Hybrid events are simply a combination of live and virtual events.
You take your live event, complete with public content and more, and add a virtual component so your audience can participate and engage with it, no matter where they are.
Let’s look at that last part of the sentence: “… so your public can participate and occupy with your event, no matter where they are.”
The obligation is the essential ingredient in hybrid events.
It’s what differentiates your event from a TEDx video on YouTube—inspiring, yes, educational. But is it engaging? No.
Commitment distinguishes a hybrid event from a live event with tech elements.
Your public won’t watch your event on television; they’ll participate via their mobile devices or computers, which means they can offer real-time feedback.
A hybrid event is not…
- Streaming your sessions from your phone
- A sharable VOD (video on demand) after the event
- Putting your live audience ahead of your online audience
- Seamless integration of technology to simplify participation among a live and virtual audience
- An experience that provides to all audiences in a viewer-friendly way
- Putting your online and live audience on a constant level
You put a lot of effort into planning the participant journey for your live participants.
You must also show the same care to your virtual audience to ensure they get the most from your hybrid event.
What do hybrid events look like?
Hybrid events can take a multitude of presences, depending on your event format and audience.
However, the best hybrid events have one thing in common: they put the audience’s journey first for both audiences.
This means treating your live and online public equally and ensuring they can get the most from your event.
The journey for the online public is heavily reliant on content, as it’s the #1 reason for attending virtually.
And if that content is lackluster, your would-be attendees won’t waste time leaving.
The best way to present your content in a committed way is through a broadcast of your event.
A broadcast goes beyond a live stream and adds more committable elements, like:
- multiple camera angles to add dynamism
- a virtual studio to host speakers and direct online guests
- a host that holds the emotion and energy high
When selecting a virtual event platform, remember that your participants don’t want to repeat the literal experience of walking through your event.
What your attendees want to do is:
- Watch commitment content that teaches them something new and
- Increase their network and make new professional contacts.
3D renderings of your event aren’t necessary to accomplish these goals.
They can often slow down your public by adding an unnecessary layer of complexity that can scare off less tech-savvy attendees.
To ensure that your hybrid event is easy to enjoy, stick with virtual event platforms that focus on simplicity and a special user experience.
Benefits of hybrid events
So why should you host a hybrid event? Are they worth the extra set setup resources required?
Did you know hybrid events have occurred since 2012? The CDC presented a virtual event when it couldn’t afford to bring its guests together due to budget cuts.
But just because their guests couldn’t commune didn’t mean their need for knowledge decreased.
So, they presented a hybrid event to ensure the public got the critical information required while working within their means.
It offered them the flexibility to keep their event running – one of the many advantages.
As you’ll find out, hybrid events are well worth the bonus investment and set (insignificant) learning curve.
1. Increased reach & Attendance
It’s a misconception that your public can participate virtually or in person—there is no in-between. You may think that hosting a hybrid event divides your total Attendance.
However, the opposite is true. Hybrid events allow you to boost your reach and gain more attendees, not fewer.
2. Higher engagement with your audience
Adding a virtual element to your live event opens up many more appointment opportunities than would be possible at a strictly live event, both during and after the event.
This is because your virtual public is actively joining from their mobile devices or desktop computers, meaning they can talk, share, like, comment, and much more.
3. More powerful sponsor opportunities
72% of corporate sponsors are interested in participating in a hybrid event if they can efficiently affect both audiences.
That’s because hybrid events are precious for sponsors for several reasons.
Reason one is the increased reach. More participants at your event mean a larger lead pool for them, which is the #1 reason for sponsorship.
4. Reduced environmental impact and costs
We’ve already seen decreased travel’s impact on the environment. Streets are empty in earlier gridlocked cities, and emissions have plummeted.
While face-to-face conferences are still valuable, going hybrid is a great way to accommodate attendees who might feel guilty about their carbon footprint.
This way, they can still participate in your event and enjoy it while also helping to decrease carbon emissions.
5. Reduced travel costs
Combining the same flow, hybrid events can significantly reduce travel costs for everyone involved.
While participants’ savings are evident, hybrid events can also permit reducing travel costs for investors and crew.
Work-from-home has become customary for companies and employees around the world.
6. Satisfy your marketing pipeline for the year
Rather than keeping your event unique, you can easily repurpose and reshare digital content to maintain a steady stream flowing to your audience.
For example, you can share the entire live stream (or certain pieces) to promote your future event. Sharing your live stream also ensures constant visualness for sponsors who are part of it.
Streaming your event also has the added advantage of ensuring you don’t forget to record anything. With a high focus on broadcasting, you can rest calmly knowing all your content is recorded for later use!
7. Improved return on investment (ROI)
ROI is tricky to adjust at events because of all the moving pieces.
After all, hybrid events offer an increased return on investment due mainly to the increased reach and scalability.
Because your hybrid events attract more participation, this can translate into greater views for sponsors and more sign-ups after the event.
8. Valuable data
A considerable benefit of hybrid events comes from the data and its insights.
For example, at a live event, you can do a headcount and estimate the number of viewers who attended a session.
But with hybrid events, you know the attendance numbers, as well as how they engaged and when they dropped out of the session.
Through matchmaking data and session participation, you also gain information on your guests’ interests, which can help you improve your future content.
As well, you gain lots of data to provide more detailed reporting on your performance
9. Greater flexibility
If you’re still in doubt about hybrid events, consider what would happen to your event if travel was disrupted again.
Without a hybrid event platform to fall back on, your event would not happen, and your participants would find something else to fill the time. That could mean a competitor event.
10. Address the changing needs of your participants
It’s absurd to say how the COVID-19 crisis will change the world when all is said and done.
After all, one thing is certain: this crisis has changed how we use technology in our daily lives.
By some reports, almost half of the US workforce now works remotely. While remote work has pros and cons, no one can deny it is possible.
Also, investors are changing their budgets to adapt to unstable environments and will promote your virtual or hybrid event if you can ensure your participants interact and engage with them.
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