Three Strategies for Seamless Hybrid Event Experiences

The hybrid event market is anticipated to reach multimillions of USD by 2029, in contrast with 2022, at an unexpected CAGR during 2022–2029. The pandemic was the critical force behind the rise of these events, and establishments across the globe have incorporated this methodology to smoothen their work. Major firms have conducted the best hybrid events, and INBOUND was a major annual three-day conference set up by Hubspot in 2021 and 2022 with an aim for a broader audience to familiarize themselves with the best practices of significant business offerings to improve their business, ending up in a vast successful hybrid event.

Miroslav Miroslavov, CEO and Co-founder, OfficeRnD said that "Hybrid work doesn’t happen by chance, and you need to be intentional, proactive, and thoughtful to make it work properly. It’s not easy but is doable and the outcomes can be massive"

Embrace Latest Technology   

The success of a hybrid event relies on harnessing cutting-edge technologies to close the gap between physical and virtual users. More importantly, the firms have to invest in solid and user-friendly virtual event platforms, which is crucial and makes the overall communication seamless. The integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality plays a crucial role in delivering a mesmerizing experience for virtual attendees. Setting up these technologies enables remote users to be more connected to the event, increasing their total engagement.

For instance, Cloud-based giant, Salesforce has leveraged the technology to connect with a broader audience across the globe during hybrid events. It has also included a virtual event platform for breakout sessions, interactive elements and host keynotes, making sure that all the participants can engage actively.       

Prioritize Audience Engagement

The companies may have undergone challenges in prioritizing the vast number of participants, and it can be the central challenge in hybrid events. Effective strategies have to be adopted to make the participants very interactive through asking questions, live chats, and voting, and it has to be integrated into the hybrid events. Ensuring network opportunities are crucial when it comes to hybrid events and the people associated with organizing the event have to set up virtual spaces that represent the spontaneity of face-to-face networking. Besides, Breakout sessions, virtual lounges and one-on-one networking opportunities can aid the chance encounters that frequently occur during live events.

Every year, on account of an event, attendees gather in San Diego to interact with the latest trends in social media advertising and 2022, event planners made sure that the virtual participants also had access to similar quality content as the physical ones. Hence, it is essential to prioritize all the users in the same way to accomplish the business objectives.

Smooth Logistics and Communication

Seamless logistics and communication is the key for a hybrid event to perform smoothly. There can be a plethora of tasks associated with the event, and every step needs to be meticulously planned and conveyed. The same standard of communication have to be delivered to both physical and virtual attendees to avoid chaos, and it will also help to lower potential issues and manage expectation. Moreover, for the attendees, arranging a comfortable physical space is imperative. The networking area, charging port and other amenities contribute to a great on-site experience. Users must have convenient access to an event platform with proper technical support to deal with any issues.

72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, for example, this hybrid event was successful just because of the timely communication and logistics as it was the pandemic time, and producers made sure to send camera kits to the nominee's location, and the activities performed as expected.

In a nutshell, the working environment keeps changing across the globe, and they seek hybrid events to leverage most of their relevant tasks, considering the benefits they offer. It is imperative to focus on the activities that occur prior to the hybrid events and have to be well coordinated for a smooth flow; otherwise, it will lead to various challenges and may end up in unfavorable output. The firms have to adapt to the advanced technologies, provide communication at the right time and prioritize the users to stay relevant in the market. Hence, embracing the latest standards and strategies will do the job for the organizers.