Both 2020 and 2021 have been a period of great uncertainty for everyone. Within the events industry, this has also been the case. During this time, many events around the world moved from in-person to virtual platforms. Now, with life slowly creeping back to normal times, what does this mean for the event industry? One key factor is the rise and popularity of hybrid events
What are Hybrid Events? Let us take a minute to tell you!
To simply put it, hybrid events are a mix of both in-person and virtual events together. Hybrids help promote participation for people who may not be able to attend the event in person. Some of the virtual components of a hybrid event include: Live streaming, live blogs, live chats or integrations using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These types of events have become more common over the past year due to the Covid_19 pandemic, as we’ve seen less gathering in person and more use of virtual technologies.
Now that we have an understanding of what these hybrid events are, let us dive into some of the top benefits of choosing hybrid events.
Here are Debonair Corporate Event’s top 5 benefits for hybrid events!
Increased Attendance and Reach.
When hosting an event we always want to have successful attendance. With Hybrid events, you can virtually have people attending from around the world. This substantially increases the reach as anyone can join in on the fun right from the comfort of their own home. If the event is happening here in Toronto, it doesn’t have to just be for people based in Toronto or travelling to the location. People in Asia, Africa or other parts of the world will get to share that same experience with the people who are there in person. On top of this, hybrid events make it easier to accommodate higher attendance. If more people are attending virtually, this reduces the logistics of high in-person numbers and also cuts costs drastically for virtual attendees.
- They are More Environmentally Friendly!
Back in 2020, Chloe J. Jordan and Abraham A. Palmer wrote an article titled Virtual meetings: A critical step to address climate change discussing the importance of virtual events in regards to environmental impacts. They found that the carbon footprint over the past year of Covid_19 had been substantially reduced due to the number of virtual meetings and events. People were using transportation less to attend and were getting a new experience from their homes (J. Jordan, A. Palmer, 2020). On top of this, due to reduction of in-person attendees at hybrid events, waste from these were reduced. Sustainability is a key metric for the event industry thus hybrid solutions are helping to achieve this goal.
Hybrid events create a cleaner, more environmentally friendly setting for your organization and guests. Who doesn’t want to be more environmentally friendly in 2021?
Did you know that hybrid events also create more flexibility?
- Less In-Person Attendees, Means More Flexibility.
When an in-person event is developed there is A LOT of behind-the-scenes planning that occurs. Event spaces need to be arranged, regulations, bylaws, and rules need to be researched, transportation, as well as food & beverage, are just a few of the factors needing to be considered. With hybrid events, these aren’t eliminated but it can create a more flexible plan. Fewer people in person and more people online create a more flexible situation for everyone involved. That massive event space that’s pricey can now be replaced by a smaller more affordable venue. You will also have flexibility to review the content on your scheduled post event. Food and Beverage? You may not require as much with a hybrid event!
With more flexibility, you can focus more on increasing your event engagement.
- Content Engagement is Higher.
With the option of having attendees virtually and in-person, engagement has a higher increase throughout an event’s life cycle. How does this happen you might ask? Well, for starters with hybrid events there is more room for learning. Attendees are given access to more resources through various forms of different content including live tweeting, live webcasts and live blogs. As well, hybrid events create another realm for people to connect and network. With digital chats, social media capabilities and face-face zoom calls, people can make instant connections with others and send that “LinkedIn Connection Invite” instantly.
Another important aspect that must be mentioned when talking about event engagement is the fact that your hybrid event’s information can be available on-demand and shared. Many of the virtual platforms used have the capabilities for being pre-recorded as well as live sessions so people can easily watch later, watch multiple times or even share content on their social feeds. This benefits the engagement of your event and helps spread your content even farther through the virtual world, which traditional in-person events can’t do.
When getting all of this engagement, it’s important to be able to measure it. Hybrid events provides a unique mix of data to better understand your attendees.
- Data and Metrics
With all of the engagement, you’ll be getting during your next hybrid event, you need to be able to measure and understand the data that it creates. This will help you identify changes that need to happen to make your next event more successful!
Luckily, your hybrid event makes the collection and measurement of data even easier. Let us explain. Virtual aspects of an event simplify the ways we can understand our audience. How many viewers, attendees, how long they were on and other insights can help you understand how your audience members were engaging with your event.
On top of this, sponsors within your event will also be able to track ad clicks, booth visits and other key indicators that will also help them with brand awareness.! It’s a win-win when it comes to hybrid events.
As we continue through a post-pandemic era, hybrid events will become more and more of a normal occurrence. Key benefits like increased attendance and reach, environmentally friendly approaches, flexibility, higher engagement as well as valuable metrics and data are just a few of the benefits of hybrid alternatives. As these events continue to become more popular, we’ll continue to see why they’re so important and beneficial in comparison to traditional, in-person events.
Need help creating a unique hybrid experience? Debonair Corporate Events can help. With experience in various types of events from concept to execution, we’ve got you covered. Let’s make that dream of yours become a reality today.