Hybrid Events - What are they and why are they growing?
In the face of radical changes in all facets of conducting business, it's clear that organizations must continue to find ways to exchange information across industries and with consumers. Technological growth sparked the beginning of virtual events that connect business leaders across geographical borders, but pandemic restrictions forced the explosive growth of virtual and hybrid business events. As businesses struggle to balance safety and vital communication, hybrid events offer hope for the best of both worlds.
While a 1,000% growth of virtual events was reported during the pandemic, it's clear that face-to-face meetings aren't a thing of the past. Recent research shows that 59% of associations plan on running hybrid events over the next year.
Still, some organizations have doubts about holding such an event successfully. The need for communication and innovation sparked by business events isn't changing. Hybrid events could be a long-term solution to eliminate many barriers and boost attendance regardless of the future of COVID 19 and pandemic restrictions. Yet, most business leaders need to learn more about the practice before making an informed decision.
What are Hybrid Events?
A hybrid event is an event that combines both live and virtual elements to create a united atmosphere in which all attendees can participate. These events have in-person and online components that allow all attendees to interact with presenters and other attendees.
While some presenters may be attending virtually, the event is partly live. Meaning a hybrid event will include a virtual venue and a physical one, and the two will be bridged together for seamless communication.
Hybrid events differ from streaming sessions or shared videos in that the virtual audience is equally engaged in the event as the live audience and can offer feedback in real-time. A successful event considers the audience journey for both audience types and engages all audience members to make sense and add value to the experience.
Why Hybrid Events Are Ideal for an Award Ceremony
During the early months of the pandemic, non-essential businesses shut down, and the world turned to online communities for support and necessities. Online shopping sales shot up by 81% between May 2019 and May 2020, giving cybercriminals the perfect opportunity to defraud less tech-savvy consumers. Such issues quickly built a culture of distrust, leaving businesses without brand recognition with no way to reassure potential customers of their validity.
Forty-four percent of consumers don't fully trust digital services, and a whopping 96% don't trust ads. When deciding whether to trust an unfamiliar brand, 94% of shoppers turn to reviews. This can create a cycle of consumer distrust for legitimate businesses forced to move the bulk of their operations online suddenly.
Enter the value of third-party trust. When a company can display a recognizable award, its credibility is increased, giving customers more confidence in the brand. Yet, attending an awards ceremony that requires travel and close proximity might not be the most responsible decision for many during a pandemic.
A hybrid award ceremony can create the opportunities all businesses need to continue to compete. Companies across all industries lost revenue due to the pandemic and related restrictions. Nearly half of adults are anxious about returning to in-person activities.
Hybrid award events address these new issues while providing a similar experience to a live awards event. Most importantly, participants still have the opportunity to network, learn, and have an engaging experience while getting recognized with a prestigious award.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Hybrid Events
The very nature of combining two things means it will inevitably be more complicated than either event in its singular form. A hybrid event requires the host to combine two venues and audiences into a particular group without placing one above another.
Yet, when done well, the result can surpass other options. Deciding whether the effort is worth the payoff requires each organization to consider both the benefits and drawbacks of a hybrid event.
Advantages
Increased attendance
Elimination of geographical barriers for greater diversity and inclusion
Increased safety
Reduced environmental impact
Potential to use innovation and change for increased engagement
Repurpose digital content for marketing or education
Disadvantages
Higher costs
Potential data security dangers
The complexity of setting up and execution
The experience might be less enjoyable for the remote audience
How to Set Up a Successful Hybrid Event
The primary goal is to bring people together, but the intrinsic nature of a hybrid event threatens to divide them. There's no doubt that hybrid events offer solutions to issues when other options have fallen short. However, a hybrid event could fall flat without the proper setup and leave attendees feeling left out.
If you decide a hybrid event is suitable for you, it's essential to consider particular elements that will likely lead to success. Take these steps to set up a successful hybrid event that will leave both audiences feeling satisfied.
Create an Engaging Experience for All
The outcome of your hybrid event will depend heavily on your attention to detail. To create one equal event that offers the same benefits for both live and virtual attendees, your virtual venue and live venue will require the same level of attention.
Invest in live and virtual production, lively content, host, and entertainment to create content that engages over video. Try these tips to engage both audiences with the same content:
Have an onsite representative dedicated exclusively to your virtual attendees.
Merge content with a conversation like live polls and Q&A.
Avoid activities that might restrict a group of attendees from getting involved.
Incorporate a live voting opportunity for specific awards.
Create separate and mobile device interaction exclusively for your virtual attendees.
Bring the audience together with pre-recorded videos.
Use a Reliable Event Technology Platform
Virtual attendance runs many risks of becoming less engaging than in-person attendance at the same event. A hybrid event requires technology that seamlessly integrates virtual components with live technology for a united event. Your virtual audience will likely be left out of a satisfactory experience. A real-time virtual event might include live stream, video uploads, ticketing and registration systems, an event app, and more.
Before the event, it's a good idea to test the event technology to ensure everything will work when it's time. Host a dry run of the entire event to provide a chance for each presenter to check the equipment, navigate the virtual platform, and determine how to perform for both audiences.
Consider Different Time Zones
While you may experience an increase in attendance because participants can attend from all over the world, varying time zones can make attendance difficult for some. When surveyed, 49% of hybrid event organizers stated that they faced difficulties scheduling the event for an international audience with multiple time zones.
To avoid issues with time zones, it may be necessary to host the same event multiple times. Alternatively, you could offer sessions that can be accessed on-demand for virtual attendees.
Hybrid events are becoming more common and provide ways to overcome geographical barriers and pandemic restrictions while still maintaining many engaging features of a live event. Furthermore, they provide opportunities to overcome other issues and create more opportunities for businesses to collaborate in the future. As companies adapt to continually changing circumstances, hybrid events offer individuals the flexibility to stay competitive and continuously improve performance.
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