40+ Virtual Events Statistics for Better Decision-Making in 2024

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The internet opened up a whole new world of possibilities, a virtual world. According to 2023 data, 93.2% of respondents considered their virtual event a success.

Virtual events have been around for a while but weren’t popular; people couldn’t step out until the 2019/2020 global pandemic. The idea of setting up concerts, meetings, churches, and all kinds of events online and having people attend virtually with their computers became appealing and widely accepted.

A third (80%) of virtual event organizers deal with technical problems regularly. Now, people have become comfortable with virtual events, and they have become another thriving economy as businesses, event planners, and others adopt them. These virtual event statistics are eye-openers, showing you all you need to know before deciding which best suits you. Let’s forge ahead.

Key Statistics of Virtual Event

1. 97% of event planners predicted there would be more hybrid events in 2021. After the pandemic in 2020, which opened people’s eyes to hybrid events, organizers predicted they would increase. According to their prediction, the occasions increased.

2. One of every five shows in recent years was digital. Digital concerts have grown over the years. Research shows that one of every show that happened was online.

3. 45.9% of people have attended at least ten online concerts. Almost half of the people who like attending events have attended over ten cyberspace shows. This is because they like anything related to cyberspace.

4. One of every three trade events in 2021 was online. In 2021, people saw an increase in hybrid events, growing by 20%. Records show one of every three year’s trade events was in this category.

5. According to 86% of event planners, virtual concerts save over 200 hours annually. This is because the delay associated with onsite shows is not available.

6. About 76% of marketers believe email is the most effective way to drive registrations. Many people selling online event tickets use emails to drive sales, which has been heavily effective. With this, over 76% of them prefer the method.

7. About 60% of organizers of online shows drive registrations through social media. Social media is a place where billions of online users visit daily. This is why about 60% of organizers use it to make people register for digital shows.

8. About 51% of B2B companies drive registrations through their business partners. This method has proven effective enough that many others want to adopt it.

Statistics of Virtual Event Audience Engagement

9. Organizing and promoting a small virtual event takes three to six weeks. Here, the promotion takes longer because many people still don’t buy the idea of attending shows online.

10. One of the most successful techniques for digital event engagement is hosting online hangouts before or after the show. People like the feeling of being a part of something, which is what hangouts do. So, organizers adopt this method to increase engagement in their online shows.

11. The most significant concern for B2B event marketers is audience engagement. Many marketers fear that people might not engage with their events as much as they should, which drives them to work harder. The second concern they have is the interactions of the people that engage.

12. Q and A session is one of the top techniques to improve engagements. Many promoters increase engagement by using question-and-answer sessions; some add prices for winners. Other ways are to get people to discuss and share the links.

13. Most virtual event planners (about 89%) rely on social media to increase engagement. Since billions of people use all social media sites worldwide, social media is a great tool for increasing engagement. This is why 89% of planners use it consistently.

14. Over 50% of big event organizers worldwide used engagements to measure the success of a digital concert in 2020. There are currently many other methods to measure the success of online shows, but engagements are still a major part of it.

Statistics of Virtual Event Financials

15. The top three challenges that event organizers face are Planning the event, deciding whether to cancel or shift it and changing the terms of contracts. Sometimes, planning doesn’t go as organizers want, so they face challenges. Most times, they get over it and have a successful event.

16. 70% of event planners say that a good microphone is important if an event will be successful. Many other things exist, but they believe the audience must have a clear sound.

17. The biggest portion of a virtual event budget goes to the platform. Analytics shows that the digital platform for events takes more of the budget. Following this is the fee for the moderator.

18. Many companies allocate 10% to 20% of their marketing budget to online shows. Many companies are beginning to see cyberspace gatherings as a means of advertising their products, so they allocate about 10% to 20% of their marketing budget.

19. Three of every ten business event suppliers and planners say that their main financial challenge is the pricing of hybrid shows. However, the other seven don’t consider it because they think it is less expensive than onsite concerts.

20. Attendee engagement and satisfaction are key performance indicators that explain an event’s success. Analytics show that engagement and satisfaction are the two most important ways to evaluate an event’s success. If these two are high, the level of others doesn’t count much.

21. 22% of professionals in the event say that multi-day virtual conferences impact important business objectives more. This is more than the way musical concerts do.

Statistics of Event Sponsorship

22. $65.8 billion has gone for sponsorship of online shows worldwide. Over the years, many brands and individuals have shown interest in virtual gatherings that they have spent billions to sponsor. The accumulative amount worldwide is $65.8 billion. This price will increase in the coming years.

23. About 50.6% of virtual gathering organizers say connecting sponsors and attendees will play a vital role in their events. They say it can make sponsors spend more to make the attendees engage.

24. 33.7% of marketers say that $500 and $1000 are the highest going rates for an event. They fix this price to make most or all of the money they spend, or even more.

25. Ority of the senior marketers (about 62%) plan to invest in more live events. The future of marketing might take a good turn as more marketers want to invest in live shows. This means more awareness for the brands and money as well.

26. Four of every ten professional in the event space in the US planned to increase their spending on virtual events in 2021. The fast growth of virtual events in 2020 pushed many professionals to make investment plans for 2021. Four of the ten made the plan, and they executed it.

27. Experts say the virtual event market will reach $22.75 billion in 2028. The industry has been studying the market and its constant growth rate, and the result is that the market will gross $22.75 billion in 2028, and it is on its way there.

28. World marketers predicted about 40% of events would go digital in 2022. The year came, and records show that it met the target.

Statistics of Hybrid Event

29. The Net Promoter Score is preferable for 23% of show professionals. Professionals in this industry usually have many options because of how big the sector is. However, some options are preferable, as 23% choose Net Promoter Score for show business.

30. To measure the success of hybrid gatherings, 89% of organizers use the attendees’ satisfaction rate. Almost all organizers agree that attendees’ satisfaction is the true test of an event’s success, so 89% of them evaluate it.

31. 57% of people said that they prefer in-person hybrid shows to virtual. Over half (57%) of those who participated in our survey said they preferred to attend onsite hybrid events. Some of the other 43% don’t have a preference, and others said they would rather attend hybrid events online.

32. 34% of organizers plan to invest in hybrid gatherings in the coming years. They have noticed the industry’s growth and want to partake in it.

33. 43% of people say they use virtual meeting software. Many people now use virtual meeting apps. In a survey, about 43% of participants say they have used the apps at least once.

34. About 92% of marketers say that apps for managing events can make achieving business outcomes easy. Event management apps have proven to be good for business outcomes. About 92% of marketers believe this, leaving the other 8% who haven’t seen results yet.

35. One of every three businesses uses a meeting app for online gatherings. Research shows that nearly half of the world’s businesses use apps to hold their online meetings. The other two of every three use social media platforms.

Statistics of the B2B Event Industry

36. 99% of polled brands believe webinars are vital to their event marketing plans. This is because over half of event attendees prefer webinars.

37. 65% of B2B marketers intend to shift some of the budget of their live events to online meetings. Over half of B2B marketers think online meetings bring more engagements, so they want to push some of their budgets there. The major part they are moving to is webinars.

38. In the professional service industry, about 54% of marketers host VIP events. They do this to attract partners and more clients.

39. 51% of B2B marketers in the professional service industry host leadership events. They believe these events impact many people and can generate significant engagement.

40. 97% of media industry people say in-person events are better for achieving business goals. They believe people like having a physical connection to make certain investment moves.

Commercial and Professional Services Event Statistics

41. 92% of commercial and professional service sector people believe that leadership teams are very committed to their event techniques. This is because of how meetings have turned out when they involve the teams.

42. 96% of these people say that gatherings offer attendees valuable opportunities. They further mentioned that people can meet like-minded, new clients and more at events.

43. In the professional service industry, 54% of event marketers host events to promote brands. Unlike them, the other 46% host gatherings for fun, educational value, and more.

44. Over half of the B2B marketers we surveyed prefer to attend in-person events more than virtual ones. They say they convert more clients when they attend onsite events.

Conclusion

Virtual events make it easy for people to attend any meeting from anywhere in the world. So attendees can attend and engage in gatherings while they stay at home. This is possible with meeting apps and social media. However, more people use social media than meeting apps to attend and engage in online meetings.

Regardless of how viral digital events have gone, more people prefer in-person events. Marketers would rather attend onsite meetings because they can sell their brands to many people and ensure conversions. Normal attendees say that in-person events help them make business moves.

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