Posted on March 16, 2021
Blog
Conferences
Event Management
Shifting the conversation from sign-ups to engagement
Hybrid events are poised to be the go-to event format. Bringing together elements of in-person and virtual events, it’s a powerful format that has big benefits for all kinds of organisations. Hybrid events are sustainable, affordable, flexible and safe.
We still love in-person events and think there will continue to be demand. Hybrid events simply add to the mix providing another option that has lots of benefits for both organisers and attendees.
They allow you to create an event that’s focused on the attendee experience, no matter where they are located. With many people reluctant or unable to travel, hybrid events are also the perfect way to increase your reach and show participants you prioritise their time and wellbeing. You can seamlessly integrate the experience of in-venue presenters and attendees, with remote participants both in real-time and on-demand playback options.
This ability to attend from anywhere potentially opens your pool of participants to new markets and geographies you previously never contemplated. With on-demand playback capabilities, timezone challenges can also be overcome, and your event can continue to provide value long after the original date.
It also increases your pool of potential speakers. No more having to rule out presenters due to travel and accommodation making it cost-prohibitive. With the right platform underpinning your event, you can connect your audience with speakers across the globe providing a higher value event. Whether the audience is in-venue or remote, the same level of connection with speakers and interactive tools are available.
Read more on the benefits of holding hybrid events.
Powerful reporting of numbers that matter
But we think that where hybrid events really shine is through the powerful capacity of data to assess an events effectiveness and determine your organisation’s next steps. Whether you are using events for marketing and lead generation, team building or training, there’s a powerful suite of analytics and reporting that can help you to get maximum value.
You can take your event metrics beyond the simple quantity of sign-ups and attendance. The reporting tools embedded in hybrid event platforms allow you to go deeper and assess far more meaningful metrics, like engagement, interactivity and revenue.
You can also monitor what steps participants take next. For example, for a product launch event, you can analyse how many people watch the launch and then follow through with visiting a landing page, and how many of those complete a form. Audience feedback and interactive questions can provide better insight into pain points and knowledge gaps to further shape your marketing campaign, employee team building program, or training course.
Meaningful metrics starts with clear goals
As part of our event planning service, the Cliftons team will take the time to understand your organisation, your audience and what you need your event to achieve. By gaining clarity on these objectives right from the start, we can determine what information the reporting and analysis needs to gather.
We use a combination of event platforms and technologies depending on a client’s need. By understanding your goals, what you need to achieve, and what you want to measure, our team help you to determine the right tools so you end up with actionable data and true insights.
Some of the data we can help you to analyse includes:
Registration vs attendance vs active participation
Location
Device type and browser used
Live attendance vs replay
Viewing times, including total and average
Full participation vs partial attendance
Role type
Industry
Consider also developing polls to gain immediate feedback from attendees on various elements of the event. This can include overall event feedback, the presenters and specific sessions. Determining your needs upfront will help to design the right questions so you can gain relevant, actionable data to help with future events, sponsor feedback, training plans and more.
Finally, we can present this with automated graphical reports that are easy to review and provide a clear snapshot for your stakeholders.
Blending the subjective with the objective
Post-event surveys are a standard part of the toolkit for most event organisers, whether that’s a conference or a training seminar. But frequently, this only provides you with subjective responses about the event and particular sessions. In addition, people are often more likely to provide negative feedback than positive, unless a session is truly mind-blowing.
With hybrid event platforms, you can compare subjective survey responses against objective data. For example, you can analyse viewer numbers, any session dropout rates, and the participation in live polling or Q&A sessions. Blending both gives you a more complete picture of an event’s success.
In addition, at a live event, you might have a Q&A but nobody’s keeping track of the questions and ensuing discussion. With integrated online comments, polls and more, you can get a more accurate picture of your event to help shape future activities and to even refocus your strategic objectives.
Delving Deeper
Your post-event report can also give you access to the raw data about participants including their organisation, contact details, device used, location and viewing duration. Depending on your organisational needs and event objectives, this can create opportunities for meaningful conversations about the event and the next steps.
For example, being able to see that a lead from your ideal target client watched more of the session than 50% of existing clients gives your sales team actionable data to tailor a conversation and determine what steps need to be taken next.
See what's possible
Our team can provide you with a comprehensive demonstration of the various hybrid platforms and technologies, how they integrate and the participant experience. We can also provide sample reports and provide an explanation of the reporting capabilities of the various platforms.
Does your organisation need help adapting to "the new normal?"
Let Cliftons help you navigate the new world of business through our flexible options for events and collaboration. Our spaces and platforms can adapt to your business needs, whether that’s a one-off conference, regular team meetings, training sessions and more.
About Cliftons
Event Solutions
If you’re ready to start bringing your event plans to life, talk to our
team to discuss your goals.
Start with a no-obligation chat about what you want to achieve, and our team can guide you through the services we offer.
In the spirit of reconciliation Cliftons Event Solutions acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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