Hybrid Events, They’re Here to Stay

3 Tips to Help Your Post-Pandemic Hybrid Event

As many of you noticed, the world of events significantly changed throughout the pandemic and many organizations just like yours were forced to pivot to deal with the new and evolving changes. Now with that being said, I’m not writing this blog to talk about the changes you had to endure but I want to talk about one of the main changes in the events world that is here to stay; hybrid events. 

I’m sure many of you have seen a trend with events continuing after the pandemic…there is an in-person event but virtual attendance is also offered now too. So today I’m here to share some tips on how your organization can fully embrace hybrid events and see the same or a higher event turn out.

Hybrid Events, the Breakdown

First, let’s quickly chat about why hybrid events are here to stay. It’s because they offer many benefits that in-person events don’t offer. Some of these benefits include:

• Little to zero travel expense required (flights, hotels, car rentals)
• Offers flexibility
• Recorded sessions to re-watch on your schedule
• Ability to still work part-time 
• Discounted ticket prices

Of course with benefits, there are also some pitfalls to hybrid events which are quite difficult to tackle. Some of the downfalls include:

• Limited networking opportunities
• More difficult to increase engagement
• Harder to create a sense of community
• Miss out on “live-action” things that happen at in-person events
• Half-in/half-out attitudes of attendees

I did some research and some reflecting on recent events and I’ve compiled three tips to help you run a successful hybrid event post-pandemic.

Tip 1: Survey Your Attendees

This tip may only apply to those who have run concurrent events over the years. Just as when you are planning your keynote speakers, seminars, break-out rooms, and more, it is key to know who your audience is and more specifically, what they want! Before you even go into the planning stages of your event, send a survey to past event attendees to see what type of event they would like. In many cases, I’ve seen that many in-person attendees prefer a hybrid approach even if they are planning to attend in-person. Access to recorded sessions is huge!

Tip 2: Test Out Methods of Engagement

While you are in the planning process for your event, generate a list of methods of engagement for in-person and hybrid attendees as these methods will be different. If this is your first time running a hybrid event, I’d suggest taking the approach of selecting a few different ways to encourage engagement for your virtual attendees to learn which works best for your audience. Here are some ideas to try:

• Online networking rooms
• Live pop-up questions/polls on sessions
• Virtual break-out rooms
• Encourage attendees to fill in their profile (name, job title, profile photo, and a small bio)
• Gamify the virtual portion

I can’t give you a final answer on which methods of engagement you should choose, but look closely at your audience and make your best guess, and then move on to tip 3 as this will be essential to your next hybrid event!

To learn more about planning an event, check out my blog!

Courtney’s Tidbit: I won’t go into this too deeply, but if you are hosting a hybrid event, ensure that you invest in software/technology that is going to meet your needs. If the software you choose doesn’t live up to the event expectations you may lose out on future attendees.

Tip 3: Don’t Underestimate Post-Event Feedback and Evaluation

Yes, you’ve heard me say this over and over again if you are subscribed to my blog, post-event feedback and evaluation are ESSENTIAL to maintaining and growing your event! So, let’s get into how you do this.

For post-event feedback, the best audience to ask is your attendees, exhibitors (if applicable), and sponsors. You need to hear about the value they received or did not receive. What worked well? What did not work well? What do they want to see more of? Do they feel the price of the ticket was worth it?

Check out last month’s blog where I share tips on finding sponsors!

As for post-event evaluation, sit down with your team and measure the success of the event in comparison to the goals you set for the event. Did you reach all of your goals? If yes, which factors led to the success? If not, what could you do differently next time to reach your goals?

All of this feedback and evaluation can be used to make your next event even better! 

For a deeper dive into event evaluation, check out my blog!

Planning an event whether it is in-person, online, or hybrid can be difficult. If you need help ticking some of your event list boxes off or if you just want someone to take on the full organization, Planit Events Inc. is here for you! Send us a message and we would be happy to see how we can help!