Everything you need to know about hybrid events

Past year was very challenging for most of the companies. Business owners were forced to adapt to this new and bit of scary reality. One of the most palpable changes have taken place in event organisation business. Everything had to be reorganized, rethought and adapted to new reality. Luckily, the solution came quickly! Virtual keynotes, online meetings and webinars took over the internet. For many business owners / brands this format became an even more effective way to communicate with your audience located all over the world. What’s next? Hybrid events! Read the article to find out why we believe it’s the best format for event managers.

Future of events is hybrid

Hybrid events are simply a mix of live and virtual events. You take your event live, along with your audience, content and more, and add a virtual component to it! Thanks to that your audience can participate and engage with your event, no matter where they are!

Hybrid events provide flexibility in terms of interaction and participation in the event. Engagement is what distinguishes a hybrid event from a typical live event. Thanks to the remote option, hybrid events offer more opportunities to participate. Additionally, using features such as gamification, virtual maps, lobbies and live streaming, many people will feel as if they were there in person! 

“Other clients are pivoting toward virtual and hybrid events. One of our events partners recently launched Global Speaker Showcase which illustrates that virtual conferences are not only viable, but effective means of communication. It was a three day virtual event where I keynoted and MCd the event - scaled and broadcast across all continents - live.” 

Anders Sorman-Nilsson

 

What you need to know before planning your first hybrid event

Let's start with what can go wrong! As the organizer of a hybrid event, you need to make sure everything goes as planned. Here are things you should pay particular attention to! 

Good transmission quality

Quality of your event is closely related to a good internet connection and the equipment used. Even the most interesting speech will not arouse the enthusiasm of the audience if it is interrupted by technical problems. This is especially important during a hybrid event, because the participants are to react and actively participate. 

Take care of your audience

Seems obvious? Believe us, engaging remote participants and those on site is not that easy! It is very important to ensure that both groups can actively participate in the event. 

When deciding on this type of event, you must ensure that each participant derives some value from it.

Test, test and test again!

For weeks, maybe even months, you have carefully prepared your event. You have probably spent a lot of time making sure that the solutions you propose engage your audience. Little tip! Test your event right before launching it so you can review and correct the content before accessing it to others. Review the entire program to identify any problems that may arise. You should pay special attention to the functionality of the live chat functions.

Benefits of hybrid events

Organizing a hybrid event may be very challenging. It is without a doubt one of the most demanding and complicated forms of events. So why is it worth taking up this challenge?

Here are some of the benefits of hybrid events:

Increased reach & attendance

The times when we thought that the audience could only participate in the event in person or only online are long over. The popularity of hybrid events in 2021 is not only due to the limitations caused by COVID-19, which make it difficult to organize large events. Another advantage is their adaptation to the needs of your target - people like to have a choice. By organizing a hybrid event, you have a chance to attract fans of both live events and online meetings. 

Reduced costs

Let's say your event is to be attended by 30, 100 or 500 people. The place where you organize it will not accommodate more and the costs of a larger auditorium are too high. A hybrid event allows you to multiply this number with almost no limit and less cost. 

It's worth noting that you don't have to worry about commuting, providing snacks or physical promotional materials for online attendees. Instead, you can provide them with materials summarizing the issues raised at the event or an interesting summary using e-mail marketing.

Especially, when budgets are tight, hybrid events are excellent for bridging the gap between cost and results, for attendees and sponsors alike.

Flexibility 

This is the key reason why people love virtual events! We learned the lesson from the previous year - nowadays hosting a live event with no digital fallback is very risky. Not only because online events are much easier for people to attend from anywhere in the world. But also because COVID-19 restrictions that can rapidly change. By hosting a hybrid event you can be sure that at least part of your audience will participate in your event.  

Looking for a great speaker who will turn your hybrid event into a huge success? 

Here are our suggestions: 

Already mentioned in the article, Anders Sorman-Nilsson is an extraordinary keynote speaker with plenty of experience in both virtual and hybrid events. His keynotes are mainly focused on futurism, strategies and global trends.

One of the most known people in the world. A man who provided irrefutable evidence that new technology not only means better communication between people, but also - permanent surveillance. Former CIA employee , one of our VIP speakers - Edward Snowden. 

Recently named by Fortune as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Peter H. Diamandis is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. His personal motto is: “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!”

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