Hybrid events have often been referred to as the events that will be most popular in the future, but are you familiar with the concept? As the name itself says, it’s a combination of physical events, mixed with the digital components that contain a virtual meeting. These types of events are made so that the people who can attend personally, and those who can’t, will have the same participation no matter where they are. The engagement of the audience is essential for hybrid events. Therefore, it can not be treated as a whole virtual event or an on-site one.
Hybrid events have existed for many years, however, as the pandemic of COVID-19 came into the picture, they have gained more popularity. For the past months, normal events and gatherings have been restricted to avoid spreading the virus, which is why many institutions have switched to applications like Zoom, Google Meets, etc. to make live-streaming for their audiences.
As Forbes says, “One way for companies to protect themselves in case of another pandemic, a natural disaster, adverse weather, terrorism or no-shows by key presenters is to plan all future events using the hybrid model.” (2021)
There are different types of hybrid events, depending on the demands and objectives. For instance, there are internal hybrid events that are perfect for a company to assemble its employees and managers; so that even if they are not present physically, they can still participate. On the other hand, there are external events, which are inclined to clients, customers, potential consumers, etc. As it can help enroll more attendees who normally could not attend.
It’s important to mention that they vary from standard online events, as they have an engaging, present audience that can participate, unlike events from streaming services such as YouTube that are reduced to watching the presenters.
Intending to have successful functions, some elements must be considered, such as engaging content for both audiences equally, as well as making sure the people presenting have engagement skills; and attractive marketing that will captivate a bigger audience. If these elements are presented, then the organizers of the function will be presented with multiple benefits.
- For one, considering the participants will not have to worry about traveling costs or health issues, it will raise the number of interested people.
- In the same way, by having an online presence, it will be likely to get sponsorship offers as companies will be able to give these sponsors a bigger platform, making creative and innovative banners, offering merchandise, among others.
- Additionally, hybrid events can be especially important to those interested in the environmental topic, as having them reduces carbon footprint by needing less food to make and fewer people being transported in polluting vehicles.
- After an entertaining presentation, the in-person audience can interact among themselves, creating an engagement that will benefit the company if a community is created.
We, as Eventbee, know that planning and conducting hybrid events can be demanding and tough as different challenges can be presented, such as making sure both audiences are engaging in the way we want, time zones, etc. However, we are prepared for these situations, and we want everyone to be able to experience them with all their benefits no matter which part of the world they are located in. We provide this service by selling tickets for hybrid events, to achieve that our customers are presented with the optimum experience that they were waiting for, but without having to go through an exhausting process.
Eventbee is compromised and has multiple resources to help you make the desired hybrid event:
- In-built integration: We have the option of integrated ticketing with different platforms such as Zoom and Google meetings, in which you can enter your code to participate in the events directly onto Eventbee’s hosted attendee pages.
- Attendee page: With this alternative, registered attendants will receive a confirmation email with a link leading them to the attendee page. This exclusive page is hosted on Eventbee, and you can customize it with your most relevant content for your attendees for better engagement.
- One place to sell tickets: You can create a single event in Eventbee, avoiding multiple virtual meetings for one event or selling tickets for virtual and in-person events. This way, you can have multiple ticket types tied to a specific event.
- One place to join virtual meetings: All virtual meetings will be easily joinable on our attendee page. With just a single click, you will join the meeting. In the case of having a specific ticket, by just entering the attendee key you will be able to connect to the gathering.
Are you ready to reach bigger audiences that appeal to your purposes, bring tons of benefits and have the best of both worlds with hybrid events? Sign up here to know how to achieve them!
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Sources:
CDC. (2021). Guidance for Organizing Large Events and Gatherings. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/considerations-for-events-gatherings.html
Gupta, S. (2021). Rise of Hybrid Meetings & Events. Retrieved from https://www.beroeinc.com/whitepaper/rise-of-hybrid-meetings-and-events/
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