The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “the single biggest problem of communication is the illusion that it has taken place”. The man did strike a chord with your problem of feedback and clear communication, didn’t he?

As a virtual event-tech platform, the most recurrent question our team gets from organizers is, “How can we keep getting real-time feedback during a LIVE session?”.

You want to grab the undivided attention of your audience for a session so as to deliver a seamless virtual event experience. 

Event technology has grown multi-fold in the past few years, and interaction and communication have been at the forefront of their existence. 

Gamification, personalized features, magic tools, and interaction parlors are the MVPs of virtual events. 

However, event surveys are the underdogs of the interaction conundrum, and in this article, we want to discuss why, how, and which event Survey questions help you stand out at the virtual event precipice.

Why do virtual events focus on surveys?

With no on-ground managers to chase you to ask how did you like the event? Or what could be altered to make it the best event you’ve attended so far? 

Event surveys act as a virtual kiosk of opinions, suggestions, criticism, and appreciation. 

Here’s a little resource that we came across on how virtual event surveys have become a source of in-depth and instant stakeholder feedback that we wanted to share with you. 

Speaking of event surveys, we found an interesting quote from Adrian Darnell that talks about how post-event Q&A is essential. 

Here’s what he says, “Content aside, you should also keep the conversations going. Besides asking for feedback, you can leverage Q&As to stimulate post-event discussions, as well as any post-event audience activity on social and/or the event platform.” Source

QUICK TIP: Have a category-wise survey that allows attendees to give their feedback on various receptions of a virtual event. For e.g., Ask your attendee if they had adequate time at a virtual booth? OR Ask your attendees how did they like the product demo sessions? 

What type of event survey questions can be asked at a virtual event?

Here’s something that will help you understand the type of questions a survey can have. 

Imagine you go to a shopping site, put some clothes in your cart, and check out with lesser or more than the items in your cart. 

Once done, the application or website pops up with either a star rating, “would you recommend us?” or a “what did you like the most about us?” question.

You get the gist of what we’re trying to get at, don’t you? 

Whether you host a virtual event, a hybrid event, or corporate meetups, these survey questions can be categorized into three categories: 

Qualitative survey questions. Here are some examples of how qualitative event survey questions could be: 

• Which session did you like the most? 
• What are some of the elements that a speaker could improve upon? 
• How can we improve the interaction between you and the speaker? 
• Why did you choose to attend this session?
• Which adjective best describes this event?

Quantitative survey questions. These type of questions could be: 

• How many attendees did you interact with? 
• What is the ideal length of a session according to you? 
• How much would you want to spend on an event like this? 
• At what age did you think you could become like the speaker? 
• What would be your ballpark estimate for your next virtual event? 

Binary survey questions. These would be yes/no questions, where attendees would answer questions like: 

• Would you like to host an event with us? 
• Was the session as you had expected it to be? 
• Would you want to want the session again? 
• Would you recommend a colleague to attend a virtual event like this? 
• Did you find the event navigation easy and smooth? 

QUICK TIP: Don’t restrict yourself to creating questionnaires as surveys. Keep the ball rolling with a quiz from a particular session or a spin-the-wheel reward to answer a couple of questions. 

Which event survey questions will attract interaction and communication?

Your event survey questions must be curated in such a way that an attendee is compelled to answer them. 

There are two benefits to this: 1. You will be able to make informed decisions about the event lineup and alterations needed, and 2. Your attendees will gain trust in your event planning skills. 

Here are some pre, during, and post-event questions that you can ask your attendees at your next virtual event:

Pre-event survey questions

• Which social media platform are you most active on? (You can alter the options)
  
  – Instagram
  – Twitter
  – LinkedIn
  – Facebook
  – Tumblr
   
• Have you attended a virtual event before?
  
  – Yes
  – No
• Which part of the world are you attending this event from? (You can alter the options)
  
  – APAC
  – The Americas
  – EMEA
  – Europe
• How long have you been working?
  
  – > 2 years
  – 2-5 years
  – 5-10 years
  – 10 years & above
• Were you able to easily register for this event with the information provided?
  
  – Yes
  – No
  – Not sure
  

Post-event survey questions

• How would you rate this virtual event?
  
  – 1-star
  – 2-stars
  – 3-stars
  – 4-stars
  – 5-stars
• What according to you was the best part of the event?
  
  – Content Flow
  – Networking Lounges
  – Interaction Parlours during LIVE sessions
  – Navigation through the event
• Which of the following would be your favorite aspect of the virtual event?
  
  – Camera quality
  – Sound quality
  – Transition of videos
  – Slido integration
• Would you like us to give you a demo of our platform for hosting a possible virtual event in the future?
  
  – Yes
  – No
• Guess the number of days it took for us to organize this event!
  
  – > 15-days
  – 15 – 25 days
  – 25 – 45 days
  – 45 days & above

During-event survey questions

• Is this session as good as you expected it to be?
  
  – Yes
  – No
  – Better than expectations
• Which networking lounge are you most excited about? (The options will depend on the different networking lounges you create)
• Which session has been the best so far? (The options will depend on the different sessions)
   
• How many connections did you make from this event?
  
  – 1 – 5
  – 5 – 7
  – 7 & above
• Which contest is the most exciting one for you? (The options will depend on the different contests you host)

QUICK TIP: You don’t have to play by the rules, be as creative or bold as you want. Ask questions that most resonate with your audience. It could be a question wrapped in pop culture or recent TikTok trends. 

How can virtual event surveys be promoted? 

We know how event organizers get in a temporary fix trying to figure out how surveys can be promoted in LIVE events.

Though helpful, these surveys can make or break the event experience for an audience. 

Here are some tips we came up with on how virtual survey questions can be promoted during a virtual event: 

• Ask the emcee or host of the event to encourage audience participation for taking up post-session surveys. 
• Write a line or two about surveys in the script of the speaker to bring up the topic mid-sessions. 
• Paste a link in the email or social media posts of the event, 
• Reward the audience with a coupon or credit or special mention should they decide to take a survey. 
• Add a button of “Take Survey” to the page that is easily accessible and visible for attendees to click and use. 
• Keep the surveys super relative yet quirky so that attendees are encouraged to take the surveys and recommend fellow attendees. 
• Use the banner area of the platform effectively and add a survey banner with a reward to the reception area for everyone to take the survey at different times of their event journey. 
• Give the audience the results of the previous survey questions and encourage them to give answers to get accurate results. 
• Keep the survey to the point, and precise. You must not get overwhelmed when calculating results with the answers you get from the survey. 

The most common mistakes organizers do with event surveys!

Of course, there have to be goof ups when execution is in question. 

We’ve all been there, doing one thing and getting a counterproductive result. 

What are some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen organizers make with event survey questions? 

Let’s find out! 

• Mismatched timing. Imagine asking an attendee how they liked the event when it just began! 
• Irrelevant questions. Relevancy is the key to interaction at a virtual event. Asking irrelevant questions to the audience or speaker disrupts the flow of conversation and calls for unnecessary banter. 
• A tongue in cheek humor went wrong. Be cool all you want. But, being condescending or offensive may rub your attendee against your event in the worst light there is. 
• Having a dull survey of only binary questions. A yes or no question does not give the person the required time or energy to think about the questions but rather just get done with the survey as soon as possible. 

In Conclusion

Virtual event surveys act as one of the most important factors of interaction at any virtual event. Without them, your chain of feedback, suggestions, grievances, and improvements might hang loose. 

It would be safe to say that virtual events are becoming the cornerstone of internal, external, and international interaction for professionals. Whether you look at annual sales summits, tech conclaves, medical conferences, trade shows, virtual auctions or career fairs, virtual is the answer. 

From getting the perfect virtual event platform to deciding what customization you need for your virtual event to planning interactive activities, all require careful planning and execution. 

A great virtual event platform can help you create actionable surveys that resonate with your audience. They also help you understand the behavioral patterns and analytics of your event. 

How about we give you a first-hand experience of how virtual event platforms have customer-centric plugins that help you drive elevated engagement, attendance, and revenue? 

We’d love to give you a piece of event technology that we’re passionate about!

Book A Demo With Us!

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