Event Marketing Metrics: What to Track Before, During and After

Before the Event: Leading Indicators

Pre-event metrics tell you if your campaign is on track before it's too late to change anything.

• Ticket and registration pacing versus prior year and target
• Cost per acquisition by channel
• Click-through rate by audience segment and creative
• Landing page conversion rate
• Email open and click rates
• Audience reach and frequency

During the Event: Real-Time Signals

During the event, metrics shift to capture live engagement and any digital activity running concurrently.

• On-the-day ticket and registration sales
• Social media mentions, hashtag volume and sentiment
• Live session attendance and drop-off rates
• Any active advertising performance (last-minute campaigns)

After the Event: Outcome Metrics

Post-event metrics assess the true outcome and set the baseline for next time.

• Total attendance versus target
• Revenue versus cost — overall ROI
• ROAS by channel across the full campaign
• Net Promoter Score or attendee satisfaction rating
• Lead conversion rate — enquiries to attendees
• Social reach and earned media value

The Metrics That Most Organisers Miss

The most useful insight often comes from ratio metrics: cost per attendee by channel (not just total), registration conversion rate by traffic source and pacing relative to prior year at equivalent points in the campaign. These tell you where the leverage is, not just what happened overall.