Tips for Creating the Perfect Hybrid Event

We wrote recently about the power face-to-face events have on networking and learning. But as we know, budgets and time are tight, and getting everyone in the same place at the same time is not always possible. Rather than losing the in-person benefits all together and moving online, many organizations are looking for ways to hold hybrid events - real-time events that are also available to an online audience. Creating an event that is meaningful and fulfilling for people attending in-person and virtually can be tricky, but with some strategic planning it can be done.[Tweet "Creating an event for attendees in-person and virtually can be tricky. #GovEventsBlog"]

Here are some tips for creating a hybrid event that benefits all attendees.

• Edit your event - don't try to make every minute of your event available online in real time. We all know how painful it can be to sit on mute in a large group conference call listening to the in-person participants chatter before a meeting and crumple up the food wrappers from the provided lunch. Some elements of in-person gatherings do not translate well over the web or phone. Think about delaying some of your virtual event so you have time to edit down video to provide watchers with just the parts they want to see.

• Pay attention to the trust factor - many times speakers at in-person events will be more candid when speaking to a roomful of people knowing that they are not being recorded. If there is an understanding that the session will be broadcast (and will then forever be available online) speakers and attendees may not be so forthcoming in their sharing. This article outlines this challenge and the importance of focusing on it to maintain the environment your in-person attendees have come to expect.

• Events can be hybrid, people can't - if you have an emcee for your live event think about having a separate person emcee the online version. Both audiences have different needs in terms of being guided through an event. Make sure someone is online to answer technical questions (my video is not loading) as well as procedural and topic-related questions.[Tweet "Hybrid event tip: Have 2 emcee's--1 for the live event, 1 for the virtual event. #GovEventsBlog"]

• Be social - to better facilitate the interaction between live and online attendees, make sure the event social handles and hashtags are well communicated and repeated often. It will be the only way the two audiences will be able to find one another.

If done right, hybrid events can greatly expand your attendee base and your brand recognition.  For attendees it gives them an even bigger pool of people to interact with and for sponsors and speakers it expands their exposure. Of course the success of the online experience also relies on flawless technical execution. In a future post we'll share some tips for the technical side of broadcasting events online.

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