Why virtual is here to stay & why you should be doing Hybrid Events

Have you ever heard of hybrid events? No? Well, we’re here to tell you all about it.

As we all know with Covid-19 restrictions, having physical events was not possible. So, we’ve seen exponential growth in the market of companies looking to build online events and experiences. Now, that we slowly but steadily move towards normality, restrictions start getting eased and events start going physical again. However, there are many reasons why virtual events are here to stay.

Or should I say, hybrid events…

What is a hybrid event?

Hybrid events are events that bring together characteristics of face-to-face and virtual events. That is, it can be a face-to-face event with live broadcast accompanied by online participants, or an event that incorporates augmented reality, online quizzes, chats, break-out rooms, etc.

Because of this dynamism, hybrid events are much more engaging, powerful, and memorable for attendees. Companies that want to get ahead of the competition are already doing this type of event, so we recommend that you do not miss out.

Why are hybrid events the future?

1. Greater reach and presence

You might believe that you must choose between a virtual or physical event. However, it is a mistake to think that there is no middle ground in the events world.

Many think that a hybrid event reduces the amount of people attending an event because the audience is shared between virtual and physical. However, the opposite is true. In fact, not all people in your target audience will be able to attend your event for various reasons. By making your event available online, you will remove these barriers and open up your brand to the world, not just your postcode.

With a hybrid event, you lower the barrier of entry for both demographic groups — those who want to attend but cannot, and those who are unsure if your event is worth it. This greatly increases your reach, as you broadcast your event to a larger audience than would ever be possible in person.

2. Greater engagement with your audience

Adding a virtual element to your live event opens up far more opportunities for engagement than would be possible in a strictly physical event.

For example, you can build virtual rooms and 3D models of your products and broadcast your event alongside your live event through that virtual world. Then, the virtual audience will be actively participating on mobile devices or desktop computers, which means that they can, within one click, talk, share, like, comment, and more.

Additionally, you can host polls during sessions that include live and online audiences. Or you can have a Q&A session with a live speaker and then invite them to a Q&A session with your online audience.

A great example of what can be achieved by creating your own 3D world is the case of Vredestein which created a virtual event in a Vredestein virtual world with live chats and conversation rooms.

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You can also take another approach and instead of creating a virtual world, you merge reality with virtual. For example, you can integrate augmented reality into your live event to immerse your audience in a virtual world. A good example here is Coca-cola’s artic home campaign which used augmented reality to bring arctic polar bears inside the event.

3. Reduced travel costs

Hybrid events can significantly lower travel costs for everyone involved. While the money savings of attendees are obvious, hybrid events can also allow you to reduce travel costs for your speakers and staff. Working from home has become the new standard for companies and employees around the world. Plus, your partners can save on travel costs by sending fewer representatives to your event. And if you include virtual sponsorships as part of your prospect, they can participate 100% online while still generating value.

When budgets are tight, hybrid events are excellent for bridging the gap between cost and results for both attendees and sponsors.

4. Marketing material for the year

Instead of keeping your event ephemeral, you can easily repurpose digital content and use it for future marketing campaigns, social posts, and other channels helping you nurture your audience.

Was there a session that attracted many participants? Share this with your community!

For example, you can share the live stream, whether in its entirety or just some parts of it, to promote a future event.

5. Valuable data

A huge benefit of hybrid events comes from the data and insights they show. Due to the online nature of hybrid events, you gain many traceable metrics that will help you learn more about your event and audience, giving you insights to metrics that you simply cannot measure at an in-person event.

It is much easier to track event engagement through virtual conferences because every move a participant makes is automatically archived. This information can be used to improve the details of the event in the future or to understand who your audience is.

For example, at a live event, you can count and estimate how many viewers attended a session. But with hybrid events, you know the attendance numbers, as well as how they engaged and when they left the session. Did they use the chat? Did they change to another session? To which? All this can be tracked by merging live with virtual.

In short, hybrid events are the future of events. With the enormous potential they bring to companies they will undoubtedly play a significant role in the future of conferences, product launches, and other marketing activities.

Are you not convinced yet or do you want to know more about the future of online events?

Check out the value we brought to Vredestein with an online event and download our trend report about the future of virtual and physical events