A hybrid event is like a waltz between your in-person attendees, and your virtual audience.
Success lies in how you bring these two very different dancers together, and seamlessly intertwine their experiences, so they’re forever in step as they crisscross the dancefloor. When one falls out of step – well, it’s a dancefloor disaster.
Striking the right balance, like a dance, takes preparation, hard work and lots of planning. So where do you start? By asking the right questions about your audience’s experience from the very beginning.
Establish success from inception by answering these quick audience planning questions:
1 What are your hybrid event goals and objectives?
Defining the what, why and how will help guide your event, marketing, and content decision-making as you progress through the planning process. Both your virtual and in-person audiences will be looking to accomplish different things so use your overall goals as a beacon to align your choices and light the way.
2 What do you want your audiences to experience?
What do you want your different audiences to see, hear, and experience? What is it that you want them to take away from your event? Only once you clarify this can you develop your event agenda and plan what content elements will be in-person, live-streamed, pre-recorded, on-demand – the list goes on. Be conscious that the experience will differ vastly between your in-person and virtual audiences. You will effectively need to curate two experiences in one hybrid event.
3 How will you elevate and facilitate engagement?
When it comes to hybrid events, engagement is the name of the game. Your attendees (specifically your remote attendees) are one call away from total distraction, so it’s important to keep them actively engaged and participating. How will you utilise polls, workshops, breakout sessions, live chat, quizzes, Q&A, networking, games etc. to create interactions and engagement between your audiences? Plan for engagement and utilise tech and hybrid event platforms based on their ability to facilitate as many shared experiences as possible.
If you want to step your engagement game up a notch, we’ve got you covered here with how to create those ‘lean in’ moments of engagement.
4 How will you curate your content?
Offer content that packs a punch, is easily digestible and is memorable. Plan your content with a broadcast mindset and create narratives that will satisfy the differing wants, needs and desires of your virtual and in-person audiences. Specific audience-based agendas will stimulate and engage your different audiences in different ways and keep them engaged throughout their journey.
To guarantee you’re making an impact with your event, why not engage the services of industry experts (like Nectar CC) that live and breathe creative content delivery.
5 What support do you need?
Hybrid events by nature are complex, so don’t go it alone. Enlist the right support system to ensure every wheel is turning as it should – at the right time. Your support team should encompass platform support, audio/video techs (both virtual and in-person), moderators, event planners – and let’s not forget your emcees. Create continuity by hiring an in-person and virtual mc that will work in collaboration with one another to provide a unified voice throughout your event.
6 Should you offer on-demand content?
The short answer is yes. Give your attendees the option to watch or re-watch your content at a time that’s suitable for them – especially helpful if you have a global audience across multiple time zones. Increase the opportunities for engagement and ensure that your business and message remain in the minds of the audience long after the physical event has taken place. On-demand content is also an excellent follow-up tool post your event.
Hybrid events come with additional complexity that can often seem like double the workload. Keeping two different audiences engaged, especially given the distractions of work and personal needs, is no easy feat and remains a challenge for every event organiser.
Whether it’s live or on-demand; collaborative or broadcast; completely remote or a full studio setup; Nectar Creative Communications are your one-stop shop when it comes to hybrid events. Why not pick the brain of one of our Hybrid Event Specialists and get started on the right foot? Book a free 30-minute consultation today.
