Since early 2020, 67% of marketers have increased their investment in webinars. A higher investment often comes with more attention from leadership and an even greater need to prove ROI.
So, what makes a successful event?
Event success looks different for everyone. It depends on whether or not your event hits its SMART goal(s), and it’s up to you to determine the metrics you should measure.
BUT we can still help. Here are the top metrics that indicate event success and provide insight on how to produce events that drive business results.
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1. Number of New Target Audience Contacts
Utilizing events as a top-of-funnel marketing channel is a no-brainer. These add new event contacts to your marketing database, which expands the reach of your emails, paid advertising, and all other marketing efforts.
Beware though! Adding new contacts to your database can quickly turn into a vanity metric if you’re not picky about the new contacts you add and report. Having your mom register for your webinar is great (Hi, Mom! 👋), but unless she fits your event target audience, her addition to your marketing database is not impactful.
2. Registration and Attendance Rates
The ratio of registrants to attendees can tell a lot about the effectiveness of event planning.
Hitting a registration goal is great; it means people found your event topic and content interesting and took the next step to register and learn more.
But did they attend? Does it even matter?
Our answer is yes. After all, no one likes an empty room, especially speakers and sponsors. Understanding your attendance numbers enables you to set expectations for future events and get the great speakers and sponsors coming back for more.
Attendance numbers also shine a light on what worked well and what aspects of your event need to be reevaluated. Was your attendance rate lower than expected? Now is the chance to understand why and correct your course for future events. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Was the event timing right for your audience?
- Did registrants feel comfortable traveling to your event?
- Did you have an effective confirmation and reminder campaign?
- Was your virtual event technology user-friendly?
Event registration and attendee metrics are a great pulse check on whether or not your event was a success, but they don’t tell the whole story. Once you know these numbers, it’s important to dig into the “why” and adjust your event strategy accordingly (or keep doing what you’re doing, rockstar 🤩).
3. Audience Engagement
An engaged audience is a marketer’s dream. Increased engagement tells you your event is hitting the mark; your attendees find value in the content and are active participants.
Engagement metrics to measure include:
- Average length of attendance
- Average time focused
- Poll participation
- Email sign-ups
- Content downloads
- Q&A participation
- Clicks on Featured Actions
The beauty of event engagement is that it tends to have a snowball effect. Your attendees witness others sharing and being active, and are willing to do the same. Your events then become the must-attend event of the week/month/year.
4. Lead Conversion
Did you know 73% of marketers and sales leaders find webinars to be one of the most reliable ways of generating quality leads?? A great event may be exactly what a person needs to convince them to become a customer. Understanding how events impact the funnel and drive ROI for your business enables you to tailor your events so conversion is top of mind.
Conversion metrics to measure include:
- Demos booked
- Free trial sign-ups
- Influenced opportunities
- Deals closed
A clear understanding of the metrics that matter for your event lets you tell the story of your event with data, set benchmarks for future events, and showcase your overall event ROI.
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