Hybrid Events: a step beyond the online event

The events sector has demonstrated more than ever its capacity for adaptation and innovation in the face of capacity limitations and social distancing caused by the pandemic. The percentage of digital and hybrid events, —which had already been gaining strength in recent years— has increased considerably since the outbreak of COVID-19, surpassing that of exclusively in-person events. 

In case you are not familiar with this term, hybrid events are those that integrate in-person and virtual attendance to provide a 360º experience for attendees. A trend that has been a breath of fresh air for this industry and that seems to be here to stay, given that the combination of the advantages of both formats is providing surprising results.

Congresses, workshops, concerts, contests, award ceremonies... Without a doubt, the range of possibilities is wide and the emergence of new proposals is constant. Its growing popularity has made the use of technology essential, which has been put at the service of events to offer the audience a satisfactory and safe experience. In this way, digital tools are now an absolutely essential element in their planning, production and evaluation, covering from the registration and retransmission process, to the subsequent dissemination of content through social networks.

Hybrid Events: What are its advantages?

Holding events has always been a good opportunity to maintain and improve relationships with your community. However, hybrid meetings can bring benefits to your business strategy that you may not have known. Here are the main ones:

• Achieving a greater reach: tight schedules and travel difficulties are factors that increasingly affect attendance at events. For this reason, facilitating presence also virtually, will allow you to gather a higher number of people and thus address a wider audience.
• Compliance with security measuresLinked to the previous point, we find another of the main advantages of this format, and that is the possibility of continuing to gather your community in a safe environment, complying with the capacity limitations and without renouncing the desired scope and impact.
• Achieve greater engagement from your audience: additional resources, content generated for social networks, and live digital interaction can provide higher engagement than traditional events. Gamification and interactive Q&As are examples of this.
• The content is stored virtuallyStreaming platforms allow the recording of events to be automatically stored. It is therefore possible to access it once the event is over, which provides great convenience and value for the organizers and attendees, as well as for those who did not have the opportunity to participate.
• Obtaining valuable metrics: after their celebration, hybrid events allow for easier analysis, so you can analyze their impact and reach, as well as the opinion of the attendees.
• Lower probability of cancellation: if the event cannot finally be held in person, the meeting can take place 100% virtually, so you will always have a plan B.

How to plan a successful hybrid event?

Despite the numerous benefits provided by digital and hybrid events, it is important to keep in mind that the attention span of online attendees is generally weaker. 

To ensure that these meetings generate the desired interest and prevent the virtual audience from leaving, it is essential to completely redesign the experience and devise creative formats that develop with maximum fluidity, thus stimulating their attention and motivating them to interact spontaneously. 

To generate content that is attractive to both in-person attendees and those following the event remotely, it will be necessary to ensure that interaction functionalities are available for both formats at the same time. In addition, whenever possible, it will be convenient to have virtual facilitators, scriptwriters, and other creatives. In this way, online participants will not be mere spectators, but will be involved and feel that they are living a real and close interaction experience with the rest of the attendees.

On the other hand, technology plays a fundamental role in hybrid events. Therefore, it is necessary to have the appropriate audiovisual resources and technical equipment to guarantee its correct development and quality, as well as to anticipate any possible setbacks.  

Finally, social networks represent one of the bases for your event to achieve the desired impact. These channels are very useful both to disseminate it a priori, as well as to broadcast it live and share the content generated once it is finished (whether photographs, summary videos, recordings of talks or workshops, etc.).

At Aticco we help you promote your hybrid events

Do you need a hybrid solution for your events? Would you like to hold an event with a mixed in-person and online attendance? At Aticco, we help you promote your hybrid events and enjoy a unique experience.

• We have the right technology and audiovisual technical equipment to guarantee the success of the event.
• We offer streaming broadcast
• We host events in our spaces designed to offer the best possible experience.
• We comply with all security measures
• We help you reach a larger audience

We can make those events you have in mind a reality, to offer a 360º service to your clients and attendees. Get the most out of face-to-face and virtual events, and achieve greater reach!