How to Use Data and Analytics to Plan a More Impressive Event
December 12, 2019
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post contribution. Author bylines and information are found at the end of each post. To learn more about submitting guest content to the Stova Blog email [email protected]
Do you have an event coming up which really needs to impress everyone present? Organization wise, probably some of the first thoughts that start wandering in your mind are about the space, guest engagement, caterers, and all the usual stuff. But what if there is something that can make this whole planning process a lot easier?
Like pretty much every aspect of our lives, events and meetings have also been influenced by technology. Now you’ve got event apps, interactive wristbands, and data analytics to help you form the event. When it comes to event planning, data and analytics can play a huge role. They can help you steer your event in the right direction by analyzing the collected data. Besides helping you plan the event, such an approach will also help you organize an attendee-centric event.
Find Out More about the Attendees
The satisfaction of attendees is your main goal, right? The way they perceive the event will determine whether it was a success or not. That is why you need to get to know the attendees.
To achieve attendees’ satisfaction you need to provide them with a personalized experience and we all know that personalization demands knowing who the attendees are.
Start by collecting data and analyzing the email list for the event to find out more about who the potential attendees are. Analyze and segment their demographics to have a better perception of their age, gender, occupation, education, location, etc.
You can also use Google search and social media search to learn more about the target audience. For example, you can browse through Facebook groups of similar events to see who the attendees were, their comments, likes, etc.
Do a Competitive Analysis
Look into the competitors of the company who is hosting the event to see what type of events they have organized.
An online search about the competitor companies can tell you more about their previous and upcoming events.
Collect data about the type of events, attendee numbers, successful and less successful events, themes, planners, caterers, and so on to find out what type of events usually prove to be impactful. Considering that the target audience is similar, successful events can tell you more about your target audience preferences.
If you want to be really detailed, you can even collect data about international competitors and use translation services you can find at PickWriters to translate the content. By collecting data about their events, you can get some different ideas and take your event planning to the next level.
Analyze the data and make comparisons until you get useful information.
Use Data to Form Event Messaging
Reaching out to people and promoting the event can largely depend on the message you convey.
The way you invite people to the event and the way you promote it can determine its success.
You should use data and analysis about the attendee’s profile to answer some important questions such as:
- Who are the attendees?
- What are their interests?
- How often they attend the events?
- What type of events do they usually attend?
- Which social media they mostly use?
These questions will give you some guidelines on who your target audience is and what type of event they prefer. Based on that, you’ll know how to form an event message that will make an impact.
Use Data from Previous Events
Nowadays, event mobile apps are designed to collect and share information before, during, and after the event. The attendees need to download the app as a part of the registration process. This is a useful trick that helps companies and event planners to identify what was a success and where they fell short.
You can use data from previous events to learn more about attendees’ preferences. Analyze the answers they shared after the event to get an insight into their thoughts.
Either use the data from the same company that hosts the upcoming event, or use your data about similar events you did in the past.
You can also get some valuable information by using Big data to find keywords that are used for local events searches as well as dates and times that are popular.
Tools and databases like Google Trends can inform you of trending searches for previous similar events. By comparing popular terms you can even predict upcoming trends and organize your event accordingly.
Survey Potential Attendees
Organize surveys on the event’s website or social media channels to gather more data.
You can also use email to distribute the survey. With a catching subject line such as “Making your event memorable,” you can interest potential attendees to take the survey. Explain in the body of the email that the survey aims to personalize the event and make it more enjoyable for the attendee.
Ask the survey takers whatever dilemma you have about the event, inquire about their previous experiences while attending events, ask what are their expectations for this event, and set any type of question that you find useful.
The answers can help you get a better idea of the type of event you should plan.
Set Objectives
One of the benefits of having all that data in the palm of your hand is that you can set realistic objectives.
You’ll have all the information about your attendees, their expectations, previous events, and competitors. Based on the data analytics you’ll be able to get some idea of the event’s outcome and set objectives accordingly.
By displaying your objectives and goals from the very beginning, you’ll have a reminder during the event planning. You’ll know which actions you need to take in order to achieve your goals.
Bringing it all together
Once you’ve collected all the data and analyzed it, you should turn to organizing activities based on that data. Every piece of information can be used to plan the event based on the attendee’s preferences.
Data collecting can be a practical habit that will enable you to get information that can be useful for your future events and improve the event planning process. The results you get from the analysis will help you with planning onsite activities, event personalization, promotions, and everything else that you need.
You’ll realize that once you get used to planning the events with the help of data and analytics, you’ll never be able to go back to your old ways.
About the Author: Donald Fomby is a communications professional with more than five years of experience. Donald runs his own blog BestWritersOnline and is proud of his an uncanny ability to explain the most complex subject in simple terms.
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