State of Event engagement - vol 2

Maximize engagement & revenue at your Association & Nonprofit event

Audio Brief for THE State of Event Engagement Report - Vol 2

We studied 500+ Association and Nonprofit events with 500K+ users across different event sizes and regions to identify the untapped potential in the digital layer and demonstrate how event engagement can become a strategic revenue stream.

User Activation

↑11%

increase in exhibitor activation rates when events implemented an integrated lead generated solution

Networking

↑45%

increase in acceptance rate for AI-recommended connections and meetings requests

Exhibitor ROI

85%

of all lead generation actions does not involve badge scanning

Session Interactions

25%

of event leads come from attendees who engage with session content

USer Activation & ENGAGEMENT

Early activation fuels higher engagement

Data revealed a strong positive relationship between event activation and engagement—higher activation levels consistently translate into higher engagement.   

Association and Nonprofit Organizations that opened their event platform 3 weeks prior to the event date, hit an activation peak eight days before the event, gaining five extra days for user onboarding.

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Bar graph showing 40% of leads are created before the event starts

bar graph showing 60% of networking happens prior to the event day.

EVENT networking

Enhance networking with AI

Nearly half of all networking requests—including those from attendees-to-exhibitors—go unaccepted on average.

Despite this, AI-powered recommendations significantly boost acceptance rates. They increase overall networking acceptance by 45%, and connection acceptance rates alone jump by nearly 55%. Yet, 25% of events are not using AI to optimize attendee networking.

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Bar graph showing 45% increase in acceptance rate for AI-recommended networking requests.

Lead Generation & Exhibitor ROI

Digital engagement drives sponsor & exhibitor value

Data showed that 40% of lead generation happened before the event, and online booth visits were the top lead generating action, driving 44% of leads, across all Association+ events tiers.

Organizers who rely solely on traditional booth sales or undervalue digital engagement risk missing sponsor expectations—and leaving measurable revenue on the table.

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44% of leads are created via online booth visits

Pie graph showing 85% of all leads created are outside of badge scanning i.e. are digital engagements.

What the experts are saying

"1 Effective event networking platform that is also easy to use."

In the past, our adoption rate was about 15%, and with Swapcard, we jumped to a 75% adoption rate. Also, as a staff member for the event, I loved the easy-to-use backend of the platform that quickly integrated into our systems.

Kevin C. S.

Senior Marketing Manager

"Good all-in-one app"

Swapcard utilizes easy builds, flexible points on data, and seamless user experience for items needed. With other apps, they use hub and spoke models for what can be added on, however with Swapcard it meets our business needs with not many extra add-ons.

Jessica C.

Associate Director, Meeting Operations | G2 Review

"Good for sponsors & exhibitors at events"

Being able to collect leads, make a profile and book meetings is the most important thing at physical events. Events that use swapcard make that process easier and allow you to be more focused on the event.

Mike D.

Event Organizer

G2 Review

"Swapcard's UI/UX & customer support is incredible"

Seamless event management ensures that the business focuses on the most pertinent issues and not just logistics. Through the above, more efforts are up to converting leads and more of the logistics are handled by the Swapcard app.

Samuel K.

Small-Business

G2 Review

"Use Swapcard for Exhibitor Lead Retrieval & Virtual Presentations"

An efficient way for our exhibitors to collect leads from on-site interactions as well as visits to their "virtual" booth spaces.

Todd S.

Event Delivery Specialist

G2 Review

Session Interactions

Match session format to attendee behavior to increase engagement

At Association+ events, sessions play a central role in delivering education and professional value—but engagement varies by tier.

Audiences at Tier 2 and Tier 3 events are most engaged with live-streamed content, showing view completion rates of 64% and 63% respectively. In contrast, Tier 1 events show steady engagement around 50%, regardless of content format.

To increase session engagement, align delivery methods with audience preferences: prioritize live streams for smaller events, invest in high-quality content and discovery tools for larger ones.

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Bar chart comparing view completion rates of live stream, on‑demand, and pre‑recorded content across Tier 1–3 Association+ events.

executive letter excerpt

Strategic growth for Association+ events

Association and Nonprofit events are undergoing rapid change, driven by global shifts and evolving trade policies. While attendance is rebounding in some regions, Associations and Nonprofits must find new ways to deliver personalized attendee experiences, generate qualified leads, meet sponsor expectations, and generate sustainable revenue.

This report analyzes data from 500+ events and 500K+ users, offering benchmarks and insights across four key areas: User Activation & Engagement, Networking, Exhibitor & Sponsor ROI, and Session Interactions.

It introduces a new performance standard—focused on outcomes over activity—to help Associations and Nonprofits modernize event strategy and sustain mission-driven growth.

Baptiste Boulard

CEO & CO-Founder | Swapcard