For Event professionals, the past year has been about adapting to global changes at a breakneck pace. The volume and quality of Virtual Events surged as we entered the Spring of 2021. As Summer fast approaches and global vaccination rates continue to climb, many organizations have already begun planning their first hybrid event experiences aiming to bridge the gap between attendees on-site and online.
To ensure your next production will wow audiences both at home and in the ballroom, our production experts are sharing their top 5 Helpful Hints for Hybrid Events:
1. Shorten Your Sessions
Producing Hybrid Events means your brand isn’t catering to just one audience, but two. Meaning there’s twice as much risk of losing your attendees attention. To keep engagement at its peak, keep your sessions under an hour whenever possible. And as always, be sure to include several breaks for both your in-room guests and your virtual attendees throughout the program.
2. Include Virtual Exclusive Programming
While many of us can’t wait to get back into the convention center, ampitheatre, or ballroom, many attendees are not willing or able to return to in-person events this year. Make attending virtually worth their while by producing content exclusively for your virtual audience.
This could be a News-desk style broadcast that bookends your main stage presentations, or even an artist producing unique works live exclusively for your online attendees.
3. Involve Your Audience(S)
With shorter sessions, you can fill programming gaps with opportunities for interactivity and audience engagement. You can poll your in-room and online audiences simultaneously to get real-time insights and opinions.
Or get into gamifying your event, by pitting your live guests and virtual attendees against one another in a fun, live trivia game.
Many successful hybrid events even include bringing virtual attendees in live on video so they can truly be part of the on stage action.
4. Budget for Entertainment
The first question clients often ask the Stagedge production experts about producing their hybrid events is “how do we make it entertaining?”. The answer is simple, but it does require a budget.
Clients who hire live entertainers, from keynote speakers to comedians and musicians, are able to wow two audiences with one unique shared experience.
5. Get Social
Seasoned event professionals are no strangers to the powerful amplification social media offers any event - but with Hybrid Events, brands have the power to broadcast key moments, exclusive portions, or the entire program of their event on some of the fastest growing platforms available.
From Facebook and Instagram Live to LinkedIn and Twitch, brands can reach a wider, more engaged audience than ever before.
These helpful hints just scratch the surface of the insights our production experts bring to the table. If you’re ready to bring your hybrid event vision to life, connect with our hybrid event experts today!