Let’s be honest about one thing: old school surveys are boring. Often event attendees won’t do them because they feel it is wasted time out of their day. So how do you measure your success without losing your audience’s focus? Here are some creative strategies you can use to make feedback fun again.
Make It Interactive
These days, almost everyone has a smartphone, which makes it easy to utilize technology to connect in a meaningful way. The possibilities are infinite—digital surveys, beacons or links that lead attendees to create online reviews. Technology puts you one step closer to a non-boring feedback session.
One example, have participants use a digital map to place where they’re from, a fun fact about themselves and a bit of feedback on the event.
Or, set up buttons around your event that participants can tap to express how they feel about each element of the program. Use a smiley face emoji, a sad face emoji and a neutral emoji, or red for no green for yes and yellow for in the middle.
Get #Social
Surveys say 83% of Americans have a social media account, so capitalize on this connection to make feedback fun!
Set up a photo booth with props that can be used to express attendee’s feelings about the event; you can utilize toothy smiles, lips and frowny faces. You can throw in hats or sunglasses for fun as well. Because everyone loves sharing via social media, you can ask participants to post their picture along with a hashtag you’ve created for your event.
At the TNW Europe tech festival, attendees seamlessly shared images with a built-in brand stripe on the bottom from the photo booth. The Walt Disney Company used the same tactic with attendees of the newest Captain America film opening.
As an alternative to a photo booth, create giant backdrops representing different emotions in a common space where people are most likely to mingle. Encourage guests to take a selfie with the backdrop that best describes how they felt about your event.
Create Conversation
The hardest part of feedback can be starting a conversation. Eliminate that blank page feeling by providing pointed conversation starters. Some examples include: I loved, I met, I learned, I disliked, I would change. Leave plenty of space for comments.
You can even have participants write down their statement on chalkboard and take pictures to post on social media to generate more conversations.
Be Eco Friendly
If you are using paper at your event, take the opportunity to use the recycling as a success barometer. Cover each bin with a happy or sad emoji and instruct individuals to place their paper in whichever they feel describes their experience. The U.S. only recycles 34 percent of the waste they create, so this option helps you do your part in reducing the carbon footprint of meetings.
Get Survey Smart
If you truly must have a traditional survey, make it mobile. If you make the answers instant, you can turn it into a contest by publicly posting the aggregated results as they are entered. This fosters audience participation and a sense of community. An event app, such as Slido can streamline the process. Twitter polls also provide a streamlined way to ask your audience about the event.
If even you receive negative feedback, thank your critics for their input and let them know you’ll make sure to consider their suggestions in the future.
