process.
Session Enrollment
Session enrollment data showcases which sessions are more popular than the other options. It shows who signed up for the session and how many attendees are in the session. This information is helpful for scheduling topics at the next year’s virtual meeting.
Live-Event Data Elements
Attendee Engagement
Many data elements can be measured for attendee engagement including sessions attended, usage of the chat feature, social activity, gamification, etc. A virtual platform provides more information than an in-person meeting because it can track what is being interacted with, such as anything that was listed before, and how long the attendee was interacting with it, also called dwell time. For more information on attendee engagement, check out 9 Tips to Increase Attendee Engagement During a Virtual Meeting.
Sponsors and Exhibitors
Providing analytics for a sponsor and exhibitor is a huge benefit for you and them when producing a virtual meeting. You will be able to show them who exactly looks at their brand, how long they were there, and if the attendee downloads any content. This is something they may not get at an in-person meeting, which is important to showcase to them. You will also have the opportunity to provide an attendee list with contact information as part of their sponsorship package.
Networking
Whether it be specific networking sessions or just networking on the virtual platform, there are plenty of types of analytics that you can look at. If it is a networking session, analytics include the number of attendees, how long they attended the session, if the session was popular, etc. Networking on the virtual platform provides information such as one-on-one connections via message or video, how many connections are being made, and if there need to be improvements to create more networking opportunities. To help increase networking opportunities, check out the 7 Best Activities to Have at Your Next Virtual Meeting.
Post-Event Data Elements
Event and Session Feedback
When your virtual meeting ends, be sure to get event and session feedback for next year’s meeting. These post-analytics include who opened the email, how many people participated in the feedback, survey question responses, and more. Post-Event Data is very important if you want attendees to come back and if you want your virtual meeting to always improve.
Virtual meetings may seem challenging to produce, but they don’t have to be. Meetings have evolved. Whether they’re taking place in person, virtually, or a hybrid of the two, you need experts who can deliver. The LaClare Group are a team of experts in planning and operating multi-day events. For a free consultation for your next meeting, you can email us at info@laclaregroup.