Hybrid Events: Meeting Your Audience Where They Are

Even as live events return, hybrid events are remaining strong players in the events industry. Why? Because hybrid events allow your attendees a choice… to attend in person or to attend virtually. What exactly is a hybrid event? It’s an event that has both a physical event as well as a virtual event. You are planning experiences for two different audiences… those in person and those who are remote. Hybrid events provide a lot of benefits but do require additional planning. Hybrid Events Give You Access to a Global Audience Since you are providing a way for your audience to attend virtually, you can open your registration up to a much more global audience. Attendees are not restricted by geography or time to attend your event. You can share your message and content not only with those people who are in-person, but with a much wider audience remotely. Providing the remote portion of the event allows your attendees much more flexibility. For those who have time constraints, or for who travel is not feasible, hybrid events provide a solution. Maybe their company doesn’t want to pay the additional expense that come with travel. Or maybe you have an attendee who doesn’t want to leave their small children at home for an extended time period. Being able to attend remotely solves those issues. Hybrid Events Require Additional Planning There are many complex moving parts when planning a live event. When you add in the virtual component, your planning needs exponentially grow. You are now planning two separate experiences… one for your in-person attendees and one for your remote attendees. You need to consider what each of those audiences will experience and how they will interact with each other. Speaking of Experiences… All events need to be comprised of the 3 E’s of Events… Excitement, Engagement and Experience. You need to get attendees excited to come to your event. You need to plan specific ways to engage with your attendees during the event and allow them to engage with other attendees. Lastly, you need to provide them an experience… something that will make the event memorable for them. The type of experience you provide can be as simple or creative as you want it to be. We have incorporated everything from gamification to DJ’s to virtual event meal delivery to team competitions and more. You can provide entertainment or other experiences for your attendees. Your live attendees experience may be different than your virtual attendees. Consider what is best for both of your audiences. Plan, Plan, Plan When planning your event, start with the goal of the event, then the experience you want your attendees to have. If you stay focused on those two items, your event will be a success.