This is for the upcoming new iteration of sector conquest (based on assumption that something like this will not be in next patch)
Create a counter similar to what we have now (under Engage button) for each of 3 locations on conquest map. It would be even better if there is an indication how many players are in Queue from each side in that location and how many battles there are.
On top of that, have a counter of how many Sector Conquest eligible players are online (In corporations and have R5 ships) per faction. Yes, those counters would be extremely skewed by low T2 players, but eventually this counter will indicate “general” population activity within a faction.