It may look like hybrid events have become a natural result of Covid-19. But, the truth of the matter is that they have been around for a long time.
Think of the media coverage of significant events streamed to local or global audiences. The difference lies in the fact that the live event audience and the digital participants had little or no interaction.
Hybrid events are revolutionary for the events industry after the hard hits suffered from lockdowns and social distancing restrictions. Two years down the line, event planners can continue to organise exhibitions, trade shows, and everything in between, such as seminars, lectures, conferences, awards, and networking events.
Hybrid events have gained ground thanks to the pandemic. They are effectively used by large corporations to bring audiences together, but it isn’t possible for everyone to be at the same location.
The most common reason for this is space constraints or the geographical locations of participants, especially in the case of travel restrictions. In such cases holding the main event at a physical venue and keeping virtual participation simultaneous makes perfect sense.
All participants can easily stay engaged through interactive question & answer sessions in which in-person audience members answer directly, while live stream viewers can reply on social media platforms or via chatbox.
Marketers have had to think outside of the box with their marketing strategy when it comes to organising events post-2020. The virus has driven hybrid event planning forward for these reasons:
Even though we are all getting back to a sense of normality now, there are still social distancing measures in place, and the general public are still cautious in crowded and public spaces. This is where hybrid events are a great alternative to your corporate event with a large number of atendees.
Since facilities are not allowed to fill events at full capacity, costs have risen automatically. Overheads may not be sustainable for the average company. Venues and organisers had to choose between stopping events or inflating per-head charges.
Governments still advise against travel. People themselves avoid public transport even if it means forgoing events. This impacts industry-based conferences, especially those with national and international participants.
Since each new strain has seen rapid changes in restrictions, event organisers hesitate to make pre-payments or put down cash deposits in case of surprise lockdowns that risk both their event and capital.
For all of the above reasons, hybrid online events are a perfect solution to incorporate into your marketing strategy.
Marketers who have hosted physical events know just how tough it can be to get exhibitors, attendees, and industry experts together and the resources and time needed to set up the right kind of industry events. Virtual events may seem more manageable but can lessen the spirit and level of participation of attendees who enjoy in-person events. On the other hand, Hybrid events have something for everyone and offer the following benefits.
Utilising the hybrid option allows companies to increase the number of attendees, hence expanding their reach. Hybrid events offer great flexibility and enable marketers to collect more event data.
Your audience shouldn’t just be viewers. Organising a large-scale event is useless if they are not actively engaged. And since it is much easier now to let them participate via computers or mobile devices, let participants offer feedback or react in real-time.
If your brand is environmentally conscious, hybrid events promote going green and reducing carbon footprint.
A hybrid event is rich in data for analytics. Where one can only guess participation at an in-person event, hybrids provide accurate answers for participation, engagements, and drop-offs.
Not only do part-digital events offer direct access to insightful first-party data, but markets also get added flexibility in these areas:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of hybrid events and activities is the return on investment (ROI). Since there is greater scalability than an in-person event and increased reach. Such events gather more sponsors and sign-ups.
A hybrid event is always more likely to have a bigger turnout. You can have exponential numbers of global participants that may not always be possible with an only on-location event. Travel and lodging arrangements become unnecessary, and the rewards of potential customers tangible.
Besides, when you work with a London event company, hosting a hybrid event is quick, easy, and efficient.
So if you haven’t yet chosen to create a hybrid event, now is the time to action yours!