ith virtual shows opening doors to anyone with an internet connection , event KPIs have evolved from mere registration and attendance statistics to the real demonstrable value organisers can provide .

The success of virtual conferences depends on aligning the event ’ s goals with the business goals of participating speakers , sponsors and attendees . Identifying the key performance indicators ( KPIs ) for event coordinators and organisers is a must to ensure real-time tracking of these goals and assessing the return on investment .

Here are some crucial metrics for organisers to measure their virtual conference ’ s success :

KPIs for audience engagement Engagement has become a vital measurement in the virtual environment . A poorly structured conference with fatiguing content can be identified with lower time spent in each session , and lesser attendee participation in Q & A sessions , live polls and other activities like quizzes and competitions . Virtual success metrics like total chat volume and messages exchanged can also reflect the level of audience engagement and whether the content and conversations were appealing enough .

KPIs for brand visibility Another major objective for the sponsors and companies at virtual conferences is brand visibility and awareness . Using social listening tools , organisers can track the overall social media engagement ( shares , mentions , likes , retweets , follower count ). Another indicator can be the total

reach of branded and sponsored content like emailers , sessions and virtual gift coupons . Tracking web search and direct traffic numbers on sponsors ’ profile pages , banners and video ads also gives a clear idea of brand outreach .

KPIs for lead generation For potentially transactional conferences , quality leads are perhaps the clearest indicator of success . Key metrics to evaluate the success of lead-generation activities are the number of meetings or demo appointments requested , the average meeting time and the average rating of those meetings . The total number of people engaging with networking profiles , banner ads , and promotional content through clicks , bookmarks , messages , visits or video views also

Above : Tanya Pinchuk , Expoplatform , managing director

helps qualify better leads .

KPIs for knowledge sharing High engagement with speakers and sponsors ’ content is another key indicator of the virtual conference ’ s success . This can be determined by the number of visits to the content hub , total downloads of company brochures , media , information and publications , and attendee requests to access premium content . Organisers can also track how many attendees are registering for training sessions like webinars and live workshops or have requested access to digital libraries and continuing education stores .

KPIs for overall satisfaction A simple way for organisers to gauge the success of their conference is to just ask the attendees , speakers , and sponsors through post-conference surveys and feedback . These satisfaction surveys can include questions about their experience with different sessions , virtual meetings , online navigation and whether the live stream worked smoothly . Based on their responses , organisers can come up with a Net Promoter Score ( NPS ), identifying which participants are most likely to return to the next edition of the conference and recommend it to their peers and colleagues .

Conclusion The success of virtual conferences ultimately depends on how much ROI they generate for their speakers , audience and sponsors . Using the KPIs mentioned above , organisers can gather insight from the data to improve their events and help audiences derive greater value from their investment .