4 Tips For Successful Hybrid Events

A hybrid event is a combination of a live event and a virtual event, where people in person and online are able to attend and participate.

Hybrid events are not only more accessible, but also have a wider reach than in-person events. In fact, a survey found that ‘63% of companies with 2000-5000 employees included hybrid events in their event portfolio’, emphasising their popularity.

There are various tips for hosting successful hybrid events. These tips include, but are not limited to:

1. Find the right hybrid event service
2. Consider different time-zones
3. Maintain interest with various elements
4. Plan online and offline interaction spaces

1. Find The Right Hybrid Event Service

If you’re interested in putting together a hybrid event, but aren’t sure where to get started, finding the right hybrid event service is highly recommended.

Not only will a professional hybrid event service help you to create a professional event, but they will also help you to navigate everything from planning to branding the event.

At Buffoon Media, we provide a seamless hybrid event service to make putting on events as convenient as possible. Our hybrid event services are perfect for award ceremonies, conferences, and more.

Not only do we produce the majority of the event from our remote studio to minimise setup time on the day, but we also use world class LiveU technology which has the capability to stream from the most remote locations using a combination of SIM cards, WiFi and hard wired internet.

In addition to this, we also offer split payments over three months to help spread the cost of your event. To find out more, be sure to contact a member of the team today.

A survey found that ‘63% of companies with 2000-5000 employees included hybrid events in their event portfolio’, emphasising their popularity.

2. Consider Different Time-Zones

The next tip is to consider the different time-zones around the world, as your participants might be based in different countries.

In the planning stages of your business’ hybrid event, you will need to ask yourself the following: Who’s likely to come to your event and where are they based around the world?

Whichever platform you use to host your event, you will need your hybrid event service to take this information into consideration.

Failure to host your hybrid event without considering different time-zones will undoubtedly exclude people from your event.

3. Maintain Interest With Various Elements

Another key tip to bear in mind is to maintain interest with various elements. It’s no secret that people have a shorter attention span than ever, having shrunk 25% over just a few years, emphasising how essential it is to keep them engaged.

People are likely to lose focus and interest if your hybrid event isn’t varied enough. As such, you will want to structure your event to incorporate a few different elements, and this is arguably even more important for your virtual participants.

For instance, it’s a good idea to incorporate an interactive online component. This is important as it allows the people attending the event virtually to participate too, and thus actively engage all of your participants instead of them clicking off the event if they’re left to their own devices with nothing else to do.

The interactive component could be anything from quizzes to keynote speakers to Q&A sessions, as this will help to maintain people’s focus.

It’s also important to mention that if you chose a Q&A session as an interactive component for all participants, be sure to include your virtual participants by answering their questions, too.

As people’s attention span has shrunk 25% over just a few years, this emphasises how essential it is to keep them engaged at hybrid events.

4. Plan Online & Offline Interaction Spaces

An essential tip when setting up your hybrid event is to plan online and offline interaction spaces.

Hybrid events are a wonderful way for people to network, and when you consider that a remarkable ‘85% of job vacancies are filled via networking’, you can see why the potential of networking is a big draw to your event.

That said, this means you will need to incorporate adequate breaks into the event. Online and offline interaction spaces are essential for networking, as you don’t want to leave your virtual participants hanging with nothing else to do whilst there’s a break.

For your virtual participants, you can set up specific break-out rooms to allow your participants to converse and network among each other. This will ensure that no one is left out or feels like they’re not getting enough out of the event even if they’re not there in person.

Additionally, virtual surveys are another engaging option alongside breakout rooms.

When you consider that a remarkable ‘85% of job vacancies are filled via networking’, you can see why the potential of networking is a big draw to your hybrid event.

Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of tips for hosting successful hybrid events.

We’re Buffoon Media: a bilingual media production company based in Port Talbot and London, producing and live streaming content across the globe. Learn more about our podcast production services, as well as the other services we provide on our website.

Written by Jemima Thomas for Buffoon Media.