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Hybrid Events

A hybrid event combines in-person and virtual events, expanding the event's global reach. There are two main types of hybrid events.

Internal hybrid events are suitable for company-wide announcements, training, town hall meetings, department gatherings, sales meetings, and more. For large companies, it is almost impossible to gather all the internal stakeholders and staff in the same room. This is because the company has branches and/or headquarters worldwide. In such cases, a hybrid event is an ideal solution.

External hybrid events are ideal for conferences, summits, concerts, virtual social networking, seminars, workshops, classes, trade shows, and product launches. People from similar industries can connect, share experiences, and network at external hybrid events. External hybrid events target a much broader audience than internal hybrid events, as they target individuals from outside the organization who might share a common interest.

World Business Chicago led the largest Chicago Venture Summit in a three-day hybrid event powered by Deal Room in September 2021 and recorded the attendance of 600+ key players in driving Chicago’s status.

Every aspect of a hybrid event is specially created and tailored for each audience to encourage engagement. While your virtual audience can conveniently explore your content and make new connections from the comfort of their home, your in-person audience receives the high-touch VIP experience that helps you drive leads. 

These combined events create fantastic opportunities to engage your audience and strengthen their relationship with your brand while gathering crucial data. 

You can use that as incredible fuel for future event strategies to help you improve your strategy and give your audiences more value. That is why hybrid events are the future!

If you'd like to learn more about hybrid events, we recommend checking out our articles “10 things to consider while organising a hybrid event,” and “10 Common Mistakes You Want to Avoid in Your 2022 Hybrid Events.”

Make sure you are prepared with technical support. Our team at Deal Room provides online assistance to quickly resolve difficulties, ensuring that attendees have a pleasant experience.

It is critical to align your online and onsite event materials, such as using the same graphics and colors. By doing so, a consistent experience will be created for both online and onsite attendees.

Different marketing strategies are needed to captivate attendees. The event may promote an engaging and valuable experience for online participants while promoting an educational experience for in-person visitors.

Choose the Right Platform for your hybrid event. Ensure that technical and streaming resources are available. At Deal Room, we provide keynote speakers with microphones and cameras etc.

Think about Online Attendees. To minimize “screen fatigue,” the event should not be too long.

Networking sessions must be properly organized to avoid online participants having the impression that their experience is limited. The agenda must be well planned to avoid leaving online attendees staring at an empty screen or feeling lost.

During the event, acknowledge both online and onsite attendees. The host should combine questions and activities for the room and virtual participants to ensure that all attendees are involved.

Maintain Engagement & Interaction. Hosting a hybrid event entails providing two distinct experiences. Event organizers should customize content, ensuring attendees are participating in the scheduled activities,

Don’t forget your sponsors. Event sponsors should receive as much exposure virtually as to an onsite event. At Deal Room, sponsors and partners can gain a range of brand exposure.

A hybrid event combines the elements of virtual and in-person events. A portion of the participants attend the event onsite, and others do so online. At this type of event, both parties should engage with the content and with each other.

Now that we clarified what hybrid events are, let us talk about 10 things to consider while organizing a hybrid event to make sure it is a success!

(A) Pre Event

1. Be Prepared with Technical Support

Due to the virtual component that requires technology, technical difficulties may arise hence a support team should always be available. Our team at Deal Room provides online assistance to quickly resolve difficulties, ensuring that attendees have a pleasant experience.

2. Be Consistent

It is critical to align your online and onsite event materials, such as using the same graphics and colors. By doing so, a consistent experience will be created for both online and onsite attendees.

3. Apply Different Marketing Strategies

Different marketing strategies are needed to captivate attendees. The event may promote an engaging and valuable experience for online participants while promoting an educational experience for in-person visitors.

4. Choose the Right Platform

Onsite

• Ensure that technical and streaming resources are available. At Deal Room, we provide keynote speakers with microphones and cameras etc.

Online

• Ensure that the attendees are familiar with the event platform. At Deal Room, we take pride in our simple-to-use platform that allows everyone to fulfil their needs.
• Ensure that the presenter and clients are familiar with the event platform. At Deal Room, we rehearse with our presenters and clients before the event to make sure they are familiar with the platform.
• Ensure that live support is accessible.

5. Think about Online Attendees

To minimize “screen fatigue,” the event should not be too long.

Networking sessions must be properly organized to avoid online participants having the impression that their experience is limited. The agenda must be well planned to avoid leaving online attendees staring at an empty screen or feeling lost.

(B) During Event

6. Acknowledge Both Online and Onsite Attendees

One of the most common mistakes presenters make is failing to acknowledge online participants. The host should combine questions and activities for the room and virtual participants to ensure that all attendees are involved.

7. Maintain Engagement & Interaction

Hosting a hybrid event entails providing two distinct experiences. Event organizers should customize content, ensuring attendees are participating in the scheduled activities.

• There should be 2 hosts, a virtual emcee and a regular host. The virtual emcee can serve as a voice for the virtual participants.
• Interactive sessions should be held separately. Live Q&As, polls and breakout sessions can be used to engage virtual participants.

8. Value for Sponsors

Event sponsors should receive as much exposure virtually as to an onsite event. At Deal Room, sponsors and partners can gain a range of brand exposure. These include:

• Display banners
• Brand visuals in emails to be sent out to participants
• Hosting virtual and live booths
• 1:1 networking/meetings

9. Prep for Q&A

Q&A sessions should give adequate time for online attendees since responses may not be as prompt. Ensure questions asked are visible to both online and onsite participants.

(C) After Event

10. Send Out More Content

To keep the event and experience at the top of attendees’ minds, content generated such as a blog post recap or a link to the video recording may be sent to everyone on the attendee list.

Hybrid events are an effective method to utilize the best parts of in-person and virtual events.

While hybrid events may be the best way to reach audiences, they also introduce a new set of challenges for event organizers. Satisfying the demands of a single audience (on-site) has always had its challenges. Now, engaging and satisfying two parallel audiences at the same time can be even harder.

To be successful in this journey, there are a couple of things experience has taught us to avoid. Here, take a look at 10 mistakes you want to avoid while planning and executing your hybrid events:

Pre-event

1. Promoting event too late

A common mistake while planning hybrid events is underestimating the timeline. As a result, the promotion of the event gets delayed. To have a successful event, promotion of the event should start at least two weeks before the event, if not more. Be sure to take advantage of all available channels including social media platforms and newsletters. Email marketing has proven to be one of the most successful communication channels for advertising. By starting promotion early, there is a higher probability to increase the number of attendees.

2. Assuming an invitation is all you need for attendees to show up

Many event organizers believe that by promoting their events early, participants will turn up. With an overload of content and events happening at the same time, it is easy to dismiss an event reminder pop-up (Panel®, 2021). One way to continue to encourage people to attend your event is through reminders and gifting. For instance, sending a “thank you” coupon or gifts to your target audience is effective in keeping them more accountable and invested.

3. Presuming all attendees are tech-savvy

Presuming your entire audience is tech-savvy was a common mistake event organizers make. Every event will include a group of people that have a different level of technical skill. Thus, it is essential to be prepared to support attendees at all levels (Calhoun, 2020). Before the start of your event, it is important to provide each participant with a guide or a quick briefing on how to use the platform. This is to ensure your event will run smoothly and you'll avoid having participants frustrated with technology.

4. Misalignment between Event Management Platform and goal of the event

Seems very easy no? easier said than done. One of the first steps to a successful hybrid event is choosing the right platform for Hybrid events. Hosting a hybrid event can be significantly more challenging than hosting an in-person event or purely virtual due to the increased complications arising from several technology integrations and features. Thus, the platform you choose must have adequate features to power your event and adequately connect both audiences (online and offline). To find out more about how to choose the best platform for your event, you can read one of our previous blogs - How to Choose the Best Event Platform?

5. Misunderstanding the importance of a physical connection

Some event organizers have experienced the downsides of believing that attendees will have a memorable experience as long as the event content is relevant and valuable. Thus, to leverage physical memorabilia you can send your participants something to wear or use during the day of the event (Calhoun, 2020). For example, shirts, coffee cups or a lanyard, etc. These small gifts can make your attendees feel connected.

During event

6. Extending time

Another common mistake that you want to avoid is going over the promised end time. It is indeed a challenge to keep activities within established time frames, especially with the increased technical complexities that may arise in hybrid events. However, your attendees may have other commitments and responsibilities, and thus, it is important to deliver what you promised. Some ways to ensure this includes preparing your speakers and doing multiple practice runs. The former will help avoid rushing through Q&A, quizzes, and polls which are key tools that keep your attendees engaged.

7. Monotonous content

Hybrid events are a great tool to reach audiences from all over the world regardless of geographical locations. One way to keep your audience engaged is to encourage interaction among and with them. Polls, breakout sessions, and live Q&As are great features to use and generate unique content in the event. Your audience is encouraged to express their thoughts and ideas rather than just gazing at a blank screen.

8. Lengthy programmed sessions

Considering the "#VirtualFatigue" trends we can acknowledge that virtual attendees are likely to have a shorter attention span than in-person attendees (Lenhart, 2021). Thus, programs that include long sessions may result in screen fatigue. Hence, plan the agenda with enough breaks, shorter sessions, and spaces for networking. Consider that the former components need to fit within the time frame promised to the audience.

9. Disregarding networking opportunities for virtual participants

One of the biggest mistakes that event organizers made is overlooking networking for virtual participants. While networking among in-person participants is natural, opportunities for virtual attendees must be facilitated (Lenhart, 2021). Virtual chat rooms and breakout sessions are required during breaks for remote attendees to interact and communicate. Event organizers can also assign hosts to assist in these interactions. Even though it may be difficult, it is also critical to encourage both in-person and virtual participants to connect and build relationships with each other.

Post-event

10. Making event content available post-event

Events require attention to detail to ensure successful execution. Due to the number of details required for this execution, it may slip the Event Organizer's mind to record the content of the event. Offering on-demand content allows multiple benefits such as attendees re-watching valuable content, utilizing data to advertise future events (Lenhart, 2021), etc. It can also help increase loyalty and create an online community. Furthermore, it can also be useful to generate leads, increase website traffic and extend the life of your event.

Tip #1: Leverage on Emerging Technologies

Technology will continue to advance rapidly. Thus, sponsors can leverage emerging technologies to craft engaging experiences. New and innovative content will attract attendees, and consequently, improve engagement.

Tip #2: Position yourself as a Thought Leader

Meaning, someone or an organization who is considered a go-to source for inspiration. To position yourself as a thought leader (Forbes, 2020), your products and services must adequately provide solutions to your customer's pain points. Keep in mind the limited opportunities some may face while attempting to engage with attendees in hybrid events. Thus, choose your positioning wisely and select the features that can best provide that experience to your audience better than other competitors. In the process, you will build authority and trust.

Tip #3: Set up Virtual Briefings on your Products

Virtual briefings are sessions where organizations invite attendees to find out more about their products and services. To attract more participants to join these sessions, gifts and discounts can be provided. This is an effective way to create leads and buzz (Forbes, 2020) as participants are likely to be drawn by the complimentary gifts and attend your briefing. Also, it's an opportunity to validate the current perceptions you have of your audience.

Tip #4: Connect a Physical Component to your Events

Meaning, introducing, if possible, a physical product or service into your event. Connecting a physical component to your events is a unique and creative method to generate leads (Forbes, 2020). For instance, at networking events participants may not experience physical networking yet event kits can be provided as conversation starters or to pose games, etc. The former aids attendees to immerse themselves into the experience regardless of whether it's virtual. Besides, it can be a creative and fun way to differentiate yourself from other competitors.

Tip #5: Effective Networking Opportunities

Especially in a hybrid event, effective networking is crucial. Networking allows attendees to build meaningful connections that bring value to them and their organization. Set up networking sessions where you can offer product demos to your attendees with time for a Q&A at the end.

Tip #6: Plan for In-person Engagement

Hybrid events indicate having also a physical event. The in-person experience has to be coherent with the virtual experience. It is important to have a plan for in-person engagement to make the most out of your presence (Anisin, 2019). This can be in the form of promotional materials and prizes during polls and Q&As etc. If you have a booth space, we suggest making sure it is visually appealing with high-quality gifts.

Tip #7: Define how your audience will engage

First start by understanding your aims and goals to define how you want participants to interact with your brand (Best, 2021). For instance:

• Encouraging participants to join the next event you sponsor

• Encourage participants to visit your booth, download information about your organization, and book a meeting to discuss more on the products and services provided

• Incentivize participants to book your organization by gifting

Audiences are more likely to engage in the way you want if you craft the experience according to your goals. Thus, building those valuable leads.

Tip #8: Engage beyond your Booth

After generating a solid number of leads, what is next? Many organizations make the mistake of blasting a general email and waiting for replies. However, the strength of face-to-face marketing is being able to engage at a more personal level with your audience (Anisin, 2019). Use the platform to book a meeting to know your audience at a more personalized level. By doing so, you will be able to make the most out of your sponsorship. At Deal Room, sponsors are able to book meetings with attendees before, during, and after the event.

Tip #9: Provide detailed Analytics

As events utilize a digital platform, organizations may use this to their advantage and collect useful data to better serve their audience (Chaudhury, 2021). The data may involve numbers regarding attendance, audience engagement and whom they build connections with. Organizations can use the information to improve customer experiences (Allie Magyar, 2021) and, if applicable, rectify problems as the event progresses. The data generated can drive business value by creating better experiences or following up with participants, aiding in driving leads.

To conclude, sponsoring events that have a virtual component (virtual and hybrid) has the benefit of accessing a larger audience and more solid data. However, always take note of the objectives and aims of sponsoring the event to create relevant and valuable opportunities to drive leads. In this era, it is important to be consumer-oriented. If attendees gain value and insights with your brand, it will automatically generate leads for you.

The virtual and hybrid world offers limitless possibilities for lead generation. Now is the time to experiment, develop and take chances.

Let us know if you need our help for your next event, we are here to help!

Sources

Allie Magyar, H. (2021). How to drive business value at hybrid events. Demand Gen Report. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.demandgenreport.com/features/demanding-views/how-to-drive-business-value-at-hybrid-events/.

Anisin, A. A. (2019, November 25). Council post: How to get more out of event sponsorship. Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/11/25/how-to-get-more-out-of-event-sponsorship/?sh=750d7fe4bc51.

Best, J. (2021, September 14). Council post: How to prepare your team for sponsoring a virtual event. Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/09/10/how-to-prepare-your-team-for-sponsoring-a-virtual-event/?sh=3860b85e402e.

Chaudhury, D. (2021, August 6). Council post: How hybrid events capture the benefits of virtual and in-person events. Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/08/06/how-hybrid-events-capture-the-benefits-of-virtual-and-in-person-events/?sh=3ce0c8b3e877.

Expert Panel® (2020, September 24). Council post: 16 creative ways to generate business leads virtually. Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2020/09/28/16-creative-ways-to-generate-business-leads-virtually/?sh=4b40e7154bfc.

Schwartz, J. S. (2020, August 16). How to create exhibitor & sponsor value in virtual or hybrid events. Marketing Insider Group. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://marketinginsidergroup.com/event-marketing/create-exhibitor-sponsor-value-in-virtual-or-hybrid-events/.