I had a conversation with a potential client who needed to increase their sponsorship revenue.
I asked all the usual questions but when we got down to discussing the demographics of their attendees the call came to a standstill. “We don’t track that,” was the response.
In that moment all I saw were dollars going unclaimed because this organization failed to capture the one thing that matters most to sponsors and exhibitors “will your attendees be interested in my product/service?” The only way to know this for sure is with careful data collection and measurement. It’s not as scientific as it sounds, but it’s important to get it right because what you don’t know about your target audience can hurt you!
Data and the ability to collect and analyze it is an organization’s greatest tool. With data, you can evaluate what’s working, measure audience engagement, develop exciting activations and prove to your potential sponsors why they should invest their marketing dollars with your conference or tradeshow or event.
Data allows even the smallest event to be a player in the sponsorship field. Imagine two events, Event A has 2,000 attendees and Event B has 1,000 attendees. Event A has used its numbers to pitch sponsorships, highlighting how much exposure the sponsor would receive. Event B has taken the time to get to know their target audience, learn about their spending habits, where they hang out, what products they prefer, age, education level, average salary, and even what they plan to purchase within the next 6 months.
Who has the potential for offering a more valuable sponsorship? Event B of course! Sponsorship is about quality, not quantity. Data moves the conversation from exposure to real audience engagement and that’s where the dollars are for both you and your sponsor!
Data allows sponsorship consultants to better explain the ROI of a sponsorship spend and ensures that sponsorship activation fit the audience.
What Do Sponsors Want?
Today’s sponsors have tighter budgets and they are spreading what they have among fewer events. To earn sponsor dollars organization’s must be ready to prove they understand the role data plays in the sponsorship process. It comes down to do you collect data and once you have it do you know how to use it to help make me money?
Sponsors want to know about your demographics – how many people your event draws and if they align with their target market. But don’t stop there. As I mentioned above sponsors also want to know your audience’s age, gender, and location but you’ll also want to know their education level, job title, and income to determine their purchasing power.
Who else is at your event? If you regularly invite influencers, celebrities, politicians, and educators to speak at your conference it’s worth noting. Their audience can become your sponsor’s target audience too. This data helps sponsors evaluate the broader exposure their brand will receive.
Are people talking about your event online? Track those eyeballs! When, where, and how often your event is mentioned on a website, blog, social network, or news site (this is data, yall) is valuable. The more you can show potential sponsors that your event is in demand, the more attractive a partnership will be.
How Do I Get Data?
Now you know what data is and why it’s important, how do you get it? Eventbrite put together a few of the most popular tools to use to gather data about your target audience:
Google Analytics: This powerful (and free) web analytics tool provides you with a comprehensive look at your event website’s traffic. Here are the three reports you’ll want to pay attention to:
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- Audience reporting provides detailed information about the people visiting your website, including demographics, interests, and geographic location.
- Acquisition and conversion reports tell you where visitors are coming from. This allows you to see which channels — social media, paid ads, organic search, etc — are driving the most traffic, and which are most effective at converting visitors into attendees.
- Behavior reports show how people use your website. Using metrics like pageviews, time on page, and bounce rate, you can see what content is most popular.
Google Alerts: Want to know when people are talking about your event online? Sign up for Google Alerts and you’ll get an email notification whenever someone mentions your event, a sponsor, a speaker on any a website, blog, or news site.
Facebook Audience Insights: This free tool lets you tap into Facebook’s 1.65 billion monthly users to gain insight into your attendees. Their demographic information and purchase behavior tools go beyond the basics to tell you their relationship status, job title, and what products or services they’re likely to buy.
Buzzsumo: For a monthly fee, BuzzSumo provides insight into what content is being shared on various social media channels. The Influencer Research & Analysis tool can also help you identify influencers to target for sponsorships.
If you need assistance using data to help your organization increase sponsorship revenue contact me at info@boothbid.com.
