Let’s start with the basics; what is a Hybrid Event?
The easiest way to describe a hybrid event is “a physical meeting in which an online audience also participates”. Essentially, it combines a “live” in-person event at a physical location with a “virtual” online component for remote attendees. Both sets of attendees come together and participate in the same experience or content at the same time, from different locations.
Coordinated as a combination of in-person meetings and virtual presentations, a successful hybrid event blends these elements seamlessly.
Here we provide you with 15 common mistakes to avoid when hosting a hybrid event.
1. Picking the Wrong Hybrid Platform
This would be your biggest mistake, so hence making it number 1. Your event platform needs to be easily navigated and have all the adequate features to power hybrid events. Among the most important features are those that enable both virtual and in-person attendees to engage with each other through the same platform via a mobile app for live attendees and a desktop option for those in the remote audience.
2. Insufficient Venue Support
Ensure your venue has adequate facilities in-house to support. The venue infrastructure must be able to manage multiple video streams as well as online connections for attendees. It’s essential to make sure the venue has the bandwidth required.
3. Lack Of Promotion
Be clear when promoting the event that it will be a hybrid event. Detail what the specific offerings will be for both virtual and live audiences. The more communication the better. Also take the opportunity to establish why attendees have chosen to attend either virtually or live.
4. Not Testing and Rehearsing
Testing and rehearsing the virtual aspects of a hybrid event are just as important as the in-person delivery. All of the tools should be tested in advance – twice over.
5. Inflexible Registration
Make it easy for attendees to switch from in-person to virtual or vice-versa. Similarly allow attendees to choose which tracks they wish to participate in. This is especially important for virtual attendees who may not want to sit through the entire event.
6. Not Having A Virtual Emcee
Hiring a virtual emcee to serve as a voice for the remote audience can help them feel they are part of the action and fill any silences / cross over during the live event. Keeping the virtual audience engaged and not feeling relegated to the sidelines is paramount.
7. Treating Both Audiences the Same
It’s important to provide some customised content for each audience, which can be accomplished by using a hybrid platform that can set up separate agendas and communication channels.
8. Forgetting Or Disregarding Time Zones
If you have attendees from different time zones consider pre-recording some of the sessions and bringing both the live and remote audiences together during a keynote address or general session. For repeat sessions, consider playing the pre-recorded session at designated times for different time zones. Ask the presenters to go live at the end of the recorded sessions for Q&A.
9. A Packed Agenda
The attention span of a virtual audience watching from home is likely to be less than those who are attending live. Days packed with lengthy sessions are difficult and fatiguing, especially viewed in front of a screen. Shorter, sharper sessions is preferable.
10. Making Your Content Too Heavy
Heavy content and long presentations that might be tolerated by a live audience are even more difficult for a remote audience to sit through. It’s even more important to keep the content engaging, entertaining and to the point in a hybrid setting.
11. Ignoring Networking Opportunities For Virtual Attendees
Virtual audiences need to have opportunities to network and make contacts. Virtual chat rooms and breakout sessions where remote attendees can get to know each other and interact is crucial.
12. Ignoring Your Partners/Sponsors Exposure
If your event has any partners or sponsors try highlighting them by offering banner ads, acknowledgments, short sponsor videos, sponsor-hosted sessions or even an event website sponsor page.
13. Insufficient Speaker Training
Speakers need special training to engage a virtual audience – it’s a very different ballgame than in-person. Even speakers with experience in virtual events may also find it hard to engage both audiences at the same time.
14. Inexperienced Planning Team
A hybrid event is vastly different from an in-person event and is fraught with pitfalls for event managers who are inexperienced with the format. Use a special Event Management Agency to help! I hear Hippo Events are pretty good…!
15. Not Following Up Post-Event
Make recorded content available on-demand after the event. Recorded content produced during the event is not only useful for attendees who want to hear it again, it can be used to promote future events.
Hippo offer Event Project Management and Global Venue Finding services. Contact us today on 01372 460 100 or events@hippoevents.co.uk to see how we can assist.