If you need a lot of data on event marketing, event management, and event planning, you’ve found the right source.
The events industry has been forced to change and innovate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty percent of leaders believe that events are the most critical marketing channel for achieving business goals.
According to Verified Market Research, the global events industry is expected to grow to $2.194 trillion by 2028, a significant increase from the $887 billion it was worth in 2020.
We’ve put together a list of marketing and event statistics that will either inspire your event strategy or provide information that can be used to get buy-in from key stakeholders.
Starting this list off, we’d like to share some current data as of July 2022 based on Bizzabo customers:
- 2X increase in hybrid and in-person events over the last three months vs. the 3 months prior
- More than 25% of in-person and hybrid events are paid vs. only 10% of virtual events
- 90% of paid events hold up to 20 ticket types vs. 80% of free events, which feature 1-2 ticket types
- 44% of Bizzabo customers who hosted events ran at least one paid event
- ~1,000 events with at least one paid ticket option launched over the last three months on Bizzabo’s platform, marking a 30% increase compared to the previous 12 months
- $655 is the average ticket price for paid events
- 50% of paid tickets used discount promo codes and 75% gave a full discount
Search Marketing Statistics
A search engine is a program that helps you find information on the internet. Google is a search engine. Here’s a few statistics to demonstrate the potential of marketing over search engines:
Organic Search
- 85.4 percent of internet users search for information online at least once per month.
- Google processes more than 40,000 search queries every second on average. That’s over 3.5 billion searches every day!
- Google owns just under 92 percent of the global search engine market. The next biggest global search engines are Bing (2.75 percent) and Baidu (1.9 percent).
- More than 60 percent of Google searches originate from mobile devices
- DuckDuckGo, a privacy-centered search engine, saw traffic increase by 107 percent between October 2019 and October 2021.
- Bing processes 12 billion searches every month.
- 38 percent of US-based Bing users have a household income of more than $100,000.
Mobile Search
- 92.3 percent of smartphone owners use their phone to search online.
- Research has estimated that 70 percent US paid search impressions and clicks occurred on mobile devices.
- Before buying in-store, 70 percent of smartphone owners use their device to conduct further research.
Online Shopping
- 49 percent of product searches begin on Amazon, and 36 percent begin on Google.
- Google Shopping ads account for 76 percent of retail search ad spend, and 85.3 percent of all clicks,
Local SEO
- Online shoppers are 80 percent more likely to visit a brick-and-mortar store if they can check their inventory online.
- 88 percent of mobile users who search for a store on Google Maps visit a related store within a week.
- 28 percent of “nearby” or “near me” searches end in a purchase.
Voice Search
- 72 percent of people with a voice-activated speaker (e.g. Alexa, Google Home) say that voice search has become a day-to-day activity.
- 27 percent of the global online population uses mobile voice search.
- Experts estimate that at least 50 percent of consumers will use voice search by 2022.
Customer Experience Statistics
Modern consumers are demanding more personalized brand engagement. If marketing teams are not targeting customers and prospects with messaging that speaks to their interests, purchase history, and location on the path to purchase, consumers will tune out. Marketing teams should aim to understand consumers at an individual level to meet these demands.
- 86 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.
- Two-thirds of marketers say they largely compete on the basis of customer experience. 81 percent of marketers say they expect to be competing largely or entirely on the basis of customer experience in the next two years.
- Customer experience is becoming increasingly important for organizations. In 2017, about 20 percent of CX programs fell below customer expectations. In 2019, 96 percent of organizations met or exceeded consumer expectations.
- 3 out of 4 CX leaders (75 percent) note that they have seen a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and business objectives.
- Budgets are increasing for CX. In 2017, only 47 percent of survey respondents expected their budgets to increase for customer experience. In 2019, that number has risen to 74 percent.
- Consumers are inclined to switch brands to those that speak to their needs – with 52 percent stating they would switch brands if they were not getting custom messages and offerings.
- As many brands turn to automation to reach consumers in real-time, customer experience mapping and personalized content are considered the best ways to optimize automation initiatives.
- In the past year, there were 2.5 billion visits to Google Account pages to adjust ad personalization preferences.
- 38 percent of consumers state that they are more loyal now than they were two years ago – 57 percent say they would switch to a competitor if they provided a better experience.
In-Person Event Statistics
A mere 16.8% of events on Bizzabo’s platform were in-person in Q4 2021, but this is expected to increase to 48.5% in Q2 2022. Are you ready to ride the in-person wave?
- 35% of events in 2022 will be in-person, based on a survey of 8,227 marketers (Statista, 2022)
- 88% of respondents expect meetings in 2022 will have an in-person component (AMEX, 2021)
- 67% of event professionals believe in-person meetings will return to their pre-pandemic numbers within one to two years (AMEX, 2021)
- 81% of events expected to have an in-person element (AMEX, 2021)
- 78% of in-person attendees prefer to network with other in-person attendees (Bizzabo, 2021)
- 58% of virtual attendees are willing to network with anyone (Bizzabo, 2021)
- 85% of leadership (senior managers, executives, and board members) believe in-person events are essential to their company’s success (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 95% of marketers believe in-person events have a significant impact on achieving primary business goals (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 61% of marketers believe that in-person events are the most critical marketing channel — a 20% increase from the previous year (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 78% of event marketers believe that in-person events will become increasingly important to their company’s success (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 41.1% of event planners would only attend a physical event in-person if it was local (EventMB, 2020)
- 55% of event organizers report that safety is the biggest obstacle for resuming in-person events (EventMB, 2020)
Hybrid Event Statistics
In the future, events will be hybrid, meaning that they will be partially online and partially in person. This will allow for a wider audience, greater accessibility, increased sustainability, and deeper attendee insights. According to Bizzabo data, in Q2 2022, 20.9% of events will be hybrid, compared to only 8.10% in Q4 2021.
- 35% of events in 2022 will be hybrid, based on a survey of 8,227 marketers (Statista, 2022)
- 68% of event professionals are looking for hybrid event technology that supports both in-person and virtual events (Bizzabo, 2020)
- 50% of hybrid speakers said that feeling connected is extremely important to them (Bizzabo, 2022)
- 76.5% of event marketers have never hosted a hybrid event (Bizzabo, 2020)
- 71% of event marketers believe they have a clear understanding of what a hybrid event is (Bizzabo, 2020)
- 35% of event organizers say that finding the right venue to host a hybrid event is a challenge (Markletic)
- 30% of event organizers plan to switch to hybrid for their next event (Bizzabo, 2022)
- 25% of event professionals cite the ability of the event venue to host hybrid meetings as a key factor in choosing a meeting location (AMEX, 2021)
- 46% of event organizers say that speakers had difficulties engaging a virtual and in-person audience simultaneously (Markletic)
- 38% of event organizers say that it takes more preparation time to host a hybrid event compared to hosting a dedicated in-person or virtual event (Markletic)
- 35% of virtual and hybrid events would require the services of a full-service agency, which, depending on what is required, could provide presenter training, pre-recorded interviews, virtual studio space, and post-event, edited sessions made available to attendees (AMEX, 2020)
- More than 80% of respondents say their organizations strive to incorporate DE&I into their meetings and events (AMEX, 2021)
- 50.7% of executives think that in the future, all in-person events will have a virtual component (Marketing Charts, 2020)
- 67% of event organizers reported that their meetings and events policy contained explicit language around safety and security (AMEX, 2021)
- 63% of virtual attendees report being unsuccessful in socializing during hybrid events (Bizzabo, 2021)
- 57% of in-person attendees report successfully socializing during hybrid events (Bizzabo, 2021)
Social Media Marketing Statistics
Social media became more important for brands in 2020 as public health concerns and restrictions forced marketers to find new ways to actively engage with customers. Additionally, as the usage of digital marketing platforms continues, advancements in technology solutions are allowing marketers to find even greater value out of these channels.
- 75 percent of B2B buyers and 84 percent of C-suite executives say they use social media to make purchasing decisions.
- Over 3.6 billion people used social media worldwide in 2021, and that number is projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion by 2025.
- Millennials continue to drive social media usage with 90.4 percent of Millennials being active on social media in 2019, followed by 77.5 percent of Generation X, and 48.2 percent of Baby Boomers.
- Facebook has the highest number of monthly active users at 2.7 billion.
- TikTok users engage 15 percent more often than users on other social media platforms.
- TikTok is expected to surpass 1.5 billion users in 2022.
- 50 percent of nurture campaigns feature social media.
- 97 percent of organizations use Facebook for content marketing.
Commercial and Professional Services Event Statistics
Whether an event’s goal is to create brand awareness or to provide networking opportunities, most event marketers believe that events are critical for their company’s success.
- 96% of respondents in the commercial and professional services industry believe events provide valuable opportunities for attendees to form in-person connections in an increasingly digital world (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 92% of respondents in the commercial and professional services industry agree leadership teams are very committed to their events strategy (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 86% of respondents in the commercial and professional services industry believe that in-person events are a critical component of their company’s success (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 72% of professional services companies expect a marketing budget increase for in-person events in the coming year (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 54% of event marketers in the professional services industry host events to drive brand awareness (Bizzabo, 2019)
Event Sponsorship Statistics
As ticket prices for virtual events are reduced (and in many cases free), event sponsorship is becoming an increasingly important role in funding events. Here’s how event sponsorship will play a key role in organizers event strategies in 2021.
- 50.6% of respondents believe that tools to connect sponsors and attendees both virtually and in-person will play a key role in their 2021 event strategies (Bizzabo, 2020)
- On a scale of 1-10, event marketers rated their confidence in the value of their sponsorship opportunities at virtual events an average of 6.5 (Bizzabo, 2020)
- 51% of respondents believe their budget for sponsoring or exhibiting will remain the same in the coming year (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 33% of respondents allocate 21% or more of their marketing budget towards sponsoring or exhibiting at events. (Bizzabo, 2019)
Event ROI Statistics
Event marketers are well aware of the importance of tracking and measuring ROI, but most have difficulty demonstrating it. The following describes how event organizers make use of event software, KPIs, and other means to gauge event success based on data gathered.
- 91% of respondents believe event software makes it easier to achieve business outcomes (Bizzabo, 2019)
- The average price paid for a virtual event in June 2020 was $254 (Bizzabo, 2020)
- 22% of respondents said multi-day conferences have the biggest impact on key business objectives (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 37% of respondents primarily measure attendee engagement and satisfaction as a KPIs for event success (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 54% of respondents have trouble showing event ROI to key decision-makers (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 64% of event marketers say their primary goal for hosting events is brand awareness (Bizzabo, 2019)
- 39% of event marketers believe email marketing is the most effective channel for promoting events (Bizzabo, 2019)
Final Thoughts
As marketers invest more in big data and data-driven marketing strategies, they should keep this information in mind to ensure they are not making common mistakes around attribution or personalization – ensuring the best customer experience and measurable ROI.
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