There is good news on the horizon. With the distribution of the vaccine successfully sweeping the nation in the next few months, people are itching to get out and event planners, event strategists and organizers will all soon be able to get back to planning live, in person events. But hold on – the continuing threat of Covid 19, the looming probability of other variants and recommendations against large, face-to-face gatherings still present a challenge for returning to live events too soon. How do you plan for this? With hybrid events.
Enter the Hybrid Event
This event strategy can be the best answer and will most likely be our future go-to in the coming months and years. Event organizers, event strategists and event planners can begin planning and supplementing their virtual audiences with online attendees while hosting smaller live gatherings at the same time.
Where to Start?
Deciding to host any face-to-face event is a tentative choice, and one of the most important choices the event planner or organizer will make in our current situation.
Here are some important questions to ask yourself and your team before you plan a hybrid event.
What is a hybrid event?
A hybrid event is a conference, seminar or other meeting that combines a “live” in-person event at a physical location with a “virtual” online platform for remote attendees. An Event Planner can get very creative in planning hybrid events to appeal to both the live event attendees and the online audience, keeping both equally engaged. Doing what makes the most sense for the audience, the event and the company goals should be the priority.
What is the difference between a hybrid event and a virtual event?
A virtual event is exclusively online. Hybrid events are a mix of the two. First, hybrid events give the event planner the flexibility to reach the greater number of attendees. Second, hybrid events are also cost effective and eliminate the need to travel to meetings and conferences; they also allow for the opportunity to gather valuable data, increase audience reach, and increase profits.
How important it is for your organization or company to host a hybrid event.
Are you ready to spend the money and additional resources to keep your audience healthy and safe? And. at the same time making it an engaging experience for everyone? While a virtual event will never completely replace in-person, platforms like Zoom, Airmeet, ON24, and Cvent etc. have come a long way and you may find that it makes more sense to remain virtual until it is safe to gather in larger groups.
How important is it to be face-to-face?
If a hybrid event is still your preference, consider following this helpful resource on event safety.
What are the challenges of hosting a hybrid event?
To create a positive experience, it is important to assess the needs of both the virtual audience and the live in-person groups. For instance, how do you create a digital experience that keeps your audience at home as engaged as the participants in a live in-person event? You may need additional facilitators to lead discussions with your online audience and a completely different facilitator to manage engagement for your in-person group.
Who is your audience?
Virtual and live audiences have different needs. Consider the dynamics of your group, age and profession or industry and lifestyle comfort. Comparatively, a face-to-face event or meeting for attendees in the healthcare industry may look different from a group of software developers, and an audience of professionals over 50 may be less likely to gather in-person than a younger audience that may be more open to the prospect.
How many will be in attendance?
For hybrid events, most importantly, plan for fewer participants in a live event space (with social distancing and health regulation accountability), and a larger audience for the virtual platform.
Social distancing, room size and setup?
Work closely with your event planner or strategist to set up your venue rooms and facilities for social distancing; use round tables or theater style seating to position attendees at a safe distance.
Marketing strategies for hybrid events vs a live event: are they different?
Social media, content marketing, paid ads and email marketing, to name a few, are all utilized in the same way in marketing hybrid events as is live events. What may need to be changed is the timing of these marketing events when it comes to hybrid and virtual meetings. With most live events, event planners and strategists normally focus on registrations well in advance of the event date; now meeting attendance increases dramatically the week before an online event and even in the days following. Plan on doing most of your marketing and social media in the week before and leading up to your event.
Who is paying attention?
Face it, live online audiences simply do not have the same attention span as our usual face-to-face engagements. Online audiences will need shorter content and more breaks. If you plan on live streaming, adjustments will need to be made to shorten session for both live and virtual audiences.
Do these virtual and in-person sessions need to occur at the same time?
Live stream doesn’t need to be the only option. It’s a common misconception that you need to have a live, in-person event happen at the same time as a virtual event. Live streams make sense for some events like sports and weddings, but they are not the only option. Take advantage of pre-recorded material, semi-live sessions and Q&A breakouts for your hybrid events. These can be made available to online attendees at any time and lend extra flexibility to the conference and seminar agenda
How do I keep them engaged?
Make sure the beginning of the event is energizing and exciting so that the attendees feel motivated to stay tuned in. This is where your AV companies are your best friends. Many AV companies are pivoting to support virtual events by providing technical know-how and logistics for a professional event. Remote audiences are accustomed to snappy productions and polished content. Don’t underestimate the value of a quality production.
One of the most important things to do is allow attendees to participate in the event and focus in on an interactive experience. Besides the basic features such as polling and surveys, engagement can be achieved through gamification, networking, Q&A and live chat.
Prioritize attendee connections and create robust networking opportunities for your online and virtual audiences. Examples are hosting a socially distant networking luncheon or reception for your in-person attendees; use social media and event apps to match online attendees with other like-minded participants in the virtual arena; arrange small breakout sessions peer-to-peer networking video calls to allow participants to connect with each other.
And the exhibitors and vendors?
The online audience is just as important to your exhibitors, speakers and event professionals at your event as those in the face-to-face venues. Moreover, exhibitor representatives are encouraged to host live office hours on your event platform and be available to speak and connect with online attendees.
Additional ideas for a successful hybrid event:
- Don’t forget the entertainment! Live stream your entertainment from your in-person event directly to your virtual audience. Hosting a live Q&A ‘fan’ chat if featuring a big-ticket name or famous actor, comedian or musical group is a fun attraction for your virtual audience.
- Improve event registrations by selling virtual tickets at a discount.
- Hold simultaneous networking receptions on-site and virtually. Live stream a camera feed of the live networking reception to your virtual attendees.
- Send out festive household decorations in themed colors to your virtual partygoers.
- Send a CD or a download of the music from your virtual events.
In conclusion, hybrid events may be challenging and also add to the total expense of your event because of the two experiences needed along with additional AV and production. The best thing you can do is to prepare for this by understanding your event strategy, purpose and goals. If you found this valuable, and would like more information, fill out our contact form and we can schedule a 30-minute strategy call.
Planning a virtual event? See below for our Virtual Event Checklist