How to Host a Hybrid Event

In an on-demand world that favours flexibility, hybrid events offer an excellent solution for you and your audience. They help you increase your reach and make deeper connections. And they provide the content you can repurpose to keep those connections alive.

But they’re not without their challenges. For a start, they’re more work. And if they’re delivered poorly, the damage to the business is multiplied.

So how can your hybrid experience make the right impact? Let’s explore 3 important steps.

1. Choose the right environments

Your physical venue and virtual platform are key—as is the expertise they provide.

Hybrid events notably allow for smaller venues and larger audiences. So what you save on the venue and make on ticket sales can fund other aspects of the event, such as the virtual platform.

In your budgeting and planning, be sure to prioritise the right environments.

2. Balance different needs

Given that you have two different audiences, it’s important to clarify what they want from their experiences. Identify what’s common to both and consider how to balance the two sets of needs.

For example, both audiences want:

Quality speakers and presentations
Relevant content
Opportunity to connect
Great resources
Fresh ideas and inspiration

And typically, your in-person delegates will:

Be invested in the whole day
Be engaged from the start
Bring energy to the room
Sit through longer sessions and more content
Enjoy the opportunity to socialise

Whereas your online delegates will:

Prefer a shorter event with more breaks
Possibly be multitasking and less engaged
Feed off the energy in the room
Tire quickly of long sessions
Need more prompting to network

How then do we balance these needs? Here’s one simple idea:

Adapt your live in-person programme to include a hybrid segment
In this segment, programme shorter presentations
Record the entire programme as an evergreen benefit

3. Harness the best of both worlds

Next, how can you engage your audiences’ interests and deepen their sense of connection? Let’s look at your options before, during and after the event.

Before:

Use social media to create buzz (hashtags, event pages, live previews, selfies, etc.)
Use your virtual platform to start a conversation, answer questions and make connections
Set your delegates up for networking success.

During:

Capture the in-the-room dynamics to help your online audience feel part of the experience
Incorporate virtual engagement tools to bring your audiences together
Mix in live polling, direct messaging, and virtual booths for sponsors and exhibitors
Keep updating your social channels

After:

Use the platform analytics to inform your best avenues of engagement from here
Follow up with a “thank you” message, survey, personal notes and next steps prompts
Repurpose the material into an evergreen event, curated online learning, video tips, etc.

Conclusion

Hybrid events offer flexible solutions and engaging experiences for your audiences in 2022 and beyond.

When you provide the right environments, meet your audience needs and engage their interests, you’ll host a hybrid event to remember. You’ll widen your reach and deepen your connection. And you’ll have material to repurpose and build upon.

Every success with your event!

At Fresh Productions we offer first-class event management and production to make your business stand out. Learn more about our hybrid event solutions and call us with no obligation on 02920 099357.

RELATED RESOURCES

About Hybrid Events:

What are hybrid events?

Are hybrid events here to stay?

The 4 different types of hybrid events

Everything you need to know about a hybrid event

Top tips for networking at hybrid events

How to plan a hybrid event

About Virtual Events:

Why are live streams so powerful for your business

Myths people tend to believe about virtual events

Why you should choose our virtual events platform