An Introduction to Hybrid events in 2022 (with Examples) |
At one point in time, we were used to in-person events ... Then COVID-19 struck. The result was that many companies and creators floundering to reconfigure their online events.
Virtual events can offer variety of benefits, many attendees still believe that they're missing out on a critical component of in-person interactions. It's true that trying to replicate each and each aspect of an actual event on the internet simply doesn't work that well.
What's the solution? HYBRID EVENTS!
Hybrid events combine both physical and digital experiences. They offering attendees and the creators an array of options, which can quickly be transformed into various kinds of content. Isn't that cool?
Let's dive into the ways to make an amazing hybrid event.
In this piece...
What exactly is a hybrid event?
11 tips for creating stunning hybrid events
1. Select your favorite mixture
2. Utilize virtual technology to encourage in-person
3. Bring your live members virtual
4. Invite your virtual friends to live
5. Create lots of space/networking time
6. Create discussion questions for the members of the community.
7. Make sure that you keep the spirit going after
8. Provide more content options
9. Determine your technology needs
11. Select your preferred platform
What exactly is a hybrid event?
First things first. Hybrid events allow people to join your event physically or via the internet or in a mix of both. It truly offers the best of both worlds.
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Advantages from hybrid event
Let's look at the many benefits of a hybrid event and the reasons why it may be the best choice for you and your guests!
Easy
Now more than ever you can easily host a hybrid event thanks to advances in technological advances. Hybrid event platforms give creators the ability to design and host incredible events that connect via software. The most effective hybrid platforms have features that are intuitive that allow you to design an event that has both in-person as well as virtual events seamlessly.
Flexibility
When you host an event with a hybrid format, you have room for customization. You can give attendees a whole new experience, personalized to your preference. There are many hybrid event platforms that offer different ways for attendees to engage and have more flexibility in how they want to engage, such as using online chat like audio chat, Q&As polls, surveys and more.
Hybrid event are great to everyone since they offer participants a choice of how they arrive. For example, even for attendees who show up in the flesh, a hybrid event allows them to leave the location for a time and continue to connect online.
If you frequently travel, have very busy schedules or are unable to afford the event in person This gives them an opportunity to take part online.
Price
In terms of flexibility, hybrid events also give you the opportunity to be flexible with your pricing. You can, for instance, cost $100 for attendees in person and $20 for virtual attendees. Obviously, there will be an upper limit on how many tickets you sell for an event in person due to limit on capacity in the venue. However, it is still possible to make unlimited sales for tickets on the online component.
You can basically offer two different products at the same event! There is also the possibility of offering packages and bundles (e.g. purchase four tickets for the cost of 3 tickets or when attendees buy a digital product and a ticket to the event, they get access to your online community for free) You have an unlimited number of options!
Keep the connection alive
The connections and energy don't have to stop after the event ends. It brought people together that were eager to attend your event. It was a truly memorable one.
What better way to keep those connections alive with the help of an online community? The community will help your members maintain connections and form new ones. Additionally, it can provide them with new opportunities (both personal and professional). Your members can interact with one another, with your contents, as well as with your company. Additionally you'll let them be the first to learn about the next time you'll be hosting an event, and can be excited!
can be recorded
Even if registrants can't go to your event due to unwell, have to work late or chose to take it easy in the midst of a busy work week You can offer them the chance to attend your event.
Due to the power of hybrid platforms for events You can quickly create a video of your event and grant participants access. That way, they can watch the event again at their own schedule.
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11 tricks to create amazing hybrid events
After we've looked over the reason why hybrid events are advantageous, let's look at how to actually make one!
1. Decide on your mixture
The initial decision to make is how to actually blend the virtual and real-world components. Each event great on its own, yet blend them together to provide all attendees the most enjoyable experience. You can, for instance, successfully combine both in-person and virtual attendees in break-out sessions. Also, in the initial phase of your event, you can have participants from both sides (virtual or in-person) participate in a poll.
Also, be thinking about ways that virtual participants could be able to access, for instance an actual keynote speaker once they've delivered an event.
Make connection and engagement easy for everyone. Don't let anyone feel as if they received the shorter end of the stick , or not feeling that the event was catering to their needs.
2. Utilize virtual technology to encourage in-person
If you're looking to get the word out regarding your event, you're going to have to advertise it. What better way to use your online presence to promote not only aspects of your online event , but also the physical aspects? Use social media in your favor. Develop content on your event through writing, images, or video for promotional purposes. Utilize social media, or create a blog or YouTube channel to publish your thoughts, build your following, and promote your event to the maximum number of people you are able to.
Whether you're selling a training course or ebook, a webinar, or even an event, if people like you and your perspective, they're more likely to purchase what you're selling to them.
Remember, you don't need to spend ALL your energy and time on social media or be a millionaire (or perhaps thousands) of followers to promote your event hybrid. There's no need to be famous like Oprah to be noticed. It's enough to create some buzz and get your followers amped up!
Another way you can promote via the web is by creating a community. There's great power in being a part of a community because people are wired for this -- we're social creatures who crave connections.
The joy, purpose, and energy that comes from being part of something greater than yourself, working towards the same goal, gaining capabilities and improving, as well as a place in which members can be vulnerable to challenges and come up with solutions. Communities can be a fantastic place to promote your hybrid event because your participants trust you (plus they're the primary fans who are thrilled about the services you've got to offer). ).
3. Bring your live members virtual
Have you thought about mixing the physical aspect of your business with the web-based component? It's time to think about the ways you can keep your live members virtually engaged.
In between talks You ask your present participants to respond to questions via an online polling service (e.g. Slido). You can use questions as an icebreaker (getting participants warmed up prior to the occasion) or present them as several fun games during the event or gather feedback at the end of the ceremony. The goal is to create interaction and dialogue between your guests and you.
While the event is taking place, you can also direct in-person attendees to an online chat. In this way, they are able to discuss their ideas, communicate with each other and the virtual attendees, and inquire about any issues they may have in the chat.
You can, of course, make your event conducted on the internet. Maybe some of your guests speakers couldn't make it on the spot, but they could present online -- you could do a guest presenter, interview, lecture or even a lecture all online!
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4. Invite your virtual friends to live
In the same way that you'd like to bring your attendees in person on the internet, you'll want to accomplish the reverse -- get your virtual participants online. This doesn't mean that you should get the members in person (because that would defeat the purpose) However, you should get them to engage live with the content making them feel that they're involved in the event!
How? Utilize live streaming for your benefit no matter if it's used in the context of main stage events, such as presentations, keynotes, or lectures given by someone recognizable. The livestreaming option can be employed to create smaller-scale events such as virtual workshops, conversations, breakout sessions, and webinars.
Like your attendees in person, your virtual members can respond to questions and engage live in Q&A sessions that provide the chance to expand discussions and exchange ideas. When you're an event planner, it's also important to ensure that the virtual participants will be given equal weight and importance throughout the meeting as the questions from attendees in person.
You might consider having an emcee, or host for your virtual audience who can recap important occasions and also alert attendees to what's coming up next. You can even capture and stream the excitement in person so that viewers feel as if they're actually there.
5. Find plenty of networking space
Give virtual attendees an chance to interact to keynote speakers, by making sure that you have enough time available in your speakers' schedules to engage with everyone.
You might want to block off some time during the event (and you can even include the time following) reserved for networking. In order to do this, consider having specific rooms (both on the ground and via on the internet) to facilitate networking. It is possible to ask participants to drop their name or job title, as well as accounts on social media, as well as an interesting fact about them in an online chat to get the connections rolling.
6. Create discussion questions within the community
In terms of having spaces in which members of both online and live are able to interact, an ideal location to have this interaction is within your online community! This can be beneficial for everyone, no matter if they're in their home, or in person.
Below are some engaging questions you can ask your guests:
- What's a challenge you're facing right now?
- What's an incredible outcome for you?
- What's your single-word concept for 2022?
- What is it that inspires you the most?
- If you could wave an enchanted wand to give you an extra hour in your day, what would you do?
- Where's the most beautiful spot you've visited?
- What accomplishment are you most happy about?
Based on members' interests you could also create various subgroups in your online community. Additionally, you can use different kinds of content to attract members in these groups, such as:
- Surveys (e.g. "What percent of your daily time do you spend on being organized and reviewing your goals ?")
- Fill-in-the-blank questions (e.g. "The main reason I participate in networking is because of _____," or "I never quit my house with _ ")
- Use word-limits to ask questions. (e.g. "What's the first word that you want people to think of when they see your brand ?")
- Make sure to ask questions that are time-bound (e.g. "Based on what you learned so far today at this meeting, what's something you're planning to do now?")
The key thing here is to post questions that will keep your participants thinking and interested.
It is possible to download this book of 1,000 discussion questions at no cost in the Mighty Community!
7. Make sure that you keep the spirit going even after
After the event ends You can keep the spirit alive! The energy, the excitement, the sharing, the energy, and the enjoyment can continue running. There's so much you can accomplish to keep a thriving community.
Here are a few examples to keep up the momentum:
- Create a spotlight for members -- this could be as a live interview of a few participants (panel panel discussion). For example, if they're coaches in a group they could be asked, "What's the most effective approach to reach new clients? ?"
- Write about your members' experience. You can invite every week a new member to blog about their experiences as well as their achievements. Naturally, your participants are thrilled to hear from you, but they'll also love to read stories about each other.
- Create a live event -- this could be the form of a seminar, demo, workshop, webinar, or thought of leadership.
- Offer an opportunity to challenge your friends every week.
- Create a book or podcast-based discussion that is that is related to the interests of your community.
The benefit of keeping the buzz is that you get to build excitement up for your next virtual and hybrid events!
8. Give more content choices
Another method to keep your members active is to offer different types of content. Because your members are already acquainted with your brand It will be easy to give them other products and services down the road.
Here are some examples for what you can charge for:
- memberships (great way to create community as well as a central network where members can interact with one another)
- Video recordings
- Livestreams
- Forums, discussion boards articles, polls, and surveys
- Digital downloads (PDFs, ebooks, audio files, customizable templates)
It is also possible to expand your hybrid event into online courses, mastermind groups as well as other events. You can use recordings of sessions (e.g. speakers) as well as recordings of the tales and experiences of attendees as well and turn it into a powerful piece of content you can charge separately for.
There's a range of possibilities to diversify your content, and charging for the content. You can even offer members who attended your hybrid event a discounted rate on an online class or an ebook. Keep in mind that it's an entire marathon and not a sprint. Once you have a better understanding of the members you have, you are able to make the content more specific specifically for them.
9. Figure out your tech needs
Your hybrid event needs to run without an issue. It is essential to make sure that the technical side of things in order (like streaming audio or video ).
Here's a list items to think about:
- Audio recording: ensure that your recording of audio is clear and crystal clear. Also, you want your audio and video recordings to be synced up.
- Mics your attendees shouldn't be straining to hear what they're hearing So make sure that you have proper microphones that are connected (whether they're on their own or hooked up).
- Quality of video: make sure you use equipment that has high resolution. You don't want poor video quality that's hard to make out while you're streaming and recording for your attendees.
- Engaging apps (e.g. Slido) ensure that you include easy-to-use applications (this is essential for people with less technical skills) which have high-quality interaction and features for engagement.
- Community apps (e.g. ) make sure that you've created a dedicated community space where participants can meet up with each other, share their stories, and network (before, during, and after the ceremony).
- For ticketing, to monitor sign-ups using a tickets or registration software. This ensures that everything is all in one place.
10. Test, test, test
When you've figured out the technical equipment and apps you need for your event It's now time to try the equipment and apps! One of the last things you'd like to see during your event is something (on the tech side) that goes wrong, which could easily have been avoided.
It is recommended that you conduct an initial test run of the hybrid event several days before to make sure that everything runs smoothly, and also to provide you with security. Get two test attendees who are both online as well as a the flesh. So you'll know that the video quality is to standard, and the PowerPoint presentation that you designed functions, and attendees can use any app as well as the audio quality is crisp You do not want your speakers to become blocked or, worse yet, unreadable.
Whatever equipment you're using, be sure that both you and your guests are familiar with the equipment. That way, if there's a problem in the course of your event, you can easily solve the issue. Since you'll be pulled in multiple directions throughout the hybrid event, you might want to look into enlisting the help of be it friends or professional help (e.g. videographer) to make sure everything goes well and that you are able to concentrate only on what is most important ... the attendees.
11. Pick your favorite platform
The next step is to choose the platform you'll use. Let's look at 4 options quick.
It is a complete platform for creators that offers an extensive collection of native functions and tools to create captivating material. It provides excellent online course choices that seamlessly integrate with communities, paid memberships or hybrid virtual event.
Here are some additional benefits to choosing for your hybrid event:
- Easy-to-use RSVP announcements.
- Create interactive discussion boards, polls, and questions and answers.
- Articles, live stream from Your Mighty Network, and post video recordings.
- Deliver direct messages to attendees and set up reminders so no one misses the deadline for anything.
- The ability to connect is always available with a robust native mobile application (available on Android as well as iOS). Great for attendees who are making use of the app to complement their personal experience in person or for their primary method to participate in a full digital experience. There won't be any compromises in high-quality.
A Mighty Network offers the best of both worlds , combining content and connections for your event that is hybrid, with the possibility of expanding your event into a thriving community site, membership website, series of online courses as well as much more!
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Accelevents
Accelevents is an event platform featuring robust functions where it is possible to host hybrid events. It's a reasonable option (their basic package for one-time events is $500 per event, or you can buy unlimited events for $125/month and bill annually) designed for mid- to large-sized enterprises.
Accelevents enables businesses to integrate live streaming, add an immersive live polling feature and Q&As. They can also create interactive expo booths -ideal to auction.
Even though this technology promotes its ability to build connections between participants using fancy features like AI-based matching, unfortunately there's actually no way for attendees to maintain connections once the event has ended.
Hopin
Although this hybrid event platform was developed recently, it's a good option for the new and/or budget-conscious event organizer looking to have an upscale conference experience. Hopin allows Hopin organizers have the ability to design various ticket types, utilize Hopin's central registration system for both in-person and online attendees, as well as take advantage of their marketing tools via email. Hopin also provides lots opportunities for participants to meet during the event (connection discovery tool, virtual roundtables group breakout sessions, and many more). ).
Hopin is focused on replicating the feel of an in-person experience, but it's not losing some of the things that make it distinct. Also, while this platform can be affordable, they still take a portion of commissions for tickets (even for their "starter" package, they charge 7% commission plus $99/month per year). ).
If you're looking to see if you can host an event that is hybrid you can try it for free trial (although you should note that the event length is limited to 2 hours ). You will receive 100 registrants, and they take 15% of ticket commission).
vFairs
vFairs is a fairly robust hybrid event platform that is designed to large corporations and universities for hosting workshops, conferences, trade shows, and much more. The platform lets you live stream live footage from event sessions to your online audience, has an immersive virtual venue as well as the ability to link in-person and online attendees with text chat as well as audio/video conferences. vFairs offers an application for mobile users that allows attendees can sign-in for the event, connect with fellow attendees and interact with booths of exhibitors.
The area where vFairs appears to be not quite as user-friendly is their experience. Users report that this platform offers limited customization, and integrations aren't as seamless.
In the end, this hybrid event platform is ideal for large-scale companies.
Hybrid event examples
We've now covered the basics of hosting a hybrid gathering Let's glance at some of the examples! Both of these examples originally focused on events in person prior to the outbreak and then shifted to online-based events during and now are giving attendees a mix of experiences.
The Wild Hub
The Outwild Hub is a group with a paid membership and the event series designed for those who want to make the outdoors a bigger aspect of their lives. They have an online community, as well as live and virtual events.
- What they provide: Outwild Hub members get access to an online community, a monthly speaker, workshop series and access to events in person. They also host online events (community gatherings and workshops, as well as keynote speeches). They seamlessly connect in-person events online by offering recordings of the presentation.
- People who should be a part of it: Anyone looking to spend more time outdoors, but just not sure which way to go about it. It's for individuals who want to make major changes to their life. It also helps those who moved during the pandemic to make new friends and have fun in the outdoors with others.
In the Cut
In the Cut It is an organization for BIPOC creatives who want to make it into the TV and film industry (just as host Rae Benjamin, had gone from full-time graphic designer , to being a script coordinator on "The The Witcher").
What they provide: A Free online community for aspiring screenwriters can network and learn about opportunities or mentorship opportunities and receive helpful filmmaking advice and techniques. This is a community where writers come together to make virtual writers' spaces. The site also allows members to gain lifetime access to webinar replays (for an additional fee) and online training courses or even writing retreats in person.
Who is eligible to join: BIPOC creatives who want to work as a screenwriter Hollywood. People who've discovered entry-level jobs however aren't sure of how to make the transition to a better paying career. These events are honest and free of censorship to aid in understanding the entertainment industry.
Conclusion
Hope you're inspired and ready to run an event with a hybrid that works after you've learned the benefits of hybrid events as well as how to run one, and the things you'll require to be successful.
What do you really need ... although we've covered many different platforms for event management, this one offers the ideal balance of price, flexibility and functions for people who attend in person and online. Come try it out absolutely free!
Create your event community today!