Elevate Your Events with Data-driven Strategies

Event planning has undergone a significant transformation. If you think you can organize a better event based on intuition and guesswork, then you are completely underestimating the current market strategies. 

Today, event planners have a powerful tool at their disposal, which is online conference management software!

These powerful systems do more than just keep track of timetables and registrations. They offer a rich trove of data, which assists event organizers in making informed decisions based on insights, not hunches.

So, if you want your next event to succeed, OCMS will help you make data-driven decisions. But what benefits does it offer? How will you turn the data into actionable strategies? Let’s find out!

Why Does Data Matter in Event Management?

Before we discuss its benefits and strategies further, it is important to understand why data matters when managing an event.

Imagine organizing an event without a feedback mechanism. You wouldn’t be aware of the most interesting sessions, the speakers who connected with the crowd, or even the proportion of participants who gained something from the event. As a result of this data shortage, the objectives and results of the event may not line up.

Fortunately, Online Conference Management Software provides a window into the very heart of your event. Throughout the event lifecycle, from pre-registration to post-event feedback, data is collected and analyzed to help organizers better understand their audience and the event’s overall experience.

According to a report by Market Splash, 87% of event professionals believe data analytics and event feedback plays a crucial role for event success in the future. This illustrates how crucial data-driven decision-making is becoming to the event industry. 

What Does Online Conference Management Software Capture?

Online Conference Management Software (OCMS) platforms collect vast amounts of data across various stages of the event lifecycle. This software is a data powerhouse, capturing information across the entire event lifecycle. 

This data, categorized into pre-event, event day, and post-event stages, provides organizers invaluable insights into their audience and the overall event experience.  

Here’s a closer look at some key data points:

Pre-Event Data

Even before the event begins, CMS collects valuable data about your attendees.

• Registration Data

This core data reveals who your audience is. Registration information also records the source (marketing channels) from which attendees came to your event, allowing you to determine which approaches work best for attracting people.

• Website Analytics

Conference Event Management Software provides insight into attendees’ conduct prior to the event. By analyzing page views, you can see which aspects of the event generate the most interest. The amount of time spent on particular pages, including agendas or speaker bios, reveals the attendees’ priorities. 

Attendees’ areas of interest are further confirmed by downloading data (such as agendas and speaker profiles).

• Social Media Engagement 

Buzz on social media before an event can be quite helpful. Likes, shares, and comments on posts about your event indicate online interest and provide a sense of the general buzz surrounding your conference. 

Event Day Data

Once the event unfolds, CMS tracks real-time attendees:

• Session media engagement 

The data you will collect from the show will represent how the audience has responded most. The number of attendees for each session and the duration of their participation provide valuable insights into audience engagement.

• Networking Activity

CMS keeps tabs on participant involvement through relationships created on the platform and messages exchanged. This indicates that they want to interact and work together with other guests.

• Live Polls and Q&A

These interactive features capture real-time audience responses and sentiment. Analyzing the content of responses and the overall sentiment will allow you to gauge attendee understanding and engagement with the presented content. 

Post-Event Data

Following the event, CMS helps gather crucial feedback for future improvements:

• Surveys and feedback forms

These tools capture detailed attendee satisfaction with various aspects of the event – speakers, event content, and the platform itself. This feedback offers valuable insights for future planning.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

This metric calculates the likelihood that attendees will refer people to the event in order to assess their loyalty. A high NPS indicates a successful event with satisfied attendees.

How to Turn Insights into Actionable Strategies

The data collected by Online Conference Management Software is valuable, but its true power lies in its ability to be translated into actionable insights. Let’s explore how event organizers can leverage these insights to enhance various aspects of their events.

• Content Optimization

Pre-event data on session popularity and website analytics can guide content selection. You must analyze which topics received the most interest during registration and which pages were viewed most on the event website. This will help you tailor future content to better align with audience preferences. 

• Speaker Selection

Review session attendance data and post-event feedback to identify speakers who resonated with the audience. If you want to invite them back for other events, think about using their talks as a guide when choosing fresh speakers.

• Engaging with Attendees

You should use re-event data to customize the experience of those in attendance. Send tailored email campaigns with pertinent information on sessions, networking opportunities, or speaker highlights after segmenting your audience based on demographics and interests.

• Optimizing Event Technology

You must utilize data on feature usage within the conference event management software. For instance, if there was a lot of participation in the polls and Q&A, think about adding more interactive elements to the next events. On the other hand, if a certain feature wasn’t used much, make necessary changes.

• Measuring ROI

It is important to use analytics to track key metrics like registration numbers, sponsorship revenue, and post-event feedback to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for your event. This data can be crucial for justifying event budgets and securing sponsorships for future events.

Building a Data-Driven Culture: Essential Tips for Success

While this software helps you make data-driven decisions, a shift in mindset is required to successfully leverage its insights. 

Here are some key tips for building a data-driven culture within your event organization:

• Establish Clear Goals

It is important to define measurable goals for your event. This prepares the groundwork for locating relevant data points and evaluating how it will impact achieving those goals. 

• Invest in Training

You must equip your team with the skills to understand and interpret data. This could involve training on data analysis tools, basic statistics, and data visualization techniques. 

• Foster Collaboration

Break down silos between departments. Encourage open communication between event planners, marketing teams, and data analysts to ensure insights are effectively incorporated into all aspects of event planning.

• Embrace Continuous Improvement

The process of analyzing data is iterative. Use insights from each event to refine your approach for future events. You should regularly review your data approach and make adjustments as needed. 

Beyond the Numbers: The Human Touch in Data-Driven Events

Even if data is an effective tool, event planning still requires human interaction. In the end, successful events are about building deep relationships with attendees and encouraging their participation. 

Here’s how you can strike a balance- 

• Use data to inform your decisions, not dictate them

Although data has a lot of power, it may have an even greater influence when it is turned into an engaging narrative. Use data to tailor the event to attendee needs and preferences, but don’t forget to create an atmosphere that fosters interaction, networking, and genuine connection.

• Prioritize Attendee Experience

Don’t get lost in the data and lose sight of the human experience. Make use of data to customize the event according to the attendee needs and preferences, but don’t forget to create an atmosphere that fosters interaction, networking, and genuine connection.

• Focus on Storytelling

Data can be powerful, but translating it into a compelling story can be even more impactful. Communicate clearly and share insights with stakeholders to show the success of the event through data visualizations. 

Conclusion

The capabilities of OCMS systems will grow along with technology. Event planners may improve event experiences, understand their audience better, and ultimately succeed in the long run by using data-driven strategies.

Not only can data analysis be used to crunch numbers, but it may also open up a world of possibilities for your event planning process. Through its capacity to furnish significant perspectives and steer tactical decision-making, OCMS enables event planners to craft genuinely remarkable experiences for their guests.