Take Hybrid to the Next Level, by Devin Cleary

TAKE HYBRID TO THE NEXT LEVEL

9 best practices to elevate the experience for all participants

By Devin Cleary

Before COVID-10, events took place almost exclusively in person, and with good reason. They offer attendees opportunities to grow their knowledge, hear from experts and establish business relationships in a very engaging, face-to-face environment. While the pandemic required a quick pivot to virtual platforms, meeting planners saw an opportunity to make hybrid events permanent.

If marketers and event professionals have learned one thing, it’s that while reimagining event formats and embracing hybrid might require extra planning, when done well, a hybrid event experience pays off in dividends.

The best aspect about hybrid events? They’re not onesize-fits-all. They fall along a spectrum requiring meticulous planning, strategy and a different mindset to execute well. Delivering a unified hybrid experience doesn’t mean creating the same exact experience for in-person and virtual audiences. It means creating the best experience for each audience. Here’s how:

1Streamline and automate high-touch processes to help manage and coordinate all stakeholders. Automating reduces the burden on your team and minimizes the risk of errors. 2 Create a unified, compelling brand experience by making it easier for attendees to navigate your event and engage with the broader community via mobile apps, live polling, Twit-

ter feeds, interactive agendas and other communitybuilding tools.

3Foster environments to create connections by humanizing events and providing opportunities to generate chemistry between audiences and speakers. Consider adding an emcee to help unify the whole event, connecting the dots for in-person and virtual attendees. 4 Be intentional about gathering the right information to deliver the best experience for each participant. Use your event platform to collect and analyze data, taking those insights to curate personalized experiences for each attendee. When they find events relevant and meaningful, participants are more likely to engage with you and your brand deeper into the pipeline. 5 Use emails, surveys, digital and in-person breakout rooms, and workshops to enable people to connect and offer input, grow communities and create other opportunities to engage. 6 Take advantage of data by using your event experience platform to capture information. Collect virtual experience analytics on which sessions people register for, which they join, and the methods by which they attend. Use these data-driven insights to guide content and agenda creation, and to increase engagement.

Humans are social animals, and hybrid events support that social need by offering the best of both worlds: in-person interactions and an opportunity to connect with people around the globe.

7Champion accessibility by considering various circumstances people face. Provide multiple paths to virtual and in-person attendees for engagement, because inclusivity matters.

Offer a range of options to interact so everyone receives the full benefit of the experience. 8 Grant content access any time, anywhere. Whether your audiences attend in person, virtually or a combination of the two, offer them 24/7 access to your content across all devices by building a library of on-demand content. 9 Take advantage of new technologies. Live audiences produce energy, shared moments and human interactions that amplify emotional involvement. Use technology to bring those elements into virtual experiences as well. Crowd amplification tools, like those of Whalebone, generate hyper-realistic sounds like clapping, cheering and buzz.

Virtual attendees can show their support, giving speakers and producers real-time feedback and creating a more human, connected experience while driving engagement.

Humans are social animals, and hybrid events support that social need by offering the best of both worlds: in-person interactions and an opportunity to connect with people around the globe. When planned with forethought, they cut through the noise to stand out and deliver a real impact on the audience every step of the way.

So be bold. Embrace the unknown and open yourself to new ideas and possibilities. At Bizzabo’s Agents of Hybrid event last summer, Elise Orlowski, Senior Video Director