In the past, large business meetings, trade shows, exhibitions and conferences were always held in person, no questions asked. It was the only way to properly engage with clients, customers, potential customers or for companies to achieve team-building opportunities. Everything has changed immensely since the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to safety measures and people generally having a fear of large crowds, companies had to come to a simple, yet efficient solution; it required the implementation of virtual events.

While going fully online has been functional, it somewhat diminished people’s enthusiasm. There’s a growing desire for opportunities to bond and cultivate relationships, crucial for business growth. This is where Virtual Event Platforms excel, offering tailored solutions to engage your company with both potential customers and employees. These platforms cater directly to your needs and desires, fostering meaningful connections and business opportunities.

Businesses greatly appreciate the hybrid format as it optimizes resources by combining on-site and online event options. This approach proves more cost-effective, sparing companies the hassle of extensive venue searches, negotiations, and logistical arrangements. Enterprises prioritize engaging employees and customers while also reallocating resources to other projects. Virtual Event Platforms cater to participant engagement while delivering significant cost savings and efficient time management. These platforms shoulder pre-event technicalities, and offer IT support during and after the event, ensuring a seamless experience for all involved.

Why AVIANET?

AVIANET has a solution that meets the best of both worlds. We provide our customers with Virtual Event Platforms that can be used in various ways and can be customized according to their specific needs. Each customer is unique, so each hybrid event must have its agenda and mission. The uniqueness of hybrid events is that they are a combination of online and in-person elements. This way, people have a choice to attend an event in person or to join online.
Navigating through the challenges of COVID-19, we understand the importance of offering hybrid events. This demonstrates our commitment to accommodating everyone’s needs – employees, customers, attendees, and potential customers alike. Hybrid events provide flexibility, allowing participants to choose between online or in-person attendance. Moreover, our feature of recording events ensures accessibility for those unable to attend live. Embracing hybrid events offers numerous benefits, and AVIANET is here to support you every step of the way, providing guidance and assistance as needed.

Going hybrid is a rising trend in the business world and Virtual Event Platforms are going be your stepping stone to guide you through this trend and to help you succeed. Your success might encourage other companies toward this direction and you can be considered as a pioneer in your field. Embrace all the advantages that hybrid offers and create something unique in today’s professional world.

Types of hybrid events:

Hybrid events can be internal or external:

Internal hybrid events bring value to the company’s internal stakeholders. Internal stakeholders consist of employees, staff, investors, suppliers, leaders and more. Essentially, anyone who brings value to the company from an internal point of view. For many companies, ensuring every stakeholder’s presence at an in-person event is impractical. This challenge emphasizes the need for a hybrid approach, ensuring seamless connectivity among team members for strategic discussions. Hybrid events feature a live venue alongside online streaming, engaging remote participants effectively.

Examples of those events are larger team meetings, company spirit weeks, conferences or trade shows. Hybrid events can be a perfect way to incorporate every stakeholder and give everyone an equal opportunity to engage. Even if someone does not have the opportunity to attend in-person with Virtual Event Platforms they can engage just as much as anyone attending in-person. For example, the online audience can ask questions, do polls, download materials or chat.

External hybrid events apply to your current and potential customers, clients or prospects.  Hybrid events can introduce the company to a wider audience, provide more exposure, and more online presence, increase the volume of people attending and at the same time benefit the environment immensely. Having the option of sustainability, flexibility and full customization the company can take their events to the next level. For example, some events that can use a hybrid format are conferences, trade shows, product demonstrations and various customer meetings.

Succeeding with hybrid events:

We must distinguish some key elements that will help you to succeed in the usage of hybrid events. First, you need to set common goals for hybrid events and gather all materials that you would like to use for your event. With Virtual Event Platforms support you can create a personalized hybrid event and create online and in-person attendee engagement. Virtual Event Platforms will help you implement your ideas, however for your event to be a success you must have engaging company content. Your virtual guests need to be involved as much as your onsite guests. This is the reason why everyone must come prepared and content must be properly managed and adjusted to the target audience.

To attract as many people as possible to your hybrid event (because hybrid events are limitless) you need to be able to invest in hybrid event marketing. You can market your proposed event on social media to gain more exposure. You also have the opportunity to email all your registered guests, so they feel welcomed and engaged.

The primary objective of every hybrid event is maximum attendee engagement, regardless of their chosen participation method. Our proposed hybrid events facilitate networking both in-person and online, enabling interaction via video calls, chat, business card exchange, and private meetings. This flexibility enhances attendees’ time management and efficiency in pursuing common company objectives. By reducing attendance barriers, companies can connect with a broader audience while utilizing fewer resources.

Some events can have a hefty price tag to organize or they can simply not fit into one’s schedule, however, with the opportunity of hybrid events, all attendees have the chance to attend the conference, meeting, trade show and more. Attendees can participate from other locations and at the same time provide value to your company. On the other hand, even if some attendees still can not be present at the event, you can send them the event recording later and keep them updated.

Let’s not forget about your current and potential sponsors. Sponsors have the opportunity to reach your target audience virtually and to be present on a much larger scale. In this way, with a bigger outreach, they will be more willing to sponsor events, because it gives them the chance to gain more benefits and advantages.

Now, when goals are outlined, it is essential to make your hybrid event go as smoothly as possible. This means having a balance between the online and in-person elements. Content has to be delivered to both groups simultaneously, both groups have to feel equally valued. You want your in-person attendees to feel like they would usually feel at any in-person event, but at the same time properly include those who are joining online. There should be no activities that exclude one group or another. A tip to make the content more engaging for users online is to include virtual Q&As, live pools, leader boards, ratings or quizzes.

Another important thing to mention is the management of different time zones. Sometimes it can be difficult to schedule events and for those events to be available at the same time to all attendees across the whole world. The solution is to offer people who are joining online multiple time slots and to provide recordings of the events. In this way, the online community can join when it is most convenient for them or watch recordings at their preferred time.

Final thoughts:

In conclusion, the key ingredients for a successful hybrid event are content, community, sponsorship, and analytics. While we’ve discussed the first three, let’s delve into the importance of analytics. Post-event analytics are crucial for understanding attendee engagement and participation levels. By leveraging the data provided by the chosen Virtual Event Platform, you gain insights into areas of improvement for future events, enhancing their success. Embracing hybrid events unlocks growth potential, expands online presence, and fosters greater engagement. Furthermore, it signals your company’s adaptability and commitment to staying current in a dynamic business landscape.