Since the summer we've seen an insurgence of in real life (IRL) events. Everyone has been itching to socialise in-person after spending so much time in front of their screens. Unfortunately now we are heading into the flu season and the new variant of covid is around, we are seeing that more and more in-person events are getting cancelled.
We want to do all we can to keep supporting physical events and venues. We believe that instead of cancelling in person events, we should be turning them hybrid, after all it is the future of events. By turning your event hybrid, it means that you are making your event much more accessible, particularly to those who are worried about leaving the home due to covid. It also opens up new markets and can help provide a great contingency plan incase you need to take your event entirely virtual.
Turning your in-person event into an effective hybrid event isn't always as simple as streaming your meeting through Zoom . There are many factors you should consider, below we have provided our five top tips for organising a winning hybrid event:
Some content and activities are perfect for virtual/hybrid events and others simply don't work. A good starting point is to understand which aspects of your event you can offer to your virtual participants and which content should be culled or only be provided to the in-person attendees.
For example: most content and presentations can be offered virtually. But certain activities such as some team building ones won’t work without a team physically being in the same room. If networking is also a key part of the event, this needs to be well thought out so that those online are still able to engage with those attending the event in-person if needs be.
Understanding who your audience are and their needs, qualms and desires should always be the starting point when organising any event. This certainly rings true for hybrid events.
Turning an event hybrid can make your event much more accessible as it opens up the event to those who can’t physically attend. That said, there are still certain accessibility issues that should be considered. I.e are your attendees located somewhere with strong internet connectivity?, are they tech savvy? etc…
You’ve probably already heard it, the drop out rates for virtual events tends to be much greater than the drop out rates for in-person events. It’s so easy to RSVP to a virtual event and than back out, but with in-person events, once you’ve paid for additional expenses such as travel and have arranged to meet with people in-person, attendees are much more committed. For this reason, it’s worth incentivising registrants to attend. Whether that’s via a deposit scheme, rewards or exclusive intel, there are many ways this can be done
You may also want to persuade more people to attend the in-person aspect of the event, particularly if you have a minimum spend to achieve at the venue. Great incentives for in-person events include gifts/goodie bags, live entertainment and winning menus.
When there’s live content, it’s worth rehearsing the event to iron out any creases and ensure all tech is working. This is particularly important with hybrid/virtual events as you will have so much more tech involved. Ensure all speakers have rehearsed the day before the event and understand how to use the tech required of them, particularly if they are broadcasting into the event from home. Also ask speakers to arrive early for their scheduled content so that they can have a final tech run through on the day.
The great thing about a virtual/hybrid events is that as it is being live streamed, you will already have all the cameras and hardware required to record the event. Recording the event can help you to leave a lasting legacy and open up your content to those who were unable to attend on the day. It gives your event a wider reach and thus a bigger impact.
At Unlocked we are experts in hosting in-person events and masters of turning them hybrid. We understand which venues are best suited to live streaming, we work with many hybrid production partners and know all the best virtual activity hosts.
If you are planning a hybrid event or already have an event planned and would like assistance in turning it hybrid. Get in touch. We currently have an offer that is perfect for hybrid events. For event bookings confirmed with Unlocked before the end of January 2022, we will provide a complimentary hybrid/virtual/in-person event activity from our Wildgoose portfolio.*
*For events with a value of over £15,000, more terms apply. Contact us for more info.
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